The Racket (1928)
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The Racket Movie Review
The Racket is a 1928 silent crime film directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Thomas Meighan. It is a pretty good early crime flick.
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“I’d like a little sleep…
But by the time I get through with the Coroner
and the rest of the public servants,
it’ll be time to go to Mass“
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I actually really liked this story of an honest policeman who tries to take down the corrupt criminal underworld. There is a lot to love here from its portrayal of a fun, charismatic protagonist instead of a boring one to its realistic portrayal of the 20s crime scene and corruption to that awesome ending.
Yes, the ending is the highlight. Our protagonist manages to catch the crime boss, but he realizes that that’s just the beginning and a lot of further investigation and hard work only awaits him. That honest conclusion instead of an Americanized happy ending shows us how there will always be a crime to solve and darkness in the society and that people responsible to get rid of the crime will never have an easy sleep. It is a hard, but necessary truth, and I admired the movie a lot for not shying away from it.
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I also really liked the characters here. The film has way too many characters in my opinion and thus some are left underdeveloped and rushed in realization, but the ones that work do work really well. The major one is of course Captain James McQuigg who is a highly memorable, interesting protagonist so well played by charming, highly charismatic Thomas Meighan.
But I also really liked the film’s villain Nick Scarsi so well played by Louis Wolheim as well as competent, badass Marie Prevost well acted by very charming and memorable Helen Hayes. Certainly the film features three terrific performances by these three very talented performers.
The Racket is also phenomenally made across the board. Certainly the short runtime bothered me as the film is way too short clocking in at around 85 minutes. Thus it felt rushed in pace and underutilized throughout. But the direction from Lewis Milestone is very strong and the film is gorgeously shot with some highly memorable, artistic imagery at display such as the men with guns scene. The entire movie is incredibly cinematic and admirably polished that it truly is a pleasant viewing experience all these decades later.
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The Racket was actually one of the first Best Picture nominees and it rightfully lost the award to ‘Wings’. But still, it entirely deserved its nomination and is unfortunately such a little scene, underrated film that every film lover and silent movie enthusiast should eventually check out. I do wonder why it is so little known and respected today because in terms of the gangster/crime genre, it is highly influential and just in that regard, it should be respected much, much more.
The Racket is one very underrated, unfortunately little seen early crime flick and Oscar nominee which was very influential for its genre and very well made across the board with an excellent cinematic feel to it, artistic cinematography and three terrific main performances. It is rushed and short in runtime, but filled with memorable characters, a good story and a particularly effective, honest and realistic ending.
