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'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.

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.

Bacon shows 1938 truck interiors, trucks crashing, hospital wards, crowds, produce markets and authentic Depression shock. Bogart is permitted a few scenes with his charisma on full throttle. Allen Jenkins takes over the star role in some scenes to great effect. This is not escapist entertainment. Brent is reduced to a miscast actor surviving his role and the war with domestic terrorism, a theme that remains relevant today. This is more of a newsreel of events than a deep exposition of character. The Warners' dramatization of the fight against organized crime presaged the mobilization against fascism in 1942.

A Manhattan racketeer moves in on the trucking business but one trucker stands up against the mob until he is forced into cooperating. A crusading District Attorney is determined to stop the racket but he needs the help of the trucker.

Lesser known gangster film which is watchable but not one of the decade's best. George Brent is the trucker and Walter Abel the District Attorney. Although Humphrey Bogart is top of the bill, his appearances are sporadic and his talent is wasted.

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.