Only Howard Hughes could have pulled off something as subversive as the racket. It contains (as far as I can tell) the first reference of cocaine use in any American film. The casting is perfect. From the broken-nosed tough to the dangerously sexy gun-moll, you'd be hard pressed to find a better team of hard-boiled noir players. The film is filled with exotic images. The woman with a face on the top of her hat. The violin with a trumpet horn attached to it. The Hollywood establishment would have never made this film.
Like Vampyr, which was made in Germany with independent money in 1932, the film is pregnant with the artistic audacity that only non-Hollywood money can bring into a production. The Racket is worth the search. If you like the gangster genre, you will not be disappointed.
Like Vampyr, which was made in Germany with independent money in 1932, the film is pregnant with the artistic audacity that only non-Hollywood money can bring into a production. The Racket is worth the search. If you like the gangster genre, you will not be disappointed.