The Racketeer

Director: Howard Higgin Howard Higgin

Overview

This late-20s gangster movie features Carole Lombard as a young gal who agrees to marry a smooth-talking gangster in exchange for the mob man's pledge to arrange a big-time concert appearance for her violinist boyfriend. The only thing that can save the day for the mis-aligned lovers is a shootout between the cops and the gangland thugs. This film is notable because it is one of the early 'talkies," and uses the newly developing audio technology with abandon. In fact, most of the action takes place off screen and the characters tell the cameras just what's happened. This one's small on sets, big on dialog.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/24/2012
UPC:	0874757017792
Original Release:	1929
Source:	American Pop Classic
Language:	English
Time:	1:06:00
Sales rank:	61,266

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Robert Armstrong	Mahlon Keane
Carole Lombard	Rhoda Philbrooke
Roland Drew	Tony Vaughan
Jeanette Loff	Millie Chapman
John Loder	Jack Oakhurst
Paul Hurst	Mehaffy
Kit Guard	Gus
Al Hill	Squid
Hedda Hopper	Karen Lee
Winter Hall	Mr. Simpson
Winifred Harris	Mrs. Simpson
Bobby Dunn	The Rat
Budd Fine	Bernie Weber

Technical Credits

Ralph Block	Producer
Howard Higgin	Director

Editorial Reviews

The Racketeer is an early talkie, and it suffers quite a bit from that. In 1929, the coordination of sound and picture still required limited motion from the camera; so The Racketeer's impact is muffled quite a bit from its stodgy presentation. Essentially, the camera plops down in one place for an extended scene, which would be fine if the dialogue involved were lively or if the picture were a character study requiring a degree of intimacy. Unfortunately, The Racketeer is a gangster film, which demands considerably more action and motion than we get here. For its time, The Racketeer was probably an engaging story line, and it does have some interesting aspects. We've all seen gangsters with soft sides, but Robert Armstrong presents a truly likeable, gentle racketeer, and the cat-and-mouse game the police and gangsters play is amusing. Ultimately, though, there's very little done with the story, and the finale lacks the emotional impact it clearly was intended to have. Of the cast, Armstrong makes a good impression, although he's rarely given the opportunity to display the character's darker side. Carole Lombard is not as sure and secure in this performance as she would be in so many later ones, coming across as forced at times, but when she's "on," she's quite good. As the third corner of the triangle, Roland Drew is lifeless and boring, making one wonder why Lombard cares for him. All in all, The Racketeer is acceptable, but nothing special.