The Racket (1928) - Once was lost, now I have seen

Review No. : 0015

Title : The Racket

Year : 1928

Director : Lewis Milestone

Country : United States

World’s Verdict : IMDB – 6.9 out of 10.0.

My Verdict : 2.5 out of 5.0.

I am proud to say that I have watched all the nominated films for Outstanding Picture of the first Academy Awards.  I have wrapped it with The Racket (1928), a gangster film that probably set the tone for the next mob movies that followed it.  This film was considered a lost film until one copy was found in Howard Hughe’s collection after his death and I consider it a privilege that I had the chance to see it.

The Racket (1928) is about a police captain named McQuigg (Thomas Meighan) who clashes with a politically connected bootlegger, Nick Scarsi (Louis Wolheim).  Scarsi tries to get McQuigg out of his way by getting him transfer to another police precinct.   An opportunity to trap Scarsi comes up and McQuigg puts a complex plan to bring down the mobster.  He strategically uses the press, colleagues, friends and politicians to knock down Scarsi.

The Good

• A clear cut storyline – The movie was adapted from a 1927 Broadway play with the same title.  McQuigg and Scarsi have very clear goals, which is to knock out one another, and that makes the movie easy to follow.  Unlike other films in the early Hollywood era this film doesn’t hop from one storyline to another or from one genre to another, it sticks with one simple plot.
• Thomas Meighan’s natural acting – I didn’t give Meighan a high score in acting because I usually consider the difficulty of the role when I score someone’s performance.  But there is depth in Meighan’s and there is also believability in his performance that is sometimes clouded by the character’s over zealousness.  He acts in a natural way that you think of him as a modern actor but in the last act, when he orchestrates his plan, he rushes from room to room with excitement and that just abolishes some of his believability.

The Bad

• The set – The scenes are mostly shot in the lobby of the precinct where one police officer mans it and a couple of press waits there for a juicy news.  No criminals walking by, police officers waiting, people visiting and I believe the furniture there are two chairs and a table.  It is a set for a small theatrical play. It doesn’t look authentic and you feel claustrophobic for the actors.
• Stupid actions – For a powerful and successful bootlegger, Scarsi doesn’t think much.  He kills a cop and comes back to the crime scene immediately.  He rages at and blackmails his political partners when he knows he is on the losing end.  Those actions are just not well thought of.  Louis Wolheim makes a good rough mobster, though.

I’m happy to see a film that was once lost.  Would I watch it again?  For this instance a one-time privilege is enough.