''Madame Racketeer'' is a 1932 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

featuring

Alison Skipworth Alison Skipworth (born Alison Mary Elliott Margaret Groom; 25 July 18635 July 1952) was an English stage and screen actress. Early years Skipworth was born in London. She was the daughter of Dr. Richard Ebenezer Groom and Elizabeth Rodgers, an ...

, Richard Bennett and

George Raft George Raft (born George Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is ...

. The movie was directed by Harry Wagstaff Gribble and

Alexander Hall Alexander Hall (January 11, 1894 – July 30, 1968) was an American film director, film editor and theatre actor. Biography Hall acted in the theatre from the age of four through 1914, when he began to work in silent movies. Following his milit ...

.Everett Aaker, ''The Films of George Raft'', McFarland & Company, 2013 p 28 It was produced and distributed by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

Plot

Cast

as Countess/Martha Hicks * Richard Bennett as Elmer Hicks *

as Jack Houston *

John Breeden Rev. John Breeden (9 May 1872 –1942) was an English people, English Wesleyan Methodist Church (Great Britain), Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society missionary in the Madras Presidency. He was an educationalist and the founder of St George's Ho ...

as David Butterworth *

Evalyn Knapp Evalyn Knapp (born Evelyn Pauline Knapp; June 17, 1906 – June 12, 1981) was an American film actress of the late 1920s, 1930s and into the 1940s. She was a leading B-movie serial actress in the 1930s. She was the younger sister of the orche ...

as Alice Hicks *

Gertrude Messinger Gertrude Dolores Messinger (April 28, 1911 – November 8, 1995) was an American film actress known for her B-movie roles from the 1930s through the 1950s. She began as a child actor in silent films, but found her greatest fame in talkies of ...

as Patsy Hicks *

Robert McWade Robert McWade (January 25, 1872 – January 19, 1938), was an American stage and film actor. McWade was born in Buffalo, New York. He was the third actor named Robert McWade, after his father and grandfather. In 1902, McWade debuted on stag ...

as James Butterworth *

J. Farrell MacDonald John Farrell MacDonald (June 6, 1875 – August 2, 1952) was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. He appeared in over 325 films over a four-decade career from 1911 to 1951, and directed fort ...

as John Adams *

Jessie Arnold Jessie Arnold (December 3, 1884 – May 5, 1955) was an American character and film actress. She was a character actress who appeared in more than 150 films from silent shorts to the early 1950s. She starred in the 1916 film ''Cross Purposes'' dir ...

as Frankie * Anna Chandler as Stella *

Oscar Apfel Oscar C. Apfel (January 17, 1878 – March 21, 1938) was an American film actor, director, screenwriter and producer. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1913 and 1939, and also directed 94 films between 1911 and 1927. Biography Apf ...

as J. Harrington Hagneya *

Arthur Hoyt Arthur Hoyt (March 19, 1874 – January 4, 1953) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 275 films in his 34-year film career, about a third of them silent films. Career Born in Georgetown, Colorado, in 1874, Hoyt ma ...

as Shiffem *

Irving Bacon Irving Bacon (born Irving Von Peters; September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films. Early years Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar Bacon and Myrtle Vane. He was born in St. Jose ...

as Gus, Desk Clerk * George Barbier as Warden George Waddell *

Frank Beal Frank Beal (September 11, 1862 – December 20, 1934) was an American actor and film director of the silent film era. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1862, Beal began acting in 1880 and gained fame as a director and an actor. In 1908, ...

as Appleby, Bank Director *

Robert Homans Robert Edward Homans (November 8, 1877 – July 28, 1947) was an American actor who entered films in 1923 after a lengthy stage career. Life and career Robert Homans was born November 8, 1877, in Malden, Massachusetts. Although he studied ...

as Chief of Police *

Winter Hall Winter Hall (21 June 1872 – 10 February 1947) was a New Zealand actor of the silent era who later appeared in sound films. He performed in more than 120 films between 1916 and 1938. Prior to that, he had a career as a stage actor in Austr ...

as Minister *

Ed Brady Ed John Brady (born June 17, 1962) is a former American football player. Brady was raised in Morris, Illinois, and attended Morris Community High School, where he led the Morris Redskins football team to a state championship. Brady played for ...

as Taxi Driver

Production

The film was based on an original screenplay based on the life of a real woman. It was sold under the title ''The Countess of Auburn''. This was changed to ''The Sporting Widow'' then ''Madame Racketeer''. In March 1932 Paramont announced Alison Skipworth would star. In April 1932 Irving CUmmings signed to direct. George Raft was cast later that month. Raft had recently signed a long term contract with Paramount off the back of his strength of his work in ''Scarface'' but that film had not gone into wide release yet. Numerous retakes were done after the film was completed. The movie was one of 23 films put into receivership by Paramount in January 1933.

Reception

The ''New York Times'' said "part of it is funny, part of it is amusing enough and some of it is a little on the sadward side."Madame Racketeer. L.N. New York Times ]July 23, 1932: 6

References

External links

*
Madame Racketeer
at BFI
Madame Racketeer
at Letterbox DVD {{Alexander Hall 1932 films American black-and-white films 1932 comedy films Paramount Pictures films American comedy films Films directed by Alexander Hall 1930s English-language films 1930s American films