"The Dark Horse" is a wonderful Warner Brothers satire of politics. Coming in 1932, it pans the past corruption of politicking at the same time it shows the growing influence of shysters in political campaigns. Just four years before, the "Pineapple Primary" of 1928 was probably the bloodiest election in American history. It happened in Chicago with dozens of bombings and killings to scare off political opponents. Two candidates were killed. The pineapple reference was to grenades for the more than 60 bombings.
Just one year before this film came out, Anton Cermak was elected mayor of Chicago. He would take political corruption to a new level with his Democratic Machine that would find every way possible of cheating to get votes. His machine reached its pinnacle under Mayor Richard Daley who reigned from 1955 to 1976.
One message in this movie that hasn't changed over the decades is public gullibility. That's what enabled corrupt politicians of the past to get in office, and it's what many modern campaigns try use to their advantage.
The players in this film all do superb jobs. Warren William is at his best as Hal Samson Blake. He's the epitome of a shyster campaign manager. Guy Kibbee plays the perfect candidate for this plot. His Zachary Hicks is a clueless character -- not a buffoon, but a slow-witted, naïve and simple guy. And, honest as the day is long. His name even suggests the character (an obvious ploy of the writers) – Hicks. It seems that movies often portray honest people as simple, slow, common, even dumb. Kibbee, who is a very talented supporting actor, nails his part perfectly here.
Bette Davis is superb as Kay Russell. She's a sharp confidant, aide and supporter of Blake. She also loves him but has the sense to realize he's too much of a tiger to be able to tame easily. Another reviewer said the Davis part was underwritten. But, it was perfect for the plot of this film. Any more would have detracted from the plot. Movie fans have to realize that favorite actors can't have the leads in everything they do. Most have come to stardom with lesser roles in their early years. And, some actors have won Oscars and done their best work in supporting or lesser roles. Davis is excellent as Russell, and this is a very good early film of hers.
It's interesting that this was just the tenth film of each of the leads -- Davis and William. And, the third leading role for each one. William was 13 years older than Davis and had his start in silent films 10 years earlier. But he did just two of those and spent most of his first years on Broadway. He returned to film after sound was established, and became a favorite leading and second player with his deep, rich voice. William made his mark playing three different detective or lawyer roles. He was the first Perry Mason in films, and made a number of films as Philo Vance and Michael Lanyard (aka, The Shadow).
Davis was one of the newcomers to Hollywood who would shoot to stardom rapidly. Her first film was in 1931, and she got great notice in a film just before this one. She played Grace Blair opposite George Arliss in the 1932 popular film, "The Man Who Played God." She had several more successful films from 1932 to 1934, and that year cemented her stardom in "Of Human Bondage."
A favorite scene in "The Dark Horse" is on the night of the debate between the candidates. Hal Blake has coached Zachary Hicks to give an early down home talk that supposedly had been given by Abraham Lincoln. But, opponent William Underwood gets to speak first, and he begins his talk with that very same speech. Blake, sitting in the front audience, realizes that his man is cooked, since Hicks knows nothing else and may not even realize that he and Underwood have the same identical speeches.
The only way Blake could save the day and candidacy of Hicks would be to disrupt the forum. And he does so with aplomb. He raises his voice, interrupts Underwood's talk and takes the stage, pushing even the moderator aside. Then, brandishing his own copy of Abraham Lincoln speeches he accuses Underwood of plagiarism. He has such command of the stage, feigning his own indignation of having been duped by Underwood, that the opponent flees the stage. Then, Blake turns the gathering into a rally for Hicks. He leads them in the song he had written for the Hicks campaign (while he was in jail). It goes to the tune of "East Side, West Side."
This is a good film to see the talent of these fine actors in their early years, and some of the fine supporting actors of the period. It's also a good look at the culture of politics of the day. The plot is not of the caliber of the very best of these type of films (i.e., "The Senator was Indiscreet" of 1947 with William Powell), but it is a very good comedy and satire of politics. Or, as Zachary Hicks might say, "Yes, and again no." For some of the funny dialog, see the Quotes section under this IMDb Web page for the film.
Incidentally, the Abraham Lincoln speech referred to in the movie – as being plagiarized by Mr. Underwood, wasn't a speech at all. The words that Hal reads from his book were the very end of a long letter that Lincoln wrote to announce his first candidacy for office. It was published on March 9, 1832, in the Sangamo Journal of Springfield, Illinois. Lincoln was running for a county seat in the Illinois General Assembly.
Just one year before this film came out, Anton Cermak was elected mayor of Chicago. He would take political corruption to a new level with his Democratic Machine that would find every way possible of cheating to get votes. His machine reached its pinnacle under Mayor Richard Daley who reigned from 1955 to 1976.
One message in this movie that hasn't changed over the decades is public gullibility. That's what enabled corrupt politicians of the past to get in office, and it's what many modern campaigns try use to their advantage.
The players in this film all do superb jobs. Warren William is at his best as Hal Samson Blake. He's the epitome of a shyster campaign manager. Guy Kibbee plays the perfect candidate for this plot. His Zachary Hicks is a clueless character -- not a buffoon, but a slow-witted, naïve and simple guy. And, honest as the day is long. His name even suggests the character (an obvious ploy of the writers) – Hicks. It seems that movies often portray honest people as simple, slow, common, even dumb. Kibbee, who is a very talented supporting actor, nails his part perfectly here.
Bette Davis is superb as Kay Russell. She's a sharp confidant, aide and supporter of Blake. She also loves him but has the sense to realize he's too much of a tiger to be able to tame easily. Another reviewer said the Davis part was underwritten. But, it was perfect for the plot of this film. Any more would have detracted from the plot. Movie fans have to realize that favorite actors can't have the leads in everything they do. Most have come to stardom with lesser roles in their early years. And, some actors have won Oscars and done their best work in supporting or lesser roles. Davis is excellent as Russell, and this is a very good early film of hers.
It's interesting that this was just the tenth film of each of the leads -- Davis and William. And, the third leading role for each one. William was 13 years older than Davis and had his start in silent films 10 years earlier. But he did just two of those and spent most of his first years on Broadway. He returned to film after sound was established, and became a favorite leading and second player with his deep, rich voice. William made his mark playing three different detective or lawyer roles. He was the first Perry Mason in films, and made a number of films as Philo Vance and Michael Lanyard (aka, The Shadow).
Davis was one of the newcomers to Hollywood who would shoot to stardom rapidly. Her first film was in 1931, and she got great notice in a film just before this one. She played Grace Blair opposite George Arliss in the 1932 popular film, "The Man Who Played God." She had several more successful films from 1932 to 1934, and that year cemented her stardom in "Of Human Bondage."
A favorite scene in "The Dark Horse" is on the night of the debate between the candidates. Hal Blake has coached Zachary Hicks to give an early down home talk that supposedly had been given by Abraham Lincoln. But, opponent William Underwood gets to speak first, and he begins his talk with that very same speech. Blake, sitting in the front audience, realizes that his man is cooked, since Hicks knows nothing else and may not even realize that he and Underwood have the same identical speeches.
The only way Blake could save the day and candidacy of Hicks would be to disrupt the forum. And he does so with aplomb. He raises his voice, interrupts Underwood's talk and takes the stage, pushing even the moderator aside. Then, brandishing his own copy of Abraham Lincoln speeches he accuses Underwood of plagiarism. He has such command of the stage, feigning his own indignation of having been duped by Underwood, that the opponent flees the stage. Then, Blake turns the gathering into a rally for Hicks. He leads them in the song he had written for the Hicks campaign (while he was in jail). It goes to the tune of "East Side, West Side."
This is a good film to see the talent of these fine actors in their early years, and some of the fine supporting actors of the period. It's also a good look at the culture of politics of the day. The plot is not of the caliber of the very best of these type of films (i.e., "The Senator was Indiscreet" of 1947 with William Powell), but it is a very good comedy and satire of politics. Or, as Zachary Hicks might say, "Yes, and again no." For some of the funny dialog, see the Quotes section under this IMDb Web page for the film.
Incidentally, the Abraham Lincoln speech referred to in the movie – as being plagiarized by Mr. Underwood, wasn't a speech at all. The words that Hal reads from his book were the very end of a long letter that Lincoln wrote to announce his first candidacy for office. It was published on March 9, 1832, in the Sangamo Journal of Springfield, Illinois. Lincoln was running for a county seat in the Illinois General Assembly.