Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27883 in VHS
• Released on: 1998-09-01
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Formats: Black & White, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of tapes: 1
• Running time: 82 minutes

Amazon.com
Get two gangster-movie icons for the price of one as tough police detective Edward G. Robinson faces off for the first time against Humphrey Bogart, the ambitious enforcer for a big-time racketeer. Bogart's effectively the co-star--virtually a one-man crime wave--though he rates only fourth billing behind Eddie G., Joan Blondell, and Barton MacLane. Still, no question it's Robinson's movie; the former "Little Caesar" walks the line beautifully as an honest cop who, unjustly jettisoned from the force, agrees to go to work for the mobster (MacLane) he's long pursued. A fascinating air of fatalism attaches to Robinson's character, whether shrugging off his betrayal by the new police commissioner (and his oldest friend), trading polite threats with his new criminal colleagues, or dismissing the possibility of happiness with the nightclub operator (Blondell) who clearly cares for him.

The title is a bit of a misnomer: Despite a rhetorical reference to "ballots" as the public's means of expressing outrage over the costs of crime, it's bullets that get the job done. Bullets and fists: the movie makes clear that Robinson has beaten confessions out of people on many occasions, and in best hardnosed Warner Bros. tradition, it has no illusions about the empty symbolism of crime commissions and grand juries. There's a nice subplot involving Blondell creating the numbers racket as off-hours distraction from her main occupation; her territory is Harlem, and Louise Beavers, usually relegated to maid roles, has spirited fun with the chance to strut as Blondell's partner. William Keighley directed. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews

Getting Rid Of The Racket
Edward G. Robinson stars as a cop dedicated to getting rid of gangsters running rackets. When he is fired, he winds up taking a job with crime boss Barton MacLane, against the wishes of MacLane's number one man, Humphrey Bogart. MacLane wants Robinson to make his organization foolproof against the police. When they start having more interference from the police, people in the organization start questioning Robinson's trustworthiness, especially trigger-happy Bogart. This is a tough film, trying to address the problem of gangsters after Prohibition ended. Robinson, MacLane, and Joan Blondell as Robinson's disappointed girlfriend all turn in terrific performances, while Bogart contributes yet another of his bad guy jobs that he did so often until he became a star. I liked the perspective in this gangster film, which focused more on what the law was doing to end the problem, rather than simply giving us the story from only the gangsters' point of view. It's one of Warner Brother's least well known crime films, but it definitely deserves a look.

Don't Mess With Eddie Robinson!
"Bullets or Ballots" (1936) features Edward G. Robinson in one of his best tough-guy roles as an undercover cop who infiltrates the New York rackets. This solid Warner crime drama also serves as a good vehicle for Humphrey Bogart as the untrusting, trigger-happy gangster. Not much action, per se, but director William Keighley keeps the pot boiling - climaxed by a memorable confrontation between Eddie G. and Bogey. The DVD includes a "Breakdowns of 1936" blooper reel with outtakes from "Bullets or Ballots" (watch for the brief moment in which Robinson needs technical support to handle a gun).

William Keighley directed the film with a firm and fresh efficiency...
Following his brutal portrayal in "The Petrified Forest," Bogart became a much more articulate and calculating killer in "Bullets or Ballots," a gangster thriller starring Edward G. Robinson as a crusading crime-buster, modeled after true-life cop Johnny Broderick, known as "the toughest cop on Broadway," who pretended to be thrown off the police force in order to infiltrate Bogart's gang and get the evidence to bring him to justice...

Bogart revealed no emotion whatever as he goes about his gun-happy chores of shooting a respected newspaperman as well as his partner-in-crime, Barton MacLane, in his characteristic double-cross...

The exciting finale found both Bogart and Robinson in a blazing showdown, an unusual ending for this period in film history, but one which Robinson had fought hard to retain...

William Keighley directed the film with a firm and fresh efficiency...