''The Drag Net'', also known as ''The Dragnet'', is a 1928 American silent crime drama produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

based on the story "Nightstick" by Oliver H.P. Garrett. It was directed by

Josef von Sternberg Josef von Sternberg (; born Jonas Sternberg; May 29, 1894 – December 22, 1969) was an American filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the Silent film, silent to the Sound film, sound era, during which he worked with mos ...

from an original screen story and starring

George Bancroft George Bancroft (October 3, 1800 – January 17, 1891) was an American historian, statesman and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician who was prominent in promoting secondary education both in his home state of Massachusetts ...

and

Evelyn Brent Evelyn Brent (born Mary Elizabeth Riggs; October 20, 1895 – June 4, 1975) was an American film and stage actress. Early life Brent was born in Tampa, Florida and known as "Betty." When she was 10 years old, her mother Eleanor ( Warner) die ...

. This feature is now considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

Plot

Film historian John Baxter provides a synopsis of it, a film "no longer known to exist in any archive":

Cast

as "Two-Gun" Nolan *

as "The Magpie" *

William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor, known primarily for his film career. Under contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the ''The Thin Man (film), Thin M ...

as "Dapper" Frank Trent *

Fred Kohler Fredrick Louis Kohler (April 20, 1888 – October 28, 1938) was an American actor. Career Fred Kohler was born in Kansas City, Missouri or in Dubuque, Iowa. As a teen, he began to pursue a career in vaudeville, but worked other jobs to suppor ...

as 'Gabby' Steve *

Francis McDonald Francis McDonald (August 22, 1891 – September 18, 1968) was an American actor whose career spanned 52 years. Early years Born on August 22, 1891, in Bowling Green, Kentucky, McDonald was the son of John Francis McDonald and Catherine Ashlu ...

as "Sniper" Dawson * Leslie Fenton as "Shakespeare"

Reception

On June 4, 1928,

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

panned the film: "Notwithstanding George Bancroft's derisive laugh, Evelyn Brent's striking plumed headgear and Josef von Sternberg's generous display of slaughter, ''The Drag Net'' is an emphatically mediocre effort." Critic John Baxter lists ''The Drag Net'' among a number of ternberg'sfilms which "failed commercially."

Critical response

Critic

Andrew Sarris Andrew Sarris (October 31, 1928 – June 20, 2012) was an American film critic. He was a leading proponent of the auteur theory of film criticism. Early life Sarris was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Greek immigrant parents, Themis (née Kat ...

concedes that "the plot does sound extremely contrived" but cautions that "plots...are no clue to the merits of Sternberg's films, and until his long-missing film materializes, we must suspend judgment on a work that bridges The Last Command and The Docks of New York." John Baxter considers ''The Drag Net'' to be "in most respects a sequel o Sternberg's film

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

, ndis perhaps not too great a loss, though it is unwise to write off any Sternberg film."Baxter, 1971. P. 53

References

Sources

* Baxter, John. 1971. ''The Cinema of Josef von Sternberg''. The International Film Guide Series. A.S Barners & Company, New York. *Sarris, Andrew. 1966. ''The Films of Josef von Sternberg''. Museum of Modern Art/Doubleday. New York, New York. *Sarris, Andrew. 1998. "You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet." The American Talking Film History & Memory, 1927–1949. Oxford University Press.

External links

*
lobby card ''The Drag Net''
1928 films American black-and-white films American silent feature films Famous Players-Lasky films Films directed by Josef von Sternberg Lost American crime drama films American gangster films 1928 crime drama films Films with screenplays by Herman J. Mankiewicz Films with screenplays by Jules Furthman 1920s police films 1928 lost films 1920s American films Silent American crime drama films {{silent-crime-drama-film-stub