Tad Pole . . . is that there are tons and tons of movies and TV episodes with this title, and the 1939 MGM offering with Edward G. Robinson is NOT the one directed by "Fred Hitchcock" (as NORTH BY NORTHWEST actress Eva Marie Saint referred to "Hitch" during "THE OSCARS 2018"). Ms. Saint was NOT in Hitchcock's 1929 Blackmail, at which time she would have been extremely early in her career. I have a colleague who wrote an exceptionally cogent concise explication of THIS version of BLACKMAIL, from 1939, making full use of his many college degrees. I happened to be on hand to lend my street smarts to the exhausting proof-reading process through which all of my associate's musings are subjected. Trust me, the final product was so moving it probably made more than one angel weep. However, the bots running the show here put whatever High and Mighty criteria under which they operate ahead of the public good, denying you the wonderful insights offered therein. Since they never specify or give any clue or inkling as to what goes into their decision-making process (if any), I have not shared a single one of these cogent observations in this space (no one dares make the same mistake twice). However, our coast-to-coast network of film pundits with be distributing (at our great expense) individual printed copies of the original 1939 BLACKMAIL review at EVERY Major League Baseball park Opening Day, 2018, to all of the fans (that is, to each and every one) who has an interest in this film.

blanche-2 Edward G. Robinson here is a victim of "Blackmail," a 1939 film starring Robinson, Ruth Hussey, and Gene Lockhart.Ingram (Robinson, his wife (Hussey) and his son (Bobs Watson, known as the "Crybaby of Hollywood") live in Oklahoma, where Ingram fights oil fires He's considered one of the best. But he has a secret - nine years earlier, under another name, he was on a chain gang for something he didn't do, and he escaped.All is well until William Ramey (Lockhart), someone from his past, shows up and blackmails him, using the promise of getting Ingram cleared, since it was he who committed the crime. However, he double crosses Ingram, who ends up back on a chain gang. Ingram decides that this time, he will do his full sentence. Things happen to change his mind. Gritty drama with Robinson suffering as only he can. Like Bogart, he could be mean as dirt or a sympathetic character. Here he's tough, caring, and sympathetic. Ruth Hussey gives a lovely performance as his wife, and I admit that Bobs Watson was so pathetic when he cried that I cried. He became a Methodist minister but kept acting as well.Though the acting is effective, this is a routine drama. The actors keep you involved.

utgard14 Edward G. Robinson is rather implausibly cast as an oil-field firefighter named John Ingram who is even more implausibly married to beautiful Ruth Hussey. Turns out Eddie G. has a big secret in his past: he's a fugitive from a chain gang. Slimy Gene Lockhart shows up and tries to blackmail him. When that doesn't work, Lockhart cooks up a plan to steal Eddie's business and send him back to the chain gang.Excellent work by Gene Lockhart. I've seen him in lots of movies, usually playing very similar roles in a very similar manner. But here he's playing a hobo shakedown artist -- with an accent, no less! He gives the best performance in the film, though Eddie Robinson is solid, as usual. Ruth Hussey is lovely and plays the courageous wife well. Guinn Williams plays Robinson's annoying friend. Some nice footage of the oil firefighters. The chain gang parts are a little reminiscent of a certain classic Paul Muni film. Diminutive Robinson's escape scene is lots of fun to watch, though. Look at him go! An enjoyable movie that fans of Robinson will enjoy. It's not one of his best but it's good entertainment.

David Atfield This film starts with a bang - literally. It also ends with a bang. You see Edward G is an oil-fire fighter in Oklahoma - and he's doing really well. Great job (if a little dangerous), great house, great wife, great kid. Trouble is he is actually a fugitive from a chain gang - and his past is about to catch up with him. A shame it does really because the scenes of Eddy walking fearlessly into fire-balls are unforgettable. A story about the lives of oil-fire-fighters would have been a lot more interesting than the rather dull blackmail leading to a return to chain gang stuff. The chain gang scenes never live up to those of the masterpiece "I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang" - but I wouldn't be surprised if Hitler got a few ideas on his slave labor camps from this film. Were the chain gangs of the thirties really this brutal? If so there were a few "war criminals" in the Southern USA.Anyway the film drifts back to oil fires at the end - and the climax is really spectacular. It is enhanced by Ed's magnificent performance, and an unforgettable snivelling evil performance from Gene Lockhart. Both rise above the ordinary material. Also impressive is Guinn Williams, but the very talented Ruth Hussey is given little to do but look worried, and Bobs Watson is VILE as the cry-baby son. All in all good MGM entertainment, with some great sequences.