The Racket (1928)

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

Director:

Lewis Milestone

Writers:

Bartlett Cormack (from the stage success of), Bartlett Cormack (adaptation),

Stars:

Thomas Meighan, Louis Wolheim, Marie Prevost

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Thomas Meighan	...	Captain McQuigg
Louis Wolheim	...	Nick Scarsi
Marie Prevost	...	Helen Hayes
G. Pat Collins	...	Johnson (as Pat Collins)
Henry Sedley	...	Spike
George E. Stone	...	Joe Scarsi (as George Stone)
Sam De Grasse	...	Welch (as Sam DeGrasse)
Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher	...	Miller (as Skeets Gallagher)
Lee Moran	...	Pratt
John Darrow	...	Ames
Lucien Prival	...	Chick
Dan Wolheim	...	Sergeant Turck

Storyline

An honest police captain named McQuigg becomes a tough rival to a powerful bootlegger named Scarsi, even though McQuigg's pinches never stick because Scarsi and his organization control the corrupt politicians and judges. When Scarsi can't scare McQuigg off, he gets him transferred to a quiet police precinct in the suburbs, but McQuigg continues their war of words via a pair of wisecracking newspaper reporters. Then McQuigg catches a huge break when Scarsi's younger brother gets picked up for a hit and run accident in his precinct, putting in motion a complex plan to bring down the mobster using the reporters, a nightclub singing gold digger, the upcoming elections and Scari's own organization.

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Plot Keywords:

police | reporter | bootlegger | politician | election | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 November 1928 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Lei dos Fortes

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Caddo Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min 84 min (2004 alternate)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Only one copy of the film is known to have survived. It was long thought lost before being located in Howard Hughes' film collection after his death. The film was restored and preserved by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas film department. The restored copy is frequently shown on Turner Classic Movies in the United States.

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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.

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Connections

Remade as The Racket (1951)

User Reviews

Great directing of a very good cast

Lewis Milestone performed one of his best directing jobs with "The Racket." He had a superior cast in what, in a later talkie, might be just a mediocre script, but taken in context, "The Racket" is a great movie. Watch the byplay during the funeral, for example.

Milestone and his editors and special effects people create some excellent visual effects to complement a cast that charms even in the role of slimy bad guy. Minor characters still got their chances to shine in the spotlight and even the non-speaking -- well, of course all the characters were non-speaking in one sense -- the un-named characters whose job was to look menacing or even just interested in the goings-on, all stood out.

Frankly this film was a surprise to me -- not that it was so good, but that I had had no knowledge of it beforehand.

To come so early in the career of so many of the people connected with it, notably Howard Hughes, who had the (to me) strange title of "presenter," this film is a stand-out. Robert Israel, who wrote the music for this revival, is fast becoming one of the great composers of the modern era.

All the people who are responsible for this film's recent revival deserve the thanks of film lovers as well as film historians. "The Racket" is one to see again.