On B List of Movie Reviews
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Bullets or Ballots (1936)
Rate:
6
Viewed:
11/07, 4/24
11/07:
Bullets or Ballots is Goodfellas of the 30's.
It's one of the leanest, meanest pictures I've seen. Plenty of tough guys come and go. The pace is fast and furious with
a lot of twists and turns. It's about the double-crossing, honor among thieves, and the succession of top dogs.
The cast gives across-the-board outstanding performances. Edward G. Robinson has never looked better. Humphrey Bogart shines.
Great writing is done by Seton Miller with the help of Martin Mooney. It's a taut story that's filled with sharp dialogue.
However, Bullets or Ballots is one of the few films that I wish it had a happy ending.
All in all, Bullets or Ballots is maybe the most underrated gangster picture to come out of the 30's.
4/24:
I wonder why I rated Bullets or Ballots so highly, and afterwards, I can see why.
It's the complicated tale of how Johnny Blake took down the city crime syndicate by pretending to be on the out. Then, the idiot
mob boss decided to let him in and showed him how everything worked. Of course, Nick Fenner was having none of it. Then again,
he started the whole mess by gunning down Ward Bryant which proved to be the biggest mistake of his life.
The true reason why the Mafia's power went unchecked throughout the 20th century was that J. Edgar Hoover did nothing about it,
preferring to focus on the Communists while enriching himself. Hence, the Mafia made so much money through bootlegging,
prostitution, gambling, loansharking, racketeering, and drugs, among others. The film's plot was so simple that anyone could've
done it back then, but nobody in the government did.
In their first of five films together, Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart are fine, but they're nothing special. The
actions of the former's character are illegal, but it's what they used to do back in the day. It can be confusing to tell if
Edward G. Robinson was for real because he used to be Little Caesar. On the other hand, Joan Blondell
is okay. By the way, Bullets or Ballots is a stupid title because it doesn't have anything to do with elections. The
numbers racket is mostly true as portrayed which did big business in Harlem.
All in all, Bullets or Ballots makes for a fair viewing when it comes to 30's gangster pictures.