Product Details

• Actors: Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, Dick Foran, Erin O'Brien-Moore, Helen Flint
• Directors: Archie Mayo, Michael Curtiz
• Writers: Abem Finkel, Robert Lord, William Wister Haines
• Format: Black & White, DVD, Original recording remastered, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: March 25, 2008
• Run Time: 83 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00114XLQO
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,873 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Black Legion" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Frank Taylor and people like him have a vision for America. It is a vision shaped by terror and fueled by fear ignorance and hate - a nation of "free white 100-percent Americans!" In his first lead role in a major movie Humphrey Bogart portrays Taylor reuniting with the director of The Petrified Forest for this powerful tale of a white supremacist group. Threats surrounded the making of the film but the studio persisted creating a bold torn-from-the-headlines expose selected as one of 1937's 10 Best Films by the National Board of Review. The movie also fanned controversy for months after its release. "Black Legion will not stay in its place as cinema fiction" The New York Times' Frank Nugent wrote."It strikes too hard too deep and too close to the mark." Year: 1936 Director: Archie Mayo Starring: Humphrey Bogart Dick Foran Erin O'Brien-Moore Special Feature: Original Theatrical Trailer B&w/83 Mins.Running Time: 83 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/CLASSICS UPC: 883929002757 Manufacturer No: 1000035752

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A True Story, March 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Black Legion [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This movie is a gripping account of a very real problem that affected the Detroit automotive industry in the 1930's. The editorial review states that "the script conjures up." This movie is no conjure job. It tells a true story. My father, originally from Kentucky, went to Detroit to work in the automobile factory in the 1930's. While he was never in the Black Legion, he had enough stories to tell about it. I recommend that everyone watch this movie once.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Brutal Film For The Thirties, July 6, 2002

By 

James L. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Legion [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Humphrey Bogart stars as Frank Taylor, a factory worker who wants to be the next foreman. When he is passed over for the promotion he was counting on by a young, eager Polish American, his frustration and anger leads him to join the Black Legion, a group of racists out to punish anyone who isn't "100% American". He keeps this activity a secret from his wife Erin O'Brien Moore and his best friend Dick Foran. But before long, his life starts to unravel because of his association with this group, leading to a lot of tragedy, death, and heartache. I was impressed to see that a major studio like Warner Brothers took such a direct look at a hate group in 1930's Hollywood. The scene where Bogart takes the group's pledge particularly surprised me with its subtle brutality. Bogart is very good in this film, one of the few actors of his time that could have made this character seem believable. The supporting cast, which also includes a young Ann Sheridan as Foran's fiancee, all give good performances as well. The film is tough, presents a hate group as frankly as a 1930's film could, and although a little preachy at the end, delivers its message well.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Early Bogart film is a depression-era moral tale, December 24, 2007

By 

calvinnme - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Black Legion (DVD)

1937's "Black Legion" tells a story of a man's involvement with what amounts to the Klan without coming out and calling it that. Humphrey Bogart stars as Frank Taylor, a working man who loses a bid to become foreman when a foreign-born man gets the job instead. The Legion is right up Taylor's alley, reinforcing his belief that his woes are all the fault of the foreign-born. He gradually gets more immune to the violence as he gets in deeper and deeper with the Black Legion. It really is a very good vehicle for Bogart's acting talent as his morality gradually unwinds. The sermon at the end seems a little tacked on, much like a similar scene in 1933's "Wild Boys of the Road", but it doesn't detract too much from the overall film. The extra features on the DVD shall be:
Special Features:
Theatrical trailer: The Perfect Specimen
Two WB shorts: Hi De Ho and Under Southern Stars
Authentic newsreel
WB short: Porky and Gabby

This film is part of the Warner Gangsters Volume 3 boxed set that is being released on the same day.