''The Racketeer'' is a 1929 American

Pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

. Directed by

Howard Higgin Howard Higgin (February 15, 1891 - December 16, 1938) was an American writer and director of motion pictures in the 1920s and 1930s. Biography After graduating from the Pratt Institute, Higgin began working at the architectural firm McKim, Mea ...

, the film is also known as ''Love's Conquest'' in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It tells the tale of some members of the criminal class in 1920s America, and in particular one man and one woman's attempts to help him. Gossip columnist

Hedda Hopper Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry; May 2, 1885February 1, 1966) was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, her readership was 35 million. A strong supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committ ...

appears in a minor role. The film is one of the early talkies, and as a result, dialogue is very sparse.

Plot

A busker playing a violin is harassed by a group of street punks until Police Officer Mehaffy (

Paul Hurst Paul Michael Hurst (born 25 September 1974) is an English football manager and former player who is the manager of club Grimsby Town. As a player, he was a defender from 1993 to 2008, notably playing his entire career at Rotherham United, b ...

) chases them away. The intoxicated violinist passes out. When Mehaffy is about to arrest him for

vagrancy Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...

the powerful Mahlon Keane ( Robert Armstrong) places $50 in the violinist's pocket and has the officer place him in the next taxi where Keane will pay for a night's accommodation at the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

for him to sleep it off. The nearest taxi contains socialite Rhoda Philbrooke ( Carole Lombard) who knows the violinist as her lover Tony Vaughan ( Roland Drew); she takes him in her taxi. Mahlon and Rhoda meet again at a fundraiser for an orphanage, with Mahlon acting as the banker at the poker table. Mahlon views Rhoda cheating at cards and covers up her indiscretion with some sleight of hand. The pair fall in love with Mahlon providing Tony's

alcohol detoxification Alcohol detoxification (also known as ''detox'') is the abrupt cessation of alcohol intake in individuals that have alcohol dependence. This process is often coupled with substitution of drugs that have effects similar to the effects of alcohol i ...

that returns him to his career as a concert violinist. Mahlon is regarded as an important person between the forces of law and criminality. When criminal Bernie Weber (

Budd Fine Budd Nathan Fine (September 10, 1894 – February 9, 1966) was an American character actor of the silent and sound film eras. Born Budd Nathan Fine on September 10, 1894, in Hartford Connecticut, Fine served in the US Army during World War I, ...

) disobeys Mahlon by carrying out a crime, the wheels are set in motion for a gang war.

Cast

* Robert Armstrong as Mahlon Keane * Carole Lombard as Rhoda Philbrooke * Roland Drew as Tony Vaughan *

as Mehaffy, a Policeman *

Kit Guard Kit Guard (born Christen Klitgaard May 5, 1894 - July 18, 1961) was a Danish-American actor whose career started in the 1920s. Guard left his birthplace of Hals, Denmark, around the turn of the 20th century, one of five brothers to do so. He m ...

as Gus * Al Hill as Squid *

Bobby Dunn Robert P. Dunn (August 28, 1890 – March 24, 1937) was a comic actor who was one of the original Keystone Kops in '' Hoffmeyer's Legacy''. Early years Dunn was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Richard P. and Melissa Dunn, and attended S ...

as The Rat *

as Bernie Weber *

as Mrs. Karen Lee *

Jeanette Loff Jeanette Loff (born Janette Clarinda Lov; October 9, 1906 – August 4, 1942) was an American actress, musician, and singer who came to prominence for her appearances in several Pathé Exchange and Universal Pictures films in the 1920s. Born ...

as Millie Chapman * John Loder as Jack Oakhurst *

Winter Hall Winter Hall (21 June 1872 – 10 February 1947) was a New Zealand actor of the silent era who later appeared in sound films. He performed in more than 120 films between 1916 and 1938. Prior to that, he had a career as a stage actor in Austr ...

as Mr. Sam Chapman *

Winifred Harris Winifred Vera Emily Harris (17 March 1880 – 18 April 1972) was a British actress with a substantial career in America. She appeared in New York plays beginning in 1914 and acted in numerous plays up to 1934. She left Broadway plays for films tho ...

as Mrs. Margaret Chapman *

Robert Parrish Robert R. Parrish (January 4, 1916December 4, 1995) was an American film director, screenwriter, editor and former child actor. He received an Academy Award for Best Film Editing for his contribution to '' Body and Soul'' (1947). Life and caree ...

as Street Urchin (uncredited) *

Phillips Smalley Wendell Phillips Smalley (August 7, 1865 – May 2, 1939) was an American silent film director and actor. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, he was the grandson of Wendell Phillips; he was the son of George Washburn Smalley, a war corres ...

as Roulette Player (uncredited)

Reception

''The Racketeer'' was banned by the

British Board of Film Censors The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organization, non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national clas ...

in 1929,Progressive Silent Film List: ''The Racketeer''
at silentera.com but the 61 minute film ''Love's Conquest'' was passed in 1930.British Board of Film Classification record for ''Love's Conquest''
reviewed January 9, 2018

References

External links

* * * 1929 films 1929 crime drama films American black-and-white films American crime drama films Films directed by Howard Higgin Pathé Exchange films 1920s English-language films 1920s American films {{crime-drama-film-stub