The Racket is a story of the police and
political corruption in Chicago, a symbolic struggle between good and evil
(with evil being rather dominant and predominant throughout the film). It’s a
significant predecessor to such classic gangster films as Little Caesar and Scarface,
but it was considered a lost film for much of the 20th Century until
a single print was found among the film collection of its producer, eccentric
billionaire Howard Hughes, after his death. Tracking down the film for viewing can
be difficult; it’s really only available every year or so on Turner Classic
Movies.
The movie primarily focuses upon the interaction between
two men representing opposite sides of the law: mobster Nick Scarsi (played by
Louis Wolheim, who certainly looks the part of a gangster with his broken nose)
and good cop Capt. James McQuigg (a solid if uninspiring Thomas Meighan). Scarsi
wants to take control of the city by eliminating his rival gang bosses and
attempting to influence upcoming city elections. He already has a measure of
control over the district attorney, who manages to get him released from
custody numerous times. It even appears that he also has some clout, perhaps
through the D.A. and judges, over the police force.
There is at least one good cop, of course, and he sets
out to clear the town of its mob influence. McQuigg has a difficult time of it,
though, particularly after he gets transferred to a new smaller precinct thanks
to some behind-the-scenes politics. Scarsi repeatedly tries to influence
McQuigg, but he’s always unsuccessful. McQuigg cannot, apparently, be
corrupted. He also can’t seem to keep Scarsi in custody even though he knows
the mobster has personally killed several people. It's only after the brother
of the mob boss hits a pedestrian while trying to woo a nightclub singer named
Helen Hayes (but not played by the actress of the same name) that he gets his
best chance. Capt. McQuigg jails the brother, the nightclub singer, almost
anyone he can put behind bars in order to draw out the mob and Scarsi.
Even the newspaper reporters who cover the crime beat
seem to be corrupt in their own way. They make up most of the details for their
stories; it takes very, very little information to send them to the phone to
call the news desk with a story. One of them is drunk and sleepy all the time,
and another tells a source not to give him too much after the shooting of a
mobster in the police captain’s office. Only John Darrow’s naïve cub reporter
Dave Ames appears to be professional until, that is, he starts to fall for the
nightclub singer. The press here seems far more interested in stirring up
trouble than in reporting it. Their depiction here is not a glowing testament
to the fourth estate, but hardly any profession, including law enforcement,
escapes the film without some measure of criticism.
This film lost to Wings the first year of
the Academy Awards, and it's not really that tough to see why. The story is rather
pedestrian and may have been a bit clichéd even in the late 1920s. The acting
is good, but most of the cast doesn’t stand out as being particularly adept at
screen acting. The exception is Marie Prevost as the quintessential tough dame.
She’s quite energetic as Helen Hayes, flirting shamelessly with Scarsi’s
younger brother in front of the mob boss and later with the baby-faced Ames,
who seems to be unaware that she’s quite the gold-digger (and is rather upfront
about it, too). The rest of the cast does a good job overall, but they aren’t
asked to stretch their talents much beyond rather mannered portrayals.
Two scenes do stand out as being especially noteworthy.
One is set at the nightclub (well, speakeasy might be a more accurate
descriptor) during a birthday party for Scarsi’s kid brother Joe (George
Stone). It's a nicely choreographed sequence involving rival gangsters and cops
and the attentions of Miss Hayes. She even rides a piano to the Scarsis’ table
at one point in order to get everyone’s focus to be on her. There’s a shootout
at the party, too, following a series of rival gangsters slowly surrounding
Scarsi’s mob by scaring away other patrons, only to have plainclothes officers then
slowly surround them. The sequence occurs early in the film and nicely sets up
some of the key tensions for the remainder of the plot.
The other highlight is at a funeral for Spike Corcoran,
the rival mob boss who's been killed during the party at the speakeasy. You get
to see (through some clever visual effects) just how likely gunfire might be
during the service, as handguns become visible underneath the bowler hats
sitting in the laps of the gangsters in attendance. Otherwise, the film does
not feature much innovation in terms of its camerawork, so the effect here is
quite charming given how unusual it is in the context of the rest of the film.
A calliope later interrupts the service, interjecting another note of humor
into rather somber proceedings.
The Racket is a fast-paced movie, clocking
in at just a bit more than 80 minutes long, and the action sometimes happens very
quickly. The first five minutes of the film involve attempts by a couple of
gangsters to shoot Capt. McQuigg in order to scare him away from his goal of
stopping Scarsi’s mob, and there’s even a big shootout between rival gangs
within the first fifteen minutes of the movie. There are rumors that the
original version of the film was longer, but what remains is quite enjoyable.
Thankfully, it has been saved and restored through the efforts of Turner
Classic Movies and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. It's good to know that
there are still people trying to preserve silent films.
Oscar Nomination:
Outstanding Picture
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