Spencer Tracy stars as Bugs Raymond, a Jimmy Hoffa-like leader of a trucker's union*, just like the Teamsters. Using many illegal tactics (such as selling 'protection', thefts and violence), he rises to the head of the union and makes himself rich as a result. His right-hand man in all this is Jimmy (George Raft) and the pair live like kings after several years of racketeering. Much of it is because they have the goods of various public officials whose jobs SHOULD include putting thugs like Bugs and Jimmy in prison! Is there anyone to stop them or curb their abuses?
It's interesting to watch this film because of Tracy and Raft. Tracy is playing a jerk role--the sort he often played for Fox Studio but stopped making when he switched to MGM in the later 1930s. As for Raft, seeing and hearing him is interesting, as he simply doesn't SOUND like the George Raft you'll see in later movies. His voice is higher and less menacing....and he must have taken some classes on diction and voice following this movie.
So is it any good? Yes. And, it makes for a different sort of gangster film...which were all the rage in the early 1930s. It's gritty, extremely cynical and tough to stop watching. While not nearly as famous as "Little Caesar", "Public Enemy" or "Scarface", all from this same era, it's about as interesting to watch though a bit more subtle and believable.
By the way, at the 55 minute mark, pay CLOSE attention. A guy uses the middle finger...and it's NOT an accident! After all, it was made during the Pre-Code era...and giving the finger is certainly NOT something you'd see in Hollywood films for decades after July, 1934, when the new Production Code was enacted! For another single-digit salute, watch "Parachute Jumper"--where Frank McHugh does the same as he's trying to hitchhike.
*Although the film looks like an indictment of Hoffa and the Teamsters, Hoffa didn't even begin his career with the trucker's union until a year AFTER this film was made! It's almost like the film was written with a crystal ball!!
It's interesting to watch this film because of Tracy and Raft. Tracy is playing a jerk role--the sort he often played for Fox Studio but stopped making when he switched to MGM in the later 1930s. As for Raft, seeing and hearing him is interesting, as he simply doesn't SOUND like the George Raft you'll see in later movies. His voice is higher and less menacing....and he must have taken some classes on diction and voice following this movie.
So is it any good? Yes. And, it makes for a different sort of gangster film...which were all the rage in the early 1930s. It's gritty, extremely cynical and tough to stop watching. While not nearly as famous as "Little Caesar", "Public Enemy" or "Scarface", all from this same era, it's about as interesting to watch though a bit more subtle and believable.
By the way, at the 55 minute mark, pay CLOSE attention. A guy uses the middle finger...and it's NOT an accident! After all, it was made during the Pre-Code era...and giving the finger is certainly NOT something you'd see in Hollywood films for decades after July, 1934, when the new Production Code was enacted! For another single-digit salute, watch "Parachute Jumper"--where Frank McHugh does the same as he's trying to hitchhike.
*Although the film looks like an indictment of Hoffa and the Teamsters, Hoffa didn't even begin his career with the trucker's union until a year AFTER this film was made! It's almost like the film was written with a crystal ball!!