''Racket Busters'' is a 1938 American film directed by

Lloyd Bacon Lloyd Francis Bacon (December 4, 1889 – November 15, 1955) was an American screen, stage, and vaudeville actor and film director. As a director, he made films in numerous genres, including westerns, musicals, comedies, gangster films, and c ...

. The film stars

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...

and George Brent and is about a crime in the trucking industry.

Plot

Attorney Hugh Allison is appointed Special Prosecutor to investigate and strike down gangster John "Czar" Martin's racketeering scheme in the trucking industry. This is Martin's first step in controlling New York's produce market. However, Alison is unable to get testimony from witnesses because of Martin's brutal coercion. Denny Jordan, a popular and influential trucker, refuses to join Martin's gang, and his truck is vandalized, causing Jordan to crash his truck on the side of a hill. To provide for his pregnant wife Nora, Jordan robs Martin's office but is caught. Martin agrees to forgive him if he joins his "protective association". Jordan reluctantly complies. This allows the other truckers to also join Martin's corrupt organization, while Allison begins jailing witnesses who refuse to testify. Jordan's oldest friend, Pop Wilson, is murdered after testifying against Martin, and Jordan's partner, "Skeets" Wilson, quits trucking and begins selling tomatoes. Although Jordan is arrested by Allison and his wife leaves him, he refuses to testify against Martin. In a move to control the entire produce market, Martin incites the truckers to go on strike, thereby causing a food shortage, until every commission merchant and produce dealer join his association. But, Wilson refuses Martin's entreaties and is killed by his gang. Jordan then leads the truckers into breaking the strike, and a free-for-all breaks out between the truckers and the racketeers. Jordan defeats Martin in a hand-to-hand fight as the police arrive. Denny eventually testifies against Martin, leading to his conviction.

Cast

as John 'Czar' Martin * George Brent as Denny Jordan * Gloria Dickson as Nora Jordan *

Allen Jenkins Allen Curtis Jenkins (born Alfred McGonegal; April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor, voice actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. He may be best known to some audiences as the voice of Officer Charl ...

as 'Skeets' Wilson * Walter Abel as Hugh Allison *

Henry O'Neill Henry O'Neill (August 10, 1891 – May 18, 1961) was an American actor known for playing gray-haired fathers, lawyers, and similarly dignified roles on film during the 1930s and 1940s. Early life Henry O'Neill was born in Orange, New J ...

as Governor * Penny Singleton as Gladys Christie * Anthony Averill as Dave Crane, Martin's Henchman * Oscar O'Shea as Pop Wilson * Elliott Sullivan as Charlie Smith * Fay Helm as Mrs. Smith * Joe Downing as Joe Pender, Martin's Henchman * Norman Willis as Gus Hawkins, Martin's Henchman * Don Rowan as Cliff Kimball

Production

The film was based on the prosecution of real-life trucking racketeering schemes in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

during Thomas E. Dewey's campaign against organized crime in the 1930s.Farris, Scott (2012).
Almost president: the men who lost the race but changed the nation
'. Internet Archive. Guilford, CN: Lyons Press. p. 111-112. .

Release

''Racket Busters'' was released on July 16, 1938. According to the ''

Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' the film's title was changed on its release in Paris to ''Threat Over the City'' so that the

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

fans would not think the film was about the sport.

References

External links