Best Pictures #6: 1927-28 (1st) Academy Awards: Outstanding Picture Nominee, The Racket (1928)

by A.J.

1927-28 (1^st) Academy Awards Outstanding Picture Nominee

The Racket (1928)

The silent crime film The Racket was based on a popular Broadway play which starred Edward G Robinson as a mob boss. Robinson was subsequently brought to Hollywood by Warner Brothers to star in several of their gangster pictures, while the rights to the play were purchased by Howard Hughes. The film was produced for the Caddo Company and Paramount Famous-Lasky under the direction of Lewis Milestone, but without Robinson. The story centers upon honest policeman captain McQuigg and his clash with the powerful gangster Scarsi, who is protected by corrupt politicians. The implied setting of the film is Chicago, though the city is not named, and mob boss Nicholas Scarsi is a reference to real life Chicago gangster Al Capone, who was nicknamed “Scarface.” Both the play and film portray Chicago’s politicians as corrupt and police force as ineffective, as well as corrupt. The Racket was a hit with audiences and critics, but it was banned in Chicago (the play had also been banned by the city).

Though The Racket was a hit at the time, I think that this film stands out among all the nominees as being least worthy of a nomination – in either of the “best picture” categories. Straight away the movie has a conventional look and feel that lacks the artistic flair of the Unique and Artistic nominees, or even the other two Outstanding Picture nominees. There is one interesting visual effect in a scene set at a gangster’s funeral: as Scarsi looks at all of the other gangsters holding hats on their laps, the hats dissolve away to reveal that the men are all holding guns under their hats, ready to shoot. Aside from that moment, and a quick shot using silhouettes of police officers in the station, the cinematography is not noteworthy. In a film as dialogue and plot-heavy as this one, a degree of visual style is essential for keeping the viewer engaged.   

The film begins with Captain McQuigg and Scarsi not-so-casually meeting after McQuigg has been involved in a shooting. The two have obviously met before and they refer to each other by their nicknames: Mac (for McQuigg) and Nick (for Nicholas Scarsi). Scarsi makes a few gestures to try to charm McQuigg. He tells the policeman to stay clear of a street corner where Scarsi’s men plan to rob a rival gang and also invites McQuigg to his kid brother’s birthday party. We then see each man go to his office where it is clear each one is the boss of his respective racket. Scarsi’s office is in a brewery with bootleg barrels of alcohol. McQuigg’s office is, naturally, the police station. McQuigg later shows up to the street corner he was warned about where there is a shootout and he arrests one of Scarsi’s men. McQuigg eventually arrests Scarsi, but the gangster uses his political connections to get himself and his men freed from jail and to get McQuigg transferred.

As soon as there are reports of a shootout, the press arrive and they offer good comic relief. There is a humorous scene of reporters from rival newspapers sizing each other up, all of them trying to get the scoop on McQuigg’s sudden transfer. The reporters are all hoping for something to spark another fight between Scarsi and McQuigg, even if they have to start it themselves.

The Racket is a top-heavy film; the scenes on the streets and in night clubs, as well as the shootouts and car chases are all in the first half of the film. Once the arrests are made, McQuigg hatches a plan to put Scarsi away once and for all before his transfer, but the action and pace of the film go into low gear. The film begins to resemble a stage play with the plot advancing through dialogue, rather than action, and the characters are confined to a couple of different rooms making the film visually uninteresting. Throughout, the film uses mostly medium and wide shots, which sometimes makes it difficult to tell which characters are speaking, especially since the policemen all wear uniforms and the reporters and gangsters are dressed in similar-looking suits and hats. Since there are few to no close ups, it is difficult to distinguish the faces of minor characters. This is all very unfortunate since the story in the last half of the film depends so heavily upon the dialogue.

It was very difficult to find a copy of The Racket. For many years it was considered a lost film, but after Howard Hughes’s death the only existing print was found in his film collection along with another film he produced, Two Arabian Nights (also directed by Milestone in a more interesting style). It was restored by the film department of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and occasionally airs on TCM. The only copy I could track down is part of a DVD collection of early Best Picture nominees called Academy Collection: The Envelope Please Vol. 1. I could find no other legitimate sources for watching The Racket, aside from catching it on TCM whenever it happens to air. The picture quality is not very clean, but it is acceptable; however, there is a DVD distributor watermark in the lower left hand corner of the film, which, while unobtrusive, is still annoying.

I wonder what about this film struck a chord with audiences and critics of the time? Perhaps it was The Racket’s portrayal of the ubiquitous crime and corruption caused by Prohibition, which was then in effect. Because the story was inspired by news and events of the day, it probably felt unfortunately true-to-life and had an immediate resonance. It shows an honest man’s struggle against seemingly insurmountable corruption and how trying to change just one part of the system means taking on the whole machine. But it’s all in a day’s work for good policemen like McQuigg.

Nominee: The Caddo Company, Paramount Famous-Lasky

Producer: Howard Hughes

Director: Lewis Milestone

Screenplay: Bartlett Cormack, based on his stage play; scenario by Del Andrews

Cast: Thomas Meighan, Louis Wolheim, Marie Prevost

Release Date: November 1^st, 1928

Total Nominations: 1, including Outstanding Picture