Racket Busters

Though it might mean absolutely nothing to today's audience when you see the small mustached frame of Walter Abel who has been named a Special Prosecutor back in 1938 there was no doubt that Abel was a very thinly disguised portrayal of real life Special Prosecutor and newly elected District Attorney of New York County, Thomas E. Dewey.

Among the many rackets that Dewey did investigate and prosecute was an effort to organize truckers and get a stranglehold on the produce markets of New York City. This film is taken from some very true and recent headlines back in the day.

Warner Brothers loved Mr. Dewey and his prosecutorial exploits. A few years earlier Humphrey Bogart, the chief villain in this film, played a Dewey like prosecutor himself in Marked Woman which is based in part on how Dewey convicted Lucky Luciano via his stranglehold on houses of prostitution.

The hero in Racketbusters is George Brent, stepping into a role that James Cagney probably turned down. He's a truckdriver who resists organization either by an honest union or the racketeers. And he's got ideas from the street about the social standing of stool pigeons.

When things happen to his wife Gloria Dickson and his friend Oscar O'Shea, Brent himself becomes as big a racketbuster as Walter Abel.

Allen Jenkins is a surprise here. Usually a mug whether a good guy or a bad guy, Jenkins steps up to the plate here as a man who went from the truckdriving game to the produce business. He understands the point of view of both sides and urges them to settle and kick out Bogart and his henchmen. Good job by Jenkins.

No doubt in 1938 who this film was all about.

If you want to see this movie because Humphrey Bogart is the star, save your time. He gets top billing because of what he became after this movie. In this movie he is in it enough to barely be called a supporting actor. George Brent is the real star, so all Brent fans should watch this (if there are any). Here we have an oddity - our hero prevents the mob from taking over the trucking industry! Of course we know what really happened. Atypical gangster ending for this movie; the length of the jail sentence is also stated! The ending came so quickly that one thinks that is was hastily cobbled together. One positive note is that Allen Jenkins actually plays a good guy for a change.

Racket Busters (1938)

** (out of 4)

Tired crime flick from Warner has Humphrey Bogart playing a racketeer who decides to form a truckers union so that he can take over all the store, drivers and the produce. If people don't go along with this they end up beaten but one man (George Brent) decides to stand up to them. I've always been a fan of Warner's various "B" pictures but this one here left me disappointed for many reasons. For starters, the screenplay really doesn't offer up anything that original as we've seen this story countless times before. Some might say that all of these pictures had the same story and that's true to an extent but I think most took that basic structure and tried to do things their own way. That really doesn't happen here because there isn't a single second in the film where you feel anything for the stuff that's going on. Some of this problem should fall on the shoulders of Bacon who seems to be sleep walking in his director's chair. He usually manages this type of material quite well but perhaps he too found the story boring. Another problem is the D.A. who is extremely boring and his character just doesn't have enough fire behind him to make anyone interested in anything he has to say. Even the performances are rather disappointing as Bogart doesn't do too much and doesn't have half the energy he usually delivers in this type of role. It was somewhat fun seeing Brent in this type of picture but the screenplay doesn't do him any justice either. The normally reliable Allen Jenkins is here playing the comic sidekick but even he can't deliver any laughs. The movie is mildly entertaining if you're a fan of this genre but I think most people are going to sit here and just know that there are much better movies out there and this here is strictly by the numbers.

'Racket Buster" plays like a Public Service announcement, or like a "Crime Does Not Pay" short which were popular in the 30's and 40's. Not much time wasted, as the film gets right to the point; racketeering throughout the city which the DA (Walter Abel) tries hard to stop. The head of the rackets is Humphrey Bogart and the hero is George Brent along with his pal, Allen Jenkins.

There is no time for subtlety or nuance here (at 71 mins.) and the characters are painted with broad strokes and many plot points are telegraphed. Nevertheless, the picture is well done all around and is better and more entertaining than the websites rating would suggest. Probably a 'B' picture in its' time but plays almost like an 'A'.

7/10 - Website no longer prints my star rating.

Most gangster movies I've seen focus on the bad guy (Cagney/Robinson) or perhaps on the cop or D.A. trying to bust the gangs.

This movie, however, focuses on the people who are affected by the racketeers: the truckers who were forced into a crooked association run by Bogart. We see how the truckers, their families and businesses, are hurt by the protection rackets and bullying gangsters (who always wear nice hats and suits).

The producers are careful not to make this an anti-union movie, even though the plot is about gang incursions into unions. It's really a propaganda film, trying to convince union members and other working men to stand up and testify against gang pressures. The acting is OK, and there's plenty of action (explosions, car wrecks, fist fights) to keep you interested.

My favorite scenes involve gangsters using axes and creosote to destroy big crates of vegetables. Not quite your standard gangster fare!