The Racket

The Racket (1928)

Runtime: 84 minutes

Directed by: Lewis Milestone

Starring: Thomas Meighan, Louis Wolheim, Marie Prevost, G. Pat Collins, George E. Stone

From: Paramount

This is a random silent film I saw last night on TCM, and thankfully it was worth seeing, even if I wouldn't rate it as “great”. I say a few words about it below: 

It's been awhile since I've watched a silent film so I decided I should take advantage of TCM showing some films of Louis Wolheim, who is best known for playing Kat in All Quiet on the Western Front. Here, he played the mobster villain. This is like a precursor to the gangster movies of the early 1930's; it's not as great as them but this is still entertaining. And yes, it was remade into a 1951 film starring Robert Mitchum.

The story is basic: an idealistic cop (Thomas Meighan) wishes to take out the bootlegging gangster villain Scarsi, but Scarsi has paid off the prosecutor and various cops, so the task is pretty difficult and he has to find other ways to get the task done. There are the expected shootouts but for a silent, it's rather wordy. I mean, the title cards have plenty of dialogue. I guess that shouldn't be a surprise considering this was the dying days of the silent before “the talkies” fully took over.

This film was feared lost for decades, a sad fate that many silent movies have faced. However, Howard Hughes was the producer and after his death, it was discovered that he had the only print hidden in his vault; that is a very Howard Hughes thing to do. It was restored and I am glad this was saved, as like I said I was entertained.