''The Racket'' is a 1928 American silent

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Lewis Milestone Lewis Milestone (born Leib Milstein (Russian: Лейб Мильштейн); September 30, 1895 – September 25, 1980) was an American film director. Milestone directed '' Two Arabian Knights'' (1927) and '' All Quiet on the Western Front'' (1 ...

and starring

Thomas Meighan Thomas Meighan (April 9, 1879 – July 8, 1936) was an American actor of silent films and early talkies. He played several leading-man roles opposite popular actresses of the day, including Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson. At one point he made ...

Marie Prevost Marie Prevost (born Mary Bickford Dunn; November 8, 1896 – January 21, 1937) was a Canadian film actress. During her 20-year career, she made 121 silent and sound films. Prevost began her career during the silent film era. She was discove ...

Louis Wolheim Louis Robert Wolheim (March 28, 1880 – February 18, 1931) was an American actor, of both stage and screen, whose rough physical appearance relegated him to roles mostly of thugs, villains and occasionally a soldier with a heart of gold in ...

, and George E. Stone. The film was produced by

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was The World's Billionaires, one of the richest and most influential peo ...

, written by

Bartlett Cormack Edward Bartlett Cormack (March 19, 1898 – September 16, 1942) was an American actor, playwright, screenwriter, and producer best known for his 1927 Broadway play ''The Racket'', and for working with Howard Hughes and Cecil B. DeMille on sever ...

and Tom Miranda, and was 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 ...

.The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:''The Racket''
/ref> It was adapted from Cormack's 1927

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

play '' The Racket''.

Plot

Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, under the jurisdiction of the Chicago City Council. It is the second-largest Law enforcement in the United States#Local, ...

officer James "Mac" McQuigg tries to keep the peace in Chicago during the

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

gang wars but is hampered by massive

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

. After a shootout McQuigg manages to arrest mob boss Nick Scarsi's henchman Spike Corcoran, the political boss "The Old Man" arranges to have all charges dropped. After a birthday party for Nick Scarsi's younger brother Joe Scarsi ends in a shootout in which Nick Scarsi kills Corcoran, McQuigg arrests Nick Scarsi for murder but is forced to release him after being unable to find the murder weapon. Although McQuigg vows to bring down Nick Scarsi, he gets transferred to "the sticks" of the 28th precinct. After Joe Scarsi is arrested for a hit-and-run accident, McQuigg convinces his girlfriend Helen Hayes to implicate him. Nick Scarsi arrives and shoots the witness Patrolman Johnson, and McQuigg arrests him again for murder. When Nick Scarsi's attorney arrives with a writ of ''

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...

'' to free him, McQuigg rips it up and imprisons him as well. Hayes falls in love with cub reporter Dave Ames, and tricks Nick Scarsi into confessing to keep him from killing Ames. With Nick Scarsi implicated in a crime, "The Old Man" and District Attorney Welch's

political machine In the politics of representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a high degree of leadership c ...

turn on Nick Scarsi in order to remain in power at the upcoming municipal election. They trick him into attempting to escape and trying to shoot McQuigg with an empty gun before killing him themselves.

Cast

as Captain James McQuigg *

as Nick Scarsi *

Lucien Prival Lucien Prival (July 14, 1901 – June 3, 1994) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1926 and 1953. Born in New York City, Prival was the son of a German mother and a Russian father. From 1912-1919 he lived w ...

as Chick *

as Helen Hayes * G. Pat Collins as Patrolman Johnson (credited as Pat Collins) *

Henry Sedley Henry Sedley may refer to: * Henry Sedley (actor) * Henry Sedley (journalist) * Sir Henry Sedley, 3rd Baronet, of the Sedley baronets {{hndis, Sedley, Henry ...

as Spike Corcoran * George E. Stone as Joe Scarsi (credited as George Stone) *

Sam De Grasse Samuel Alfred De Grasse (June 12, 1875 – November 29, 1953) was a Canadian actor. He was the uncle of cinematographer Robert De Grasse. Biography Samuel Alfred De Grasse was born in Bathurst, New Brunswick to Lange De Grasse and Helene ( Com ...

as District Attorney Welch (credited as Sam DeGrasse) *

Richard "Skeets" Gallagher Richard "Skeets" Gallagher (July 28, 1891 – May 22, 1955) was an American actor. He had blue eyes and his naturally blond hair was tinged with gray from the age of 16. Biography Gallagher was born on July 28, 1891 in Terre Haute, Indiana ...

as Miller (credited as Skeets Gallagher) *

Lee Moran Lee Moran (June 23, 1888 – April 24, 1961) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. Moran was active in vaudeville before he began performing in films at Nestor Studios in 1909. He transcended the silent film era of motio ...

as Pratt *

John Darrow John Darrow (born Harry Simpson; 17 July 1907 – 24 February 1980) was an American actor of the late silent and early talking film eras. He is the uncle of actress Barbara Darrow. Biography Born in Leonia, New Jersey in 1907, Darrow began a ...

as Dave Ames – Cub Reporter

Background

Due to the controversial portrayal of a corrupt police force and

city government A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

, both the film and the play were banned at the time in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. The main antagonist Nick Scarsi was modeled after

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone ( ; ; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American organized crime, gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-foun ...

while "The Old Man" was modeled after Chicago Mayor William Hale "Big Bill" Thompson.

Reception

''The Racket'' is one of the films nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards (also known as Oscars) presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film a ...

(then called Outstanding Picture) in the 1929 Academy Awards. On

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film has an approval rating of 100 percent based on 6 critics, with an average rating of 7.50 out of 10. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote "A good story, plus good direction, plus a great cast and minus dumb supervision, is responsible for another great underworld film".

Preservation

Only one copy of the film was known to exist. It was long thought lost before being located in

' film collection after his death. ''The Racket'' was preserved by the

Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of mot ...

in 2016. It airs occasionally on

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

Remake

The Howard Hughes-owned RKO studios remade '' The Racket'' in 1951 with Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan in the lead roles.

References

External links

* *
allmovie.com
* *
Australian daybill long poster
{{DEFAULTSORT:Racket (1928 film), The 1928 films 1928 crime drama films 1920s American films 1920s English-language films 1920s rediscovered films American black-and-white films American crime drama films American gangster films American police detective films American silent feature films Films about corruption in the United States Films about organized crime in the United States Films about prohibition in the United States Films directed by Lewis Milestone Films produced by Howard Hughes Films set in Chicago Films with screenplays by Harry Behn Paramount Pictures films Rediscovered American films Silent American crime drama films Silent American mystery films Silent American thriller films Surviving American silent films English-language crime drama films