Bullets of Ballots (1936) ***

Release date: June 6, 1936

Running Time: 82 minutes

Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Joan Blondell, Barton MacLane, Humphrey Bogart

Director: William Keighley

With the fall of prohibition organized crime needed a new way to bring in money, especially during the economic downfall known as the Great Depression. What they fell back on was the things people in desperate situations both needed and wanted. Food and the possibility of getting rich quick. Bullets or Ballots opens up with newsreel footage outlining this problem as well as the rackets that sprung up in response. Gangsters sprung up to strong arm local grocers to only buy through them at a steep markup. Numbers games were invented to take people’s nickels and dimes on the chance of big payoffs and the enticement is so strong that, even with the low buy in, large profits are being made. Lee (Joan Blondell) has thus far been behind the numbers game but her success has not gone unnoticed. Not by the law and not by the local toughs.

The gangs have so far avoided any serious dust ups with the police but when third in command “Bugs” Fenner (Humphrey Bogart) guns down a high level law crusader against orders from his boss, Kruger (Barton MacLane), the city knows drastic measures must be taken. They promote a new commissioner, McLaren (Joe King) under the condition he will not have to explain his plans ahead of time and have full authority to tackle the problem as he sees fit. He immediately fires several officers and detectives including Johnny Blake (Edward G. Robinson), a seemingly incorruptible man who has been notoriously hard on the racketeers. Kruger jumps at this opportunity, looking for a man who can provide inside information on the police who would also have a grudge against the system. At first Blake resists the offer but eventually he joins up with Kruger, much to the annoyance of Fenner, and rapidly proves his value to the gang. He dramatically increases profits by having the gang take over the numbers racket, but fuels the resentment and distrust of Fenner when Fenner called to task for attempting to monopolize the racket under his rule. This is further exacerbated by more and more police raids targeting Fenner specifically leading Fenner to believe Blake is a rat working undercover with the police.

The film’s biggest strength is the charisma of most of the leads. Robinson is having the time of his life playing the Johnny Blake. His character is well developed and we can see the conflict he must struggle with to accomplish his goals. He’s on friendly terms with Lee and when he finds out his plan to bring the gangs into the numbers racket will force her out completely he is torn, knowing he has to choose a side against his good friend that may permanently damage that friendship. Joan Blondell is equally good here as the woman who made the numbers racket bloom only to find it stolen out from under her by a man she trusted. 

If there is a weak link here it’s Humphrey Bogart who is on autopilot as a generic gangster. Fenner does little but sneer and look grumpy for the majority of the film. He plays a pivotal role in the film’s finale but he doesn’t do much with the part. There is no nuance to his characterization leaving Fenner as nothing more than a one note hoodlum. This may have been fine as a low tier thug with limited screen time but it is woefully inadequate for a lead role such as this. 

There are some plot details that make it hard to buy into certain parts of the story. The biggest is quite possibly how deep into the organization Blake is able to get in a relatively short amount of time. He is welcomed into the business and it doesn’t take long to make it to the top, second only to the unknown big bosses who run things in the background. Only Fenner seems to distrust Blake, a plot point that is just too hard to swallow. If it weren’t for Robinson playing things to the hilt this simple issue could easily derail the entire film. Only Fenner seems to distrust him and, to the films detriment, so do we.  

The plot is exciting and riveting throughout, even if the twist can be seen almost immediately. It will not be a surprise to anyone once all the cards are laid out and the film marches into the finale. Still, it is a joy to watch, primarily because of the energy of Edward G. Robinson. He is enjoying this role and consequently so are we. His energy is infectious and permeates the screen. Ultimately, though, it falls short of greatness by the disappointing performance by Bogart and some leaps of logic that make much of the second half of the film hard to believe.