The Racket (1928)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Lewis Milestone

Writers:

Bartlett Cormack (play)
Bartlett Cormack (adaptation)

Release Date:

1 November 1928 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir

Plot:

An honest police captain vows to bring down a powerful bootlegger who is protected by corrupt politicians and judges.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Politician | Bootlegger | Reporter | Election

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Thomas Meighan	...	Police Captain James McQuigg
Louis Wolheim	...	Nick Scarsi
Marie Prevost	...	Helen Hayes
G. Pat Collins	...	Patrolman Johnson (as Pat Collins)
Henry Sedley	...	Spike Corcoran
George E. Stone	...	Joe Scarsi (as George Stone)
Sam De Grasse	...	District Attorney Harry Welch (as Sam DeGrasse)
Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher	...	Reporter Miller (as Skeets Gallagher)
Lee Moran	...	Reporter Pratt
John Darrow	...	Cub Reporter Ames
Lucien Prival	...	Chick
Dan Wolheim	...	Sergeant Turck

Runtime:

84 min (2004 alternate version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating)

Company:

The Caddo Company

Trivia:

The play opened on Broadway in New York City, New York, USA on 22 November 1927 and closed in March 1928 after 119 performances. The opening night cast included Edward G. Robinson, Romaine Callender, G. Pat Collins (who is also in the movie), Norman Foster, Hugh O'Connell and Willard Robertson.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[McQuigg ducks into a doorway when one of Scari's henchmen shoots at but purposely misses him. Scarsi emerges from behind the door]
Nick Scarsi: Hello, Mac.
Police Captain James McQuigg: Hello, Nick.
Nick Scarsi: Take a tip, Mac... change your racket.
Police Captain James McQuigg: I like my racket... and I haven't shot yet.

Movie Connections:

Remade as The Racket (1951)

An Excellent Silent Crime Drama

I found this a very enjoyable early crime drama. Students of the genre will want to compare this to "Little Caesar" and/or "The Front Page". Transitions within scenes and from one scene to another flow better in "The Racket" than in many other silent films.

I agree with earlier comments about the new scoring. There is too much brass and too much forte.

The film itself is about 83 minutes long, much longer than we thought during the 76 years that it was out of circulation. The restoration job on the film is one of the best that I have seen, especially for a film as old as this one is. I hope it is released soon on DVD.