Review of Black Legion (1937) by Larry Y — 07 Dec 2014

A movie with some interesting themes, but not well made.

The story of the movie - working class man joins clandestine, Ku Klu Klan-like organisation to help him get ahead in his career - introduced many interesting themes. Not least of these was the prevalence of these sorts of organisations, the fine line between patriotism and bigotry, between camaraderie and blind group-think.

This made for an interesting central plot.

However, this is let down by the dialogue, acting and around-the-edges fillers. Dialogue and acting seemed quite hammy, and quite preachy at times. Humphrey Bogart is great, and has immense screen presence, but the rest seem like amateurs.

Furthermore, the plot development felt clumsy.

Sound and picture quality are also quite poor, but being made in 1937 we'll forgive the producers for that.