By Glenn Erickson
Dark Hazard
Brief Synopsis
A compulsive gambler loses everything.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Alfred E. Green
Director
Edward G. Robinson
Jim "Buck" Turner
Genevieve Tobin
Marge [Mayhew]
Glenda Farrell
Valerie [Wilson]
Robert Barrat
Tex [Willis]
Hobart Cavanaugh
George Mayhew
Film Details
Genre
Drama
Release Date
Feb
3,
1934
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
First National Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
First National Pictures, Inc.; The Vitaphone Corp.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel Dark Hazard by W. R. Burnett (New York, l933).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 12m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
8 reels
Synopsis
Jim "Buck" Turner wins big at the horse races then loses it all playing roulette that evening. Broke, he rents a room at the boardinghouse run by Mrs. Mayhew and her children, George and Marge Mayhew. Although Marge is dating well-to-do Pres Barrow, she falls in love with Jim and agrees to marry him if he gives up gambling and gets a regular job. While working as a night clerk at the Hotel Northland, Jim fights with one of the guests, John Bright, and is fired as a result. Jim angrily confronts Bright, who is amused by his aggressiveness and offers him a job as his representative at the dog races. At the track, he renews his friendship with Valerie Wilson, an old girl friend. To his surprise, he is enchanted by one of the racing dogs, Dark Hazard. Slowly, because of Dark Hazard, Jim is sucked back into gambling. After losing all his money again, Jim sheepishly visits Marge, who has been living with her mother during the months Jim has been following the races. Although she is planning to divorce Jim and marry Pres, she agrees to give their marriage another chance because of their baby boy. Pres finds Jim a job, but one day when Jim is at the race track, Dark Hazard collapses on the track. Jim offers to buy the injured dog and brings him home despite Marge's disapproval. When he discovers that security-conscious Marge would rather be with Pres, Jim agrees to a divorce and leaves town with Dark Hazard. He nurses the dog back to health and Dark Hazard starts winning races. Once again, Valerie re-enters Jim's life, and the two old pals are reunited.
Director
Alfred E. Green
Director
Cast
Edward G. Robinson
Jim "Buck" Turner
Genevieve Tobin
Marge [Mayhew]
Glenda Farrell
Valerie [Wilson]
Robert Barrat
Tex [Willis]
Hobart Cavanaugh
George Mayhew
Gordon Westcott
Joe
Sidney Toler
[John] Bright
War Cry
Dark Hazard
George Meeker
Pres Barrow
Emma Dunn
Mrs. Mayhew
Willard Robertson
Fallen
William V. Mong
Mr. Plummer
Henry B. Walthall
Schultz
Barbara Rogers
Miss Dolby
Crew
Film Details
Genre
Drama
Release Date
Feb
3,
1934
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
First National Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
First National Pictures, Inc.; The Vitaphone Corp.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel Dark Hazard by W. R. Burnett (New York, l933).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 12m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
8 reels
Articles
Dark Hazard -
Crime specialist W.R. Burnett wrote or contributed to some of the top thrillers of the early Depression years, including Little Caesar (1930) and Scarface (1932). He was also an enthusiastic devotee of the sport of dog racing. Warner Bros. paid a then- impressive $15,000 for Burnett's book about the unstable life of a gambler who follows the action on the dog tracks. Dark Hazard stars Edward G. Robinson, who reportedly welcomed the opportunity to play something other than a ruthless gangster. Buck Turner blows his winnings as soon as he earns them. A gambling addict, he's easily distracted and influenced by shady associates. Buck marries the lovely, traditional Marge (Genevieve Tobin) with a promise to reform but soon quits his straight job to keep the books for a racetrack entrepreneur (Sidney Toler). He also takes up again with an old flame (Glenda Farrell). Buck continues to pursue the gambling scene even as his fortunes fall and his marriage crumbles. His dream is fulfilled with the purchase of the title animal, a purebred racing whippet. Robinson's performance is fine but some of the details are perplexing. Buck's affection for his tolerant missus pales in comparison to the love he feels for the sleek racing dog. Director Alfred E. Green had previously guided Robinson through two other movies about ambitious men struggling with family problems, Silver Dollar (1932) and I Loved a Woman (1933). This downbeat tale deglamorizes its subject, only to tacitly endorse Buck's abandonment of his wife and child. Warners remade it just three years later, as Wine, Women and Horses with Barton MacLane and Ann Sheridan.
By Glenn Erickson
By Glenn Erickson
Dark Hazard -
Crime specialist W.R. Burnett wrote or contributed to some of the top thrillers of the early Depression years, including Little Caesar (1930) and Scarface (1932). He was also an enthusiastic devotee of the sport of dog racing. Warner Bros. paid a then- impressive $15,000 for Burnett's book about the unstable life of a gambler who follows the action on the dog tracks. Dark Hazard stars Edward G. Robinson, who reportedly welcomed the opportunity to play something other than a ruthless gangster. Buck Turner blows his winnings as soon as he earns them. A gambling addict, he's easily distracted and influenced by shady associates. Buck marries the lovely, traditional Marge (Genevieve Tobin) with a promise to reform but soon quits his straight job to keep the books for a racetrack entrepreneur (Sidney Toler). He also takes up again with an old flame (Glenda Farrell). Buck continues to pursue the gambling scene even as his fortunes fall and his marriage crumbles. His dream is fulfilled with the purchase of the title animal, a purebred racing whippet. Robinson's performance is fine but some of the details are perplexing. Buck's affection for his tolerant missus pales in comparison to the love he feels for the sleek racing dog. Director Alfred E. Green had previously guided Robinson through two other movies about ambitious men struggling with family problems, Silver Dollar (1932) and I Loved a Woman (1933). This downbeat tale deglamorizes its subject, only to tacitly endorse Buck's abandonment of his wife and child. Warners remade it just three years later, as Wine, Women and Horses with Barton MacLane and Ann Sheridan. By Glenn Erickson
Quotes
Trivia
Henry B. Walthall is listed in studio records playing Schultz in this movie, but he is not seen in the print.
Notes
The W. R. Burnett novel was a Book of the Month Club selection and a best-seller. According to modern sources, Frank Borzage was originally scheduled to direct this film. Actor George Chandler was identified in a production still from the film, but he was not identified in the viewed print. Warner Bros. made another film based on the story in 1937 entitled Wine, Women and Horses (see below.)
