Humphrey Bogart Movies

Written by Lillian Hellman (The Little Foxes) and with William Wyler (Ben-Hur) as director, Dead End is one of the movies where Humphrey Bogart can be called fantastic. His role as a heartless criminal on the run was termed by Motion Picture Daily to be a “masterful gripping drama.” The film is not only nominated for Best Picture in the Academy Awards but also for four different award categories. As such, Dead End remains to be a stalwart film in moviemaking. The movie’s plot revolves around Drina (Sylvia Sidney) who wants to help his brother. However, the evil crook Baby Face Martin (Bogart) has returned to New York’s Lower East Side threatening to drag the kid with him and searching for trouble. Dave (Joel McCrea), Drina’s childhood friend, is called upon for help. However will he be able to end Martin’s cruelty without him being dragged along? Watch and find out. Dead End won the 1937 Academy Awards for Best Picture, Cinematography, Art Direction, and Best Supporting Actress for Claire Trevor.

Humphrey Bogart’s earliest starring roles included his performance in Black Legion in 1936. Warner Bros.’ modest touch in producing films based on values and the social acumen of the Depression era is typified by this movie. The script is based on current news reports regarding neofascist groups who are targeting both religious and political minorities. The plot is about a Klan-like organization that focuses all its energy on setting factory workers against blue-collar immigrants. Bogart plays Frank Taylor, a dependable husband and father who works hard to get a promotion and provide a better living situation for his wife and son. Confident that he will get the job; Frank was not prepared when a young diligent Polish-American got the promotion in his stead.  His resentful disappointment prepped the stage for the tragedy that follows.

The movie mainly focuses on tolerance and democracy within its 83-minute screenplay. Invoking a “Free, white and 100% American future”, the legion’s ranks finally hounds Frank’s competition out of town, gaining him the job he strongly desired for a short time. However, his involvement with the mob deepened and soon ate at his personality causing him to slowly drive his wife and son away along with his job and then ultimately leads him to kill his best friend Ed (Dick Foran). Although he was accused of murder and stood trial, he was nearly acquitted with the help of corrupt defense teams in the court, funded by the crooked businessmen providing money to the legion. However, while the movie draws closer to its ending, Frank’s cleansing pang of conscience offers the film’s conclusion a moralistic close.

Bogart’s compelling performance of Frank’s slow demise from being a principled worker and caring family man into an enraged and clouded thug in an otherwise simple story empowered the film. A lot can be said with regards to Bogart’s exceptional performance in Black Legion as he has faced through a lot of features before becoming a true star. It is also worth mentioning that Ann Sheridan made good of her supporting role as Foran’s wife.

–Sam Sutherland