Dark Hazard (1934) User Reviews

Above average drama where people are only human

[kidboots · 7/10 · 11 September 2008]

These roles are what made Edward G. Robinson great. Playing flawed human beings but making them sympathetic enough for viewers to warm to.

A very nifty movie about a compulsive gambler. Within 5 minutes of the film's opening Jim (Edward G. Robinson) has won and lost $20,000. He finds himself in Barrowville, Ohio boarding at the Mayhews and working at the local racetrack. In a few months he is married and working as a night clerk in a local hotel. John Bright (Sidney Toler, before his Charlie Chan years) is out to get him fired - he has his reasons. He wants Jim to go to California to manage his dog track. The dog races were quite excitingly filmed.

Jim is determined to buy "Dark Hazard" a winning greyhound but his wife is against the idea. Val (the wonderful Glenda Farrell), an old girlfriend has just come back on the scene. Marge (Genevieve Tobin) tells Jim she is having a baby but after a showdown between her and his friends, she fears she cannot bring up their baby amid the gambling atmosphere. So she takes all his money and goes home to her mother and brother - saying if Jim ever wants to give up gambling there will be a home waiting for him.

After a couple of years, Jim, down on his luck returns to Marge. He tries to change his ways, settle down in a regular job - then they open a dog track at Belmont and he renews his acquaintance with "Dark Hazard". The dog breaks his leg and Jim buys him for $25 and nurses him back to health and fitness. Jim also has it out with Marge, her mother and Trent Barrett, Marge's former boyfriend. He takes "Dark Hazard" and hitch hikes back to California and Val.

I didn't find Marge shrewish - she and Jim were just not suited to each other. Genevieve Tobin was a minor star at Warner Brothers, although she did have memorable roles in "One Hour With You" (1932), she played Della Street in "The Case of the Lucky Legs" (1935) and the second female lead in "The Petrified Forest" (1936). She retired to marry William Keighley, a director.

Recommended.

"Don't tell me you turned decent on me."

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 15 December 2014]

Compulsive gambler Edward G. Robinson marries nice girl Genevieve Tobin and tries to settle down. His gambling and irresponsibility causes problems between them. Soon he's spending time with ex-girlfriend Glenda Farrell and his wife leaves him. Eventually he buys an injured racing dog named Dark Hazard and nurses him back to health, planning to make a winner out of him.

Fine role for Edward G. Robinson with a solid cast backing him up. Glenda Farrell is always enjoyable. Genevieve Tobin has the thankless role of the suffering wife. Sidney Toler plays the guy who gets Robinson back into gambling. Was remade just a few years later as Wine, Women, and Horses starring Barton MacLane and Ann Sheridan. This is the better version of the two but that one's not bad. Both are pretty simple programmers.

Edward G. Robinson plays a huge jerk in this interesting film about gambling...

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 31 October 2015]

In one of his more unlikable roles apart from his gangster films, Edward G. Robinson plays Buck Turner--a compulsive gambler. In Buck's case, much of his problem stem from his strong need to be a big shot. Again and again, he makes fortunes and blows them because of his gambling. During one of his periods where he swears off gambling, he meets and marries a nice lady, Marge (Genevieve Tobin) on the condition that he not gamble. But being an addict, he soon is playing the big man and starts back to his old ways. Eventually, the wife has had enough and she takes a powder. He eventually returns to her and makes a lot of promises, but he's soon back to his old ways. The event that eventually destroys the marriage completely is when he comes home with a racing dog, Dark Hazard. So how does Val (Glenda Farrell) figure into all this as well as an old flame named Press? See the film.

While I liked most of the film, as it was a nice portrait of addiction and didn't cop out with a happy ending, this ending was a bit strange and anti-climactic. Still, Robinson and the gang did a nice job in this one and it's worth seeing.

Undeservedly obscure

[jaykay-10 · 19 May 2002]

Without good looks or commanding stature, Edward G. Robinson fashioned a long, impressive career out of sheer talent. Curiously enough, he was versatile where his limitations would seem to have worked against his being convincing in a wide variety of roles. During the 1930s, in particular, he often played an "off-center" character, a man with a fractured psyche who, despite good intentions and some sensitivity toward the feelings of others, was too emotionally flawed to find security or happiness.

Such a character was Jim Turner in this film, and, as usual, Robinson's skillful portrayal generates our sympathy for someone barely deserving of it. Too weak to abandon the seedy, sleazy world of small-time gambling, he loses - not once, but twice - the love and forgiveness of a devoted wife, capably played by Genevieve Tobin. Glenda Farrell, as a gold-digging good time gal, and Sidney Toler, playing a shady operator involved in "deals," are also effective.

The picture covers a considerable period of time in only 72 minutes, being composed of a multitude of short scenes. Good and bad: more extensive character motivation would have helped; but there is nary a dull moment.

Most people don't know that this picture exists. What a shame.

This probably shouldn't be as much fun as it it!

[1930s_Time_Machine · 7/10 · 1 August 2023]

There's a steak of subversive humour running through this. The novel on which this is based is a very serious examination of gambling addiction but this film makes this a jolly, fun adventure. One example is the background music being played as Edward G's marriage starts to crumble: Honeymoon Hotel from FOOTLIGHT PARADE!

Edward G cited this as one of his least favourite pictures. Being a serious actor and a fan of the author (who also wrote LITTLE CAESAR.....and incidentally owned the dog in this movie) he didn't appreciate the frivolous approach which was taken. For the viewer however this makes it a surprisingly enjoyable and entertaining film.

His character has a serious problem, his gambling looks like it's going to destroy his life but that's not what we get. He doesn't care. At one point he wins $20,000, moments later he's broke, having to borrow $5 to get him home. When he meets gorgeous middle-class Genevieve Tobin he tries to mend his ways but the lure of the bet and the lure of his on-off girlfriend, played perfectly by a ridiculously sexy Glenda Farrell is just too much. He prefers fun to respectability.

Films from this period, and certainly those which followed after the Hays code was properly implemented often had a moral message. This has the opposite. Preachiness is swapped for entertainment. It feels like it shouldn't work but it does - it shouldn't be but it's a lovely warm enjoyable hour an a half. It was after all made in the middle of The Depression so maybe they just wanted to cheer everyone up.

If there is any lesson this teaches us, it's that if you've got a gambling problem, don't worry about it because you're likely to end up having lots and lots of sex with Glenda Farrell.

Early look at Greyhound racing.

[dana-97843 · 7/10 · 13 December 2016]

Interesting film about the early days of American greyhound racing based on W R Burnett 1933 Novel by the same name,I read the book it is above average and better than the movie for it goes into deeper character development and motives which is hard to do in a 72 minute movie. Few people realize it but WR Burnett was a greyhound owner and a huge fan of greyhound racing.The champion dog "War Cry" featured in the movie was actually owned by W.R Burnett.Greyhound racing as we know it today started in Emeryville,Ca. back in 1919.I believe the film was released in 1934 so the sport had been around for only 15 years when the movie was released.The filming of the actual greyhound race scenes were beautifully done,it even shows hurdle races which was later banned.

The movie has a great cast of well known stars of that time but Edward G Robinson is the star here,for he is in almost every scene.It is pre-code ,Buck the Edward G Robinson character makes reference to sexually satisfying his girlfriend which would of been cut out after the code was established also the ending is very positive which probably would of changed after the code was set up for most people looked at gambling as a vice back then.One mistake in the movie was it made reference to greyhound racing in Hawaii but it never existed there.

The movie moves along swiftly and covers a lot of years.Robinson does a convincing job in this film as a man who puts his love of greyhound racing over everything else.This is the only known movie totally based on greyhound racing.This film was remade a few years later as Wine, Women and Horses but Dark Hazard if far superior to the remake , the remake does star the beautiful Ann Sheridan which is its only attribute.

Worth A Watch

[davidjanuzbrown · 7/10 · 20 December 2014]

This 1934 Edward G. Robinson movie is rarely shown, so if you can see it, do not miss it. Is it Robinson's best, not really, but there are parts of this movie that are really outstanding like his character's (Jim 'Buck' Taylor) relationship with 'Dark Hazard' a greyhound racing dog. Spoilers Ahead: There has been some discussion on this board over his wife Marge Turner (Genevieve Tobin), and how she treated him, and trust me she really was a piece of work. The scene where he first meets and pets 'Dark Hazard' you could see how happy he was and her reaction to that. If she really loved him, she would be happy to see him to be happy. She wanted to be a dominant person and run his life, with no distractions. After 'Dark Hazard' got injured, and Jim bought him, she started cheating on him. Again, this is a dog, and there is nothing wrong with loving a dog, but she is so insecure, she could not allow that. I also liked the way he knocked out Marge's new love interest with one punch, Cagney style, and underneath it all, he was both tough and tender. The ending where he ends up wealthy by gambling and living with his ex g/f Val Wilson (and 'Dark Hazard') would not happen shortly thereafter (because of the Production Code), but it was also a rare happy ending for a Robinson Character, which he and above all, 'Dark Hazard' deserved. The only reason I did not rate the movie higher, is I would have loved to see more of 'Dark Hazard', because the dog is the love of Jim's life, (even more then Val or money). 8 of 10 stars.

weak man with a good heart and a bad habit

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 26 October 2015]

Edward G. Robinson gives an excellent performance in "Dark Hazard" from 1934.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that Dark Hazard was a dog!

Jim "Buck" Turner (Robinson) is a compulsive gambler, winning $20,000 at the track and losing $20,000 gambling. It's so bad he has to borrow $5 to get home.

He winds up taking a room in a boarding house, where he meets Marge (Genevieve Turner) and falls in love with her. Though her mother doesn't approve, they get married.

Marge is unhappy about his gambling, and Jim keeps saying he'll stop. He doesn't. One day, he runs into an old girlfriend, Valerie (Glenda Farrell) - she'd like to start up again, but he wants to be faithful to Marge. Later on she's there in down times.

Jim becomes enamored of dog racing and wants to buy a dog named Dark Hazard. But he costs $5,000. When he wins big and brings home a huge amount of money, Marge, who is pregnant, leaves him and takes all the money. She writes that when he's ready, she will have a place for him.

A few years later, he returns to Marge, who is living with her mother, and meets his little boy. She takes him back though she is dating an old beau, Pres. The next time he sees the dog, he's broken his leg and about to be put down. Jim buys him for $25. Once the dog is well, he starts winning again.

Many pre-code elements, including a double bed.

You can't help but like Jim and feel sorry for him at times. But you also know he's a survivor, just like Dark Hazard.

Sidney Toler, famous as Charlie Chan, is very good as a guy who gets Robinson to gamble again.

I have to say the dog racing theme was a gigantic turnoff. It's a bad sport, with thousands of greyhounds abandoned every year when their usefulness has ended. In this movie, the original owner loved the dog; later it's obvious he no longer cares about him. That isn't typical - to these people, the dogs are just moneymakers to them from the beginning.

Other than that, this was a decent film. Was remade by Warners later as Wine, Women, and Horses.

"It ain't how they look, it's how they run!"

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 25 October 2015]

Edward G. Robinson's a personal favorite but I couldn't help thinking that the story and situations here were somewhat shallow and disjointed. Case in point was the two year lapse between Marge (Genevieve Tobin) packing it in on her marriage to Jim 'Buck' Turner (Robinson) and then Buck showing up to reconcile things between them. It certainly could happen, but the kicker here was that she threw over her new beau Pres Barrow (George Meeker), and he turned around and gave Jim a job! How plausible does that come across?

It seems like the story was filled with these kinds of implausible situations. As much as Sidney Toler's character harassed Buck and gave him the business, Jim kept on calling him 'Mister' Bright. I'd probably come up with some choicer names for the guy, so again, not that credible.

Giving Jim some credit though, he was a stand up guy for not giving in to ex-girlfriend Val (Glenda Farrell) in the early going even when things were getting shaky at home. But had this film come out a couple years later, you wouldn't have had Jim hooking up with her again within the subtle context of a gal who 'had ideas', read between the lines.

So all in all, a lot of the situations in the story just didn't ring true for me. One more I should mention was when Jim hoboed it back to Barrowsville with just the suit he was wearing because he blew it big time again while gambling. The next morning at the breakfast table, he had a different suit on!

Every marriage eventually goes to the dogs.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 7 April 2015]

Lucky at gambling, unlucky at love. So goes the story for the sweet Edward G. Robinson who has the affection of a little boy but can't seem to make a relationship go no matter how hard he tries. He's a gambler at heart, so when he moves into a boarding house owned and run by the imperious Emma Dunn, he falls immediately in love with her sweet daughter (Genevieve Tobin), marries her, but can't quite escape from his old life, moving from the horse track to the dog track. Taking one of the greyhounds to his heart (the titled pooch), Robinson neglects his marriage and falls briefly under the spell of an old flame (Glenda Farrell), an obvious party girl who wants him back. But when he learns that he's about to become a father, he re-thinks his priorities. Is it too late? This is a drama with a nice twist that shows that love sometimes just isn't enough and sometimes your perfect partner isn't the one you hope it will be. Robinson adds some interesting nuances to his character, showing a softer, affectionate side with the dog and in the one scene he shares with his son after being on his own and destitute. It's certainly not a great film or a unique story, but the surprise at the end was certainly one that took me by surprise rather than the typical Hollywood angle that only a few months later with the changes of the Hays Code certainly would not have been allowed.

Eddie Finally Ditches Priggish Genevieve and her Family for Ever-Charming Glenda

[Handlinghandel · 5/10 · 21 July 2003]

The story is routine but it has many interesting touches:

Sidney Toler as a villain, a nasty Caucasion. He's very good in this role.

Genevieve Tobin was a lovely actress but she is under the sway of her shrewish mother here. Only her nerdy brother has any decency.

It's astonishing to see that almost 60 years ago, the title character -- a rescued racing greyhound -- is being MASSAGED by hero Robinson. So much for the inventiveness of New Age technology. It's actually quite touching.

What I love is that in the end, he gets wise to Tobin and her low-class, upwardly mobile mother and dumps the lot of them in favor of the always charming, likable Farrell, who is kind of a bad girl here but one we like.

Obscure film that showed Edward G. Robinson's versatility

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 5 August 2017]

Is this movie about gangsters? No, it's about dogs! (Well, in a manner of speaking.) Eddie plays Buck Turner, a gambling addict who wins and loses large sums of money. Buck goes to a boarding house where he meets his future wife, Marge, who comes from the "right side of the tracks". After they marry, Buck tries to go "straight" with a respectable job, as a night clerk at the Northland Hotel.

Funny scene: The phone switchboard is alight with many calls, and Buck tries to answer them all. He listens quietly to the question of one caller, then responds, "Noooo, sir! You've got to have baggage!" One "customer" repeatedly bullies Buck and incites him into a fight, which gets him fired. Mission accomplished: the bully actually wants Buck to work for his organization, the dog track. Buck is back in the gambling racket… He becomes attached to one racing greyhound in particular: Dark Hazard. He wants to buy him, but his wife puts her foot down. She is not liking his return to gambling at all.

Later, Dark Hazard is injured in a race, and his owner wants to put him down. Buck saves his life by buying him for $25, and nursing him back to health. All the while, Buck and Marge have been going through many ups and downs in their marriage. Who will Buck side with, his wife or his dog? In 2017, an easy answer for most men, but this was a different era.

As an aside, I really love these 1930s Warner Brothers movies where they show the actor and the character name during the opening credits, so the audiences can connect the two. In this flick, they even gave credit to the starring dog. War Cry is the thespian who portrayed Dark Hazard.

Just when viewers have been led on to expect . . .

[oscaralbert · 7/10 · 28 February 2018]

. . . a geriatric version of the classic film A BOY AND HIS DOG, the ending of DARK HAZARD pushes "Buck" out of "Marge's" frying pan and into "Valerie's" frier. I can't really remember whether JEZEBEL said that Buck kissed like a toad, or just looked like one. However, surrounded by chicks such as Margie and Val during DARK HAZARD, Buck would be better off settling for a "Lucy Van Pelt" (as in "Yuk, Yuk, poison dog lips!") from his racing mutt "Blackie" (aka, DARK HAZARD). This flick is sort of a 73-minute Public Service Announcement by Warner Bros. on behalf of America's incipient Gaming Industry. DARK HAZARD is carefully crafted to show that no matter how little "luck" or talent a U.S. Citizen may have, if they just stay persistent they're absolutely guaranteed to finish their Gaming Career in the Black. When this film came out, there was almost NO legal Gaming in the USA. Thanks to the many fortunes that Warner documents the hapless bumbler Buck winning during DARK HAZARD, more and more Americans took their first dance with Lady Chance. As nearly every neighborhood teemed with Gaming Millionaires, the U.S. Government legitimized all known forms of wagering, and itself invented countless New Wrinkles, blanketing our airwaves with the wall-to-wall taxpayer-funded lottery ads of Today. "Shirley Jackson" had it right: How Profiteth a Nation to have a Gross National Product, when it can run a Neat Little Lottery instead?

A lucky streak goes wrong

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 12 December 2014]

One of the few times I saw an improvement when a studio remade one of their films is with Dark Hazard. Wine, Women And Horses which starred Barton MacLane in the role Edward G. Robinson plays here was a far better fit for the part of a luckless gambler. Robinson is far from his usual tough guy assertive self, in fact he's something of a loser.

Robinson is Mister Every Man with a gambling program. Be it racetracks, cards or the wheel of fortune Robinson can't stay away. He's lucky in streaks, but inevitably loses his winnings.

He does get involved with good girl Genevieve Tobin, the daughter of his landlady Emma Dunn. But that one goes south on him as well when old flame Glenda Farrell comes calling.

The title Dark Hazard is the name of a greyhound racing dog that Robinson acquires after his owner casts him off. Eddie clearly looked uncomfortable in scenes with the dog.

Not one of his better films.

curious

[rupie · 21 July 2003]

[*** spoilers **** ] I too was intrigued by this unusual movie. I try to catch anything Edward G. Robinson is in, as he is unquestionably one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, and I tuned in to TCM for this one intrigued by its menacing title, which has nothing to do with events but is rather the name of an appealing greyhound with which Robinson's character becomes enamored. He is a gambler, and one expects the flick to demonstrate the error of his ways. However, he is shown to be a rather decent, likable, and well-meaning fellow, and devoted to his wife. His scenes of winning curiously seem to outnumber the scenes of his losing. After the movie shows us the ups and downs of his relationship with his wife, we are rather taken aback when, at the end, he and his beloved greyhound bail out of home, go on the dog racing circuit, and hit it big time, even hooking up with his old hot-time girlfriend. It's a totally unexpected ending (the wages of sin are pretty good??).

A couple of quibbles - the tensions between him and his wife never seem really convincingly portrayed, for instance when, broke again, he appears at her door and she takes him back in again with nary a shrug. Also, the treatment of their child is given really short shrift; aside from one brief scene in which he "connects" with the baby son he has never seen, the child is never seen again, nor does he even come up in the couple's disputes, a glaringly unbelievable omission. Also, as a viewer has noted, the movie is composed of so many really short scenes that continuity is a problem.

Other than that this is an interesting little oddity (though hardly a great flick, nor one of Robinson's best efforts, though his work is never less than excellent).

Gotta Have the Right Handler

[view_and_review · 6/10 · 29 February 2024]

In "Dark Hazard," Edward G. Robinson played Jim 'Buck' Turner, a compulsive gambler, but unlike when Robinson played Little Caesar, Buck doesn't always win. In fact, he was on a losing streak when he met Marge (Genevieve Tobin) in Ohio. Even though he was connected with gambling and the horse track, Marge married him against her mother's wishes.

Buck got a chance to earn some real dough when a gangster named Bright (Sidney Toler) asked him to look over his books at a dog track in California. His wife wasn't very amenable to the decision because it put him right at the source of his problem, but $100 a week is $100 a week. It was at the California race track that Buck fell in love with a black greyhound named Dark Hazard.

What's important to know is that Buck and his wife, Marge, came from two different worlds. No matter how hard Buck tried, and how many promises he made, he kept being drawn back into the gambling life. That meant copious booze, win streaks, and awful losing streaks. Marge had no interest or time for that. She couldn't reel in Buck, so she left him.

There was a woman who could handle Buck though, and that was Valerie (Glenda Farrell). Valerie was all about the tracks and loved the Buck she met at the tracks. So, when Marge gave up on Buck, for good reason, Valerie was there. More importantly, Valerie was able to deal with Buck. When he won, she was right there to take his money and hold it for safekeeping so he didn't blow it. And that's really what this movie boiled down to.

Buck and Marge were from different worlds. Buck and Valerie were from the same world. Marge seemed wholly uninterested in trying to be a part of Buck's world, which is fine, but she didn't even want to meet him halfway. Which is not fine. She married the poor sap and his gambling problem which she wasn't equipped to deal with. Valerie, however, was fully equipped to deal with Buck. So, while the married couple didn't patch it up and live happily ever after, I think they both got what they wanted and what they needed in the end.

Free on Odnoklassniki.

A unique movie experience - haunting and captivating

[mrweyl · 10/10 · 26 April 2018]

Stick with this movie to its conclusion and along the way, it will captivate you. Because of Robinson's brilliance, it lays his character bare. Sometimes this is actually uncomfortable for the audience (at least for me). The movie is from the early 30's "pre-code" era and portrays the journey of self-discovery by Edward G. Robinson's character. He is a gambler and tries to establish a standard family life with a woman that he loves. Ultimately he realizes that this path was not meant for him and he finds the unconventional and less stable life meant for him, Along the way, he discovers and ultimately rescues Dark Hazard, a black greyhound race dog. He loves that dog with his entire being. How many of us find the one thing that we truly love and pass it by, for one practical reason or another? Robinson's character grabs it "with both hands." The footage of that dog during a race are haunting and mesmerizing. The viewer cannot escape this mystical vision. Robinson's character is awkward and nonstandard, bearing some similarities to other portrayals by Robinson early in his career.

Effective pre-Code fare

[coltrane679 · 9 July 2003]

Warning--this review contains SPOILERS!

It is hard to explain exactly why this handy little melodrama is obviously "pre-Code" in nature without giving away the ending, so if you'd rather not know, stop now.

Typically when we refer to films as "pre-Code" (1930-34), we usually mean they contain some "risqué" elements that were to be absent from American films until well after WWII. In this case, however, it's really the "moral of the story"--or lack thereof--that so defines it. Edward G. Robinson, captivating as always, plays an inveterate gambler who falls hard for a "good woman" and makes her his wife--and swears off the gambling she detests. He is only spottily successful in avoiding the lure of wagering, however--especially after he gets a job supervising a dog track in California! (As an aside, the initial dog racing sequence is very well done and quite dynamic, especially for the time).

In the end, after ups and downs, the gambler chooses a life of wagering (and a floozy female companion) over a respectable family life. At the end of the film, we see him rolling in dough, contented at the racetrack, and VERY contented with his "easy" female friend. A couple of years later this film would have had to end with him on skid row, or murdered, or the like, to drive home the "moral" that gambling--and deviating from "respectability" generally--would lead to an inevitable sad and/or short life. But here, in the pre-Code era, in the end the gambler appears happy as a lark with his life of gambling and "fun" female companionship (as opposed to his dour wife).

Beside Robinson, the cast is generally fine, with the now largely forgotten Genevieve Tobin looking a little like a bargain basement Norma Shearer as Robinson's wife, and the excellent Glenda Farrell as hotsy-totsy girlfriend.

An Unusual Pre-Code Movie!!!!

[zardoz-13 · 10/10 · 10 June 2015]

This ranks as one of the best Edward G. Robinson movies that I have ever seen! "The Little Caesar" star is cast as compulsive gambler Jim 'Buck' Turner, who enjoys more winning than losing streaks. He struggles to go straight after he moves into a boarding house and falls in love with the proprietor's daughter. Buck convinces Margie Mayhew (Genevieve Tobin) to marry him after he assures her that he will quit gambling, essentially betting on race horses. Buck takes a lowly job as a night clerk at a downtown hotel. Big time roller John Bright (Sidney Toler of the "Charlie Chan" movies) picks a fight with him late one evening and has him fired. When Jim storms over to a restaurant that Bright frequents for breakfast to punch his lights out, Bright admits that he had been bullying Jim. He offers Jim a job to check up on his dog racer race in sunny California. Marge follows Jim out to California, and it doesn't take Jim long to get back into the habit of gambling. Jim meets an old flame while he is at the dog track. Valerie 'Val' Wilson (Glenda Farrell of "Mary Stevens, M.D.") keeps talking about the time that Jim got her out of a burning nightgown. Marge surprises Jim with news about their forthcoming baby, but Jim cannot keep her with him in California. After he wins $20-grand, Jim awakens the following morning to discover that Marge has gone back to live with her mother and resuming dating Pres Barrow (George Meeker) and he goes home with his hat in his hand. Later, he buys the greyhound sensation Dark Hazzard after the poor dog fractures it leg. Eventually, Marge falls back into the habit of dating Pres and demands a divorce. Jim gets to punch Pres's lights out and then leaves with Dark Hazzard. Although the dog was considered washed-out, Dark Hazzard resumes racing and earns Jim a fortune. He globe-trots around the world with Dark Hazzard winning every race and Val at his side. This is the first time that I have seen a pre-Code movie where the protagonist wound up better than he started. Scenarists Ralph Block and Brown Holmes, working from a novel by W.R. Burnett, has scripted some terrific dialogue. "Baby Face" director Alfred L. Green keeps things moving at a snappy pace.

Performances Make the Film Worth Watching

[Michael_Elliott · 31 December 2011]

Dark Hazard (1934)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Great performances highlight this Warner melodrama about professional gambler Jim Turner (Edward G. Robinson), a man who decides to get married and stop his old ways of life or at least that's what he tells his new bride (Genevieve Tobin). Soon the two are on their way but Jim becomes addicted to gambling and it reaches the point to where the wife decides to leave him. DARK HAZARD is working with a "C" screenplay to say the least but there's no question that the cast is an exceptionally strong one and helps keep the film from falling apart. I think it goes without saying but Robinson easily steals the film as the down-on-his-luck gambler who places one bet too many. At least the role has quite a bit for the actor to do as he not only gets to play the gambler but there's romance, some laughs and a tender side story involving him an a race dog whose name is the title of the film. Robinson perfectly nails all the emotions and is certainly very believable in the scenes where the character breaks from all his gambling. Tobin is also pretty good in the film and it's clear that she and Robinson has some good chemistry together. They had previously made the horrid I LOVED A WOMAN but at least this role gives the two something to work with. Glenda Farrell plays her typical blonde/sex appeal part and does fine work with it. Sidney Toler has a hilarious bit early on picking on Robinson for a certain reason. Henry B. Walthall is mentioned in the credits but while his character's name is said, he never actually appears in the movie so I'm guessing his scene was edited out. Overall, DARK HAZARD features great actors doing strong work but in order for the film to have been better the screenplay still needed some work. At just 72-minutes there's not too much meat but fans of the cast will still want to check it out.

Best greyhound movie

[kcfl-1 · 8/10 · 18 December 2011]

I couldn't believe this film logged in at only 72 minutes; it seemed to cover so much (it must have been a thick book). The boy-meets-girl, boy-marries-girl takes about two scenes, a transition I've seen only in "Daddy's Gone a Hunting."

It's a realistic film: as soon as the greyhound breaks his leg, his owner orders him put down.

It's surprising. For example, his nemesis at the hotel keeps provoking him, getting him fired and challenging him to a fight, but it's not what it appears.

Other reviews have pointed out some pre-Code elements; here are a few more:

-The husband and wife actually sleep in the same bed.

-Robinson refers to his sexual prowess ("I've never disappointed you before").

Effective pre-Code fare

[coltrane679 · 9 July 2003]

Warning--this review contains SPOILERS!

It is hard to explain exactly why this handy little melodrama is obviously "pre-Code" in nature without giving away the ending, so if you'd rather not know, stop now.

Typically when we refer to films as "pre-Code" (1930-34), we usually mean they contain some "risqué" elements that were to be absent from American films until well after WWII. In this case, however, it's really the "moral of the story"--or lack thereof--that so defines it. Edward G. Robinson, captivating as always, plays an inveterate gambler who falls hard for a "good woman" and makes her his wife--and swears off the gambling she detests. He is only spottily successful in avoiding the lure of wagering, however--especially after he gets a job supervising a dog track in California! (As an aside, the initial dog racing sequence is very well done and quite dynamic, especially for the time).

In the end, after ups and downs, the gambler chooses a life of wagering (and a floozy female companion) over a respectable family life. At the end of the film, we see him rolling in dough, contented at the racetrack, and VERY contented with his "easy" female friend. A couple of years later this film would have had to end with him on skid row, or murdered, or the like, to drive home the "moral" that gambling--and deviating from "respectability" generally--would lead to an inevitable sad and/or short life. But here, in the pre-Code era, in the end the gambler appears happy as a lark with his life of gambling and "fun" female companionship (as opposed to his dour wife).

Beside Robinson, the cast is generally fine, with the now largely forgotten Genevieve Tobin looking a little like a bargain basement Norma Shearer as Robinson's wife, and the excellent Glenda Farrell as his hotsy-totsy girlfriend.

CLASSIC ACTORS MAKE THIS A GREAT CLASSIC FILM!!

[whpratt1 · 10/10 · 9 July 2003]

Always admired Edward G. Robinson in all his films, he has never given a poor performance and will be remembered for as long as people enjoy great acting talent. His role in this picture was completely out of character, where he played a compulsive gambler who fell in love with a greyhound DOG, named "Dark Hazard". He tired to marry a woman who really did not love him and gave him a hard time throughout the picture. Edward G's real love was Glenda Farrell, veteran screen actress who was suppose to be very sexy according to the 1934 years and was always there to help him out when his wife ran away to another town. I also noticed Sidney Toler(John Bright) in this film, he was the star of the "Charlie Chan" Movies of the 1940's and very popular. This film cannot in any way be critized nor the actors in this film, lets remember, Edward G. Robinson is a National Figure even in 2003, he is on OUR POSTAGE STAMP!

One of Robinson's finest!

[bernebner · 4 December 2003]

Dark Hazard is 80 minutes of sheer delight in this Edward G. Robinson '34 item directed by Alfred Green that I was totally unfamiliar with. Robinson gives a heart warming interpretation of a race track tout and gambler who falls for Genvieve Tobin, somewhat of a wasp with whom they have wedding bliss in California where he's hired to look after Sidney Toler's 1/3 interest in a dog track. His infatuation with gambling causes her to move back with her mother in (Ohio?); he follows her and patronizes the local dog track where he follows the horse Dark Hazard closely. After the horse is injured he buys it for $25 and nurses it back to health and wealth. He has left Tobin and goes back to his old flame, Glenda Farrell (at her intense best). Has all of Warner's fine snap crackle and pop ingredients of that era.

Man's best friend

[nickenchuggets · 8/10 · 9 July 2022]

In a previous review, I said how Edward G Robinson appeared in many films that hardly anyone has heard of, despite him being one of the icons of the gangster genre. A prime example of this is Dark Hazard, released in 1934. This film stars Robinson as Jim, a man addicted to gambling and whose addiction starts to destroy his relationship with his wife. Jim first wins a horse racing bet at a track he frequents and is awarded 20 grand. However, his luck starts to slip and Jim is forced to work at the same track he used to win so much cash at. Trying to be as frugal as possible with what money he has left, he moves into a house owned by a curmudgeonly old woman named Mrs. Mayhew, whose beautiful daughter, Marge (Genevieve Tobin), catches Jim's attention. Jim and her move to Chicago, but he forbids her from getting a job. Shortly after, a gangster named John (Sidney Toler) bullies Jim into alcohol dependency and gets him to start gambling again. This time, he's working at supervising dog races on the west coast. During his new line of work, Jim comes across a girl he used to know named Val (Glenda Farrell), and familiarizes himself with the dogs that are to be competing in the races. One of which, named Dark Hazard, moves like greased lightning. Jim wants to buy Dark Hazard for himself, but he's extremely expensive. Jim and Marge meet his owner and Jim loves the dog immediately, but his wife doesn't. She is immensely frustrated, having witnessed Jim promise her he was going to give up gambling, and now his habit is burning out of control. Jim starts to see Marge less and less, obsessed with going to the racetrack. Finally, Marge has had enough and takes all Jim's money except for a small amount, moves to Ohio, and files for divorce. After 2 years, Jim goes to ohio to see Marge and the son he's never seen. Marge tells Jim she's changed her mind and isn't divorcing him since she has a child now. However, she's been dating another person named Pres Barrow (George Meeker) who is very influential in this area. Even though many months have gone by, Jim's gambling past continues to haunt him. He visits a new racetrack and by some strange coincidence comes across Dark Hazard again. Unfortunately, the dog breaks his leg in a race and Jim is told he'll probably never run again. Doctors at the track decide to euthanize him, but Jim stops them and makes the decision to buy Dark Hazard. Jim takes the dog back to Marge's house, who doesn't want him (or Jim) in there anymore. Jim gets confrontational and says everything is Marge's fault because she's with Pres now. Pres shows up, and Jim punches him in the face. Jim leaves with Dark Hazard, decides to start seeing Val again, and manages to become a huge hit all over the world by training his dog to race again. Even though this movie has an obvious anti-gambling message because Robinson ends up losing his money, wife, and child, I feel like in just 1 short minute, the final moments of the movie undo all that. You would think that after all the pain gambling put Jim through, he would give it up, but the end of the movie shows that he's still continuing to make money in the dog racing business. Despite the film basically ruining its own moral in the last minute or so, I was still able to enjoy Dark Hazard, not only because Robinson was in it, but also because pre-code movies always manage to be unique in cinema history. You can never really praise Robinson's performances enough.