Bullets or Ballots

For the 1964 speech by Malcolm X, see The Ballot or the Bullet.
Bullets or Ballots

1936 Theatrical Poster
Directed by William Keighley
Produced by Louis F. Edelman (uncredited)
Written by Seton I. Miller
Martin Mooney
Starring Edward G. Robinson
Joan Blondell
Barton MacLane
Humphrey Bogart
Frank McHugh
Music by Bernhard Kaun
Cinematography Hal Mohr
Edited by Jack Killifer
Production
company
First National Pictures
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release dates
  • June 6, 1936
Running time
 82 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Bullets or Ballots is a 1936 gangster film starring Edward G. Robinson, Joan Blondell, Barton MacLane and Humphrey Bogart. Robinson plays a police detective who infiltrates a crime gang. This is the first of several films featuring both Robinson and Bogart.

Robinson's character, "Johnny Blake," was based on Johnny Broderick, a noted New York City detective.[1]


Plot summary

Detective Johnny Blake Robinson (Edward G. Robinson), a New York City cop is in charge of a squad that regularly puts the screws to fearful racketeers. Blake gets kicked off the force. A powerful crime boss named Al Kruger (Barton MacLane) likes Blake's style, so he hires him in an attempt to gain fresh ideas about sidestepping the law.[2]

Cast

Adaptations to Other Media

Bullets or Ballots was adapted as a one-hour radio play on the April 17, 1939 broadcast of Lux Radio Theater with Edward G. Robinson, Mary Astor and Humphrey Bogart.

References

  1. ↑ "John Broderick is Dead at 72; Renowned as Tough Detective". The New York Times. January 18, 1966. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  2. ↑ http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/66/Bullets-or-Ballots/articles.html

External links