What’s shaking gals and pals? Welcome back to another installment of ILTBTA, where we watched one of the first ever Best Picture nominees, The Racket. Travel back to a time where corrupt police officers worked with organized crime bosses and alcohol was nowhere but also everywhere. Wait, that’s still true today? Well … never mind, go grab some illicit booze and your reading glasses for those pesky title cards, we’ve got a silent movie to watch!
Previews
What, if anything, did we know about this coming attraction before we watched it?
Ellen: I will level with you here, Dear Reader: this is one of three films nominated for “Outstanding Picture” nearly 100 years ago, and it didn’t even win. Of course I haven’t heard of it. Although based on the IMDb plot synopsis and the high quality of the film this one lost to (Wings, which we covered in our second ILTBTA post), I am expecting The Departed but silent.
Tyler: All I know about this movie is that it lost to Wings at the first ever Academy Awards. Beyond that, it could be about anything from an inspirational tennis player to a parent yelling about their child’s music. Let’s find out!
Plots & Feelings
This one’s pretty self-explanatory.
Short Version (courtesy of IMDb): An honest police captain vows to bring down a powerful bootlegger who is protected by corrupt politicians and judges.
Long Version (modified from Wikipedia and formatted to fit your screen):
We open on a foggy Chicago street, foggy with dirty dealings and a max quality of 360p on YouTube. Shady characters roam the streets and lurk in upper windows when BANG! (we presume): a shop window is shot out just inches from where Captain James “Mac” McQuigg is walking. He ducks into a doorway for cover and is met by the smirking mug of mob boss Nick Scarsi, who tells the cop he should change his racket1. McQuigg will do no such thing, and heads to the police station to suit up and prepare for the night.
A certificate informs us that Nick Scarsi is a member of the Anti-Liquor League of America, so naturally he’s shipping beer all over town. Tonight specifically, he’s moving into rival Spike Corcoran’s territory. Somehow this is common knowledge, because Capt. McQuigg gets wind and is on his way out when he meets Scarsi in yet another doorway. The mobster invites James to his kid brother Joe’s birthday party that night. James takes a quick pitstop to 8th and Grand, where a bloody shootout is taking place between gangs, and he manages to arrest Nick’s right hand man Chick. Nick is too busy putting on a tux for the party to be too bothered by arrests and beer barrels in the streets, opting instead to give his brother a pinky ring, declare women “poison,” and just call in a favor to “The Old Man.”
Tyler: We must note here that Nick’s younger brother sports the most heinous mustache this side of the Atlantic.
Ellen: It’s possibly the greatest crime in this whole film.
McQuigg is jazzed about the victory and decides to go to the party. It’s absolutely dead upstairs, meaning the speakeasy below is lit, complete with big band and dancers. The police captain has a placecard at the table and everything, next to none other than Chick! McQuigg is about to gloat that his seatmate is in jail when the very man walks up behind him, having been sprung by a corrupt political machine. The establishment’s singer Helen is wheeled over on a mini piano to woo the birthday boy, but Scarsi is having none of it and shoves the “gold digger” away. She immediately plots her revenge, which is to say that she winks at Joe enough that he comes to dance with her. Meanwhile, Spike and his spooks descend into the speakeasy and slowly fill up the tables surrounding the Scarsi party. The two bosses stare each other down until Nick simply shoots him from under the table! McQuigg takes him in, thinking he’s got Scarsi this time, only to find a writ of habeas corpus awaiting them at the station. The two men angrily threaten to drive each other out of town!
Tyler: Other than for plot purposes, why in the world does McQuigg go to this (presumably illegal) speakeasy party? And what the heck are Spike and his goons doing there? Did Scarsi invite all of his enemies to his brother’s party? So many questions!
Ellen: In Spike’s case, I think he just got wind of where Scarsi was because there are apparently no secrets in this town. As for McQuigg, who the heck can say, because he even drinks with them!
A newspaper headline informs us that it’s now Nick: 2, Justice: 0, as Captain James McQuigg has been transferred to the 28th Precinct out in the sticks. The area’s sleepy streets and even sleepier officers have James in a foul mood. Two reporters loiter in the lobby, hoping for the story of his transfer. McQuigg is not having it, even less so once they trick a cub reporter named Dave Ames to try and ask again. They eventually goad the Captain into responding, saying he’s out here because Nick is afraid of him. Through a game of telephone involving the reporters and Spike’s funeral, we learn Scarsi is only holding off taking care of McQuigg until after Tuesday’s election. Joe Scarsi is meanwhile out for a country drive with his girl Helen, but she’s very quickly not his girl anymore for refusing to put out. He speeds away, running down an old woman, and is taken into McQuigg’s station for the hit-and-run! That’ll get the elder Scarsi’s attention.
Ellen: At the funeral, Nick has some kind of x-ray vision that allows him to see everyone aiming guns at each other from under their hats. I suppose this is to show us what a streetwise guy he is, but I think the editors were just excited about a new trick they learned!
Tyler: Perhaps it’s because of my low expectations for camera tricks in the 20s, but I actually quite enjoyed this effect.
Helen and the young Dave Ames hit it off when she comes to the station for unknown Plot Reasons, because she refuses to testify against Joe. Everyone involved is encouraged to lay low before Nick gets wind of it, but again: there are no secrets here, and he comes down in a huff. He shoots the Patrolman who took Joe in over an insult and decks Ames in the face on his way out. McQuigg arrests Nick yet again, and yet again Mr. Habeas Corpus arrives, but this time James tears the writ in half2. The other political members of Nick’s Organization arrive to try to spring him, since there’s no weapon and no evidence. HOWMEVER, Helen changes her mind and proves women are poison3 by tricking Nick into confessing. Seeing how the Organization immediately turns on him, Scarsi decides he’s going to blow the whistle on the whole thing. The political goons don’t like that, and orchestrate it so that Nick’s gun is empty when he tries to shoot McQuigg to escape, and thus they’re justified in shooting the mob man themselves. The political corruption churns onward, and Captain James McQuigg looks exhausted.
Intermission
Even though ILTBTA is free, please indulge us further and enjoy this quick “advertisement.”
This installment of ILTBTA is brought to you by … your local chapter of The Anti-Liquor League!
Are you tired of Nick Scarsi’s alcohol-based corruption? Or are you profiting from that very Prohibition-based corruption? Either way, The Anti-Liquor League works for you!
Did you know that about 28 people die every day in car accidents that involve a driver under the influence of alcohol? Or that 15% of robberies, 37% of sexual assaults, and 40% of homicides have been linked to alcohol use? Alcohol can also have numerous adverse health effects, tear apart families, and lead your children to take *very* embarrassing pictures at parties in college, potentially ruining their future in politics.
As the shadow-inventors of O’Doul’s and Dry January, we at TALL strive to reduce the stranglehold that alcohol has on our modern society by holding rallies, writing our representatives, and trolling your aunt’s Facebook posts about “mommy juice.” If you’d like to support our mission, contact us at 1-800-NOBOOZE.
The Anti-Liquor League: when you booze you might snooze but you also lose and miss social cues!
Note: While we at ILTBTA do not explicitly endorse a modern-day Prohibition on alcohol, we do ask that you please enjoy responsibly.
Wiki-Wiki-Whaaat?
Love a good Wikipedia rabbit hole in search of some fun facts? Us too.
The Racket’s Wikipedia page has some interesting facts and anecdotes that we recommend you read through, but here are a few of our favorites:
The Racket is based on a 1927 Broadway play of the same name. John Cromwell starred as Captain McQuigg, and also directed the 1951 film noir remake.
Thomas Meighan, who played McQuigg in the film, was born into a well-off family in Pittsburgh in 1879. Despite his parents’ urging to go to college, Thomas refused. Thomas’ father responded by sending him to work shoveling coal, which quickly changed young Thomas’ mind.
Tyler: Thank you Dad for never doing this to me.
Meighan was such a star during the Roaring Twenties, that at one point he commanded $10,000 per week, which is about $160,000 today!
Unsurprisingly, the character Nick Scarsi was modeled after notorious organized crime lord Al Capone. “The Old Man” is based on Chicago Mayor William Hale “Big Bill” Thompson, who is (somehow) the most recent Republican to be mayor of Chicago.
Also unsurprisingly, the powers that be in Chicago at the time of the film’s release weren’t exactly fans of the portrayal of the police force and city government. The film and the play were both banned in Chicago upon their releases. Buncha snowflakes!
The Racket was directed by Lewis Milestone, who also directed such notable films as Two Arabian Knights, The Front Page, Ocean’s 11, and our next Honorable Mention …
Honorable Mentions
What other movies should you be watching?
All Quiet on the Western Front is a 1930 film that vividly depicts the horrors of war and its effects on those who fight in them. Set during World War I, the film follows a group of German young men as they transition from eager warfighters to disillusioned and battle-scarred veterans. AQOTWF won for both Outstanding Production (a precursor to Best Picture) and Best Director at the 1929-1930 Academy Awards, and was eighth in the American Film Institute’s ranking of “epic” films.
And in the words of one of your ILTBTA authors, All Quiet is “a real accomplishment, especially for the time, and very effective: I’m sad.” If you’re still interested (or just don’t want to take our word for it), All Quiet on the Western Front is available to stream for free from this random website and for $3.99 on Google Play, Amazon Prime Video, and Vudu.
Fill In The Blank
How did we really feel about The Academy nominating this?
Ellen: I’d like to tell The Academy that they’re on the right track, but maybe need to change their racket. The story of an honest man taking on the Political Criminal Industrial Complex is generally going to be compelling, though I was disheartened by how cynical the ending was. While I also often now applaud movies that aren’t overly long, I actually think that The Racket could have done with a bit more connective tissue for character and plot development. Arguments about it being a different time or style of filmmaking fall a little short when I think about how emotionally invested I was in Wings. Overall, I’m sure it was a heavy influence on future gangster films, and I’m glad it exists, if nothing else!
Tyler: I’d like to compliment the Academy for nominating The Racket and also doing the right thing by giving Wings the top prize instead. I try to take historical context into consideration for my opinions, and given the subject matter of institutional corruption, this was a bold movie to make (let alone nominate for a major award). That being said, I agree that it lacked some polish in character development and pacing. I like that it didn’t waste much time jumping right into the action, but it seems to stall out shortly thereafter, making its comparatively quick 82 minute runtime somehow feel much longer. Maybe that’s just my modern attention span speaking, though, who’s to say.
Let The Credits Roll
Thanks for reading! Some quick housekeeping as you exit the theatre:
If you have plots and feelings of your own (on the movie or ILTBTA in general), feel free to comment on the post or simply reply to the email. If you liked reading this: tell your friends! If you hated reading this: tell your friends how much you hated it by forwarding it to them!
If you’re a weirdo like Tyler and use Twitter, feel free to follow us there @BlankTheAcademy for ILTBTA updates, rejected jokes, and other random movie-related musings. Once we reach a million followers, we’ll offer to purchase the @ILTBTA handle from the butthead who snagged it before us.
If you’d like to start a wild Best Picture journey of your own, feel free to download a copy of The Spreadsheet. Bonus: checking off the boxes is oddly satisfying.
For pizza’s sake, GET YOUR COVID VACCINE AND BOOSTER! Wear a mask. Get tested. Don’t be an idiot.
Post-Credits Scene
Get a sneak peek at the next ILTBTA installment.
Brace yourself for some release date whiplash, Dear Readers, because for our next installment we’re going back to the 2000s with Michael Clayton. Starring George Clooney and some other people who aren’t George Clooney, this 2007 legal thriller is available for free with a Netflix subscription (assuming you still have one), as well as all the other streaming services for a fee.
Until then, never trust a phony certificate!
This might be a record for how quickly the title of a movie is invoked!
A police officer ripping up a writ and saying “I’m sick of the law!” is, uh, quite the image. And still relevant!
Sounds like my ex-wife!