Protraph Lack of good storyline.

ClassyWas Excellent, smart action film.

Freaktana A Major Disappointment

DipitySkillful an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

Michael_Elliott Racket Busters (1938) ** (out of 4) Tired crime flick from Warner has Humphrey Bogart playing a racketeer who decides to form a truckers union so that he can take over all the store, drivers and the produce. If people don't go along with this they end up beaten but one man (George Brent) decides to stand up to them. I've always been a fan of Warner's various "B" pictures but this one here left me disappointed for many reasons. For starters, the screenplay really doesn't offer up anything that original as we've seen this story countless times before. Some might say that all of these pictures had the same story and that's true to an extent but I think most took that basic structure and tried to do things their own way. That really doesn't happen here because there isn't a single second in the film where you feel anything for the stuff that's going on. Some of this problem should fall on the shoulders of Bacon who seems to be sleep walking in his director's chair. He usually manages this type of material quite well but perhaps he too found the story boring. Another problem is the D.A. who is extremely boring and his character just doesn't have enough fire behind him to make anyone interested in anything he has to say. Even the performances are rather disappointing as Bogart doesn't do too much and doesn't have half the energy he usually delivers in this type of role. It was somewhat fun seeing Brent in this type of picture but the screenplay doesn't do him any justice either. The normally reliable Allen Jenkins is here playing the comic sidekick but even he can't deliver any laughs. The movie is mildly entertaining if you're a fan of this genre but I think most people are going to sit here and just know that there are much better movies out there and this here is strictly by the numbers.

LCShackley Most gangster movies I've seen focus on the bad guy (Cagney/Robinson) or perhaps on the cop or D.A. trying to bust the gangs.This movie, however, focuses on the people who are affected by the racketeers: the truckers who were forced into a crooked association run by Bogart. We see how the truckers, their families and businesses, are hurt by the protection rackets and bullying gangsters (who always wear nice hats and suits).The producers are careful not to make this an anti-union movie, even though the plot is about gang incursions into unions. It's really a propaganda film, trying to convince union members and other working men to stand up and testify against gang pressures. The acting is OK, and there's plenty of action (explosions, car wrecks, fist fights) to keep you interested.My favorite scenes involve gangsters using axes and creosote to destroy big crates of vegetables. Not quite your standard gangster fare!

calvinnme George Brent was great at playing the gentleman, whether that gentleman was a wealthy man of great stature in the community, or whether he was a struggling up-and-comer as he was in "Lilly Turner". He always played a guy who knew who he was and the path he was on. This story of the syndicate attempting to take over the trucking industry by force is sunk not only by a rather formulaic script, but by Brent in the lead in a role that looks like it was written more for James Cagney or maybe even Paul Muni.Brent plays Denny Jordan, an independent trucker who is out for himself, thinks with his fists, and even squishes a tomato into the face of his partner, Skeets (Allen Jenkins), for no particular reason other than he seems to think it's funny. This is just not appealing stuff for George Brent fans to watch. Humphrey Bogart is perfectly cast as the head of the syndicate, but he spends very little time on screen, usually just a few seconds at a time as he barks orders at subordinates about the next move they should make.It's pretty bad when the thinking man in the film, Skeets, is portrayed by Allen Jenkins, who usually plays the well-meaning if somewhat thick-skulled comic relief. Penny Singleton is a breath of fresh air as Gladys Christie, Skeet's girl who seems surprised every time her man gets a good idea or runs into a piece of good luck.I'd skip this one. It's not terrible, it just does nothing to distinguish itself in either the plot or performance categories.

bkoganbing Though it might mean absolutely nothing to today's audience when you see the small mustached frame of Walter Abel who has been named a Special Prosecutor back in 1938 there was no doubt that Abel was a very thinly disguised portrayal of real life Special Prosecutor and newly elected District Attorney of New York County, Thomas E. Dewey. Among the many rackets that Dewey did investigate and prosecute was an effort to organize truckers and get a stranglehold on the produce markets of New York City. This film is taken from some very true and recent headlines back in the day.Warner Brothers loved Mr. Dewey and his prosecutorial exploits. A few years earlier Humphrey Bogart, the chief villain in this film, played a Dewey like prosecutor himself in Marked Woman which is based in part on how Dewey convicted Lucky Luciano via his stranglehold on houses of prostitution.The hero in Racketbusters is George Brent, stepping into a role that James Cagney probably turned down. He's a truckdriver who resists organization either by an honest union or the racketeers. And he's got ideas from the street about the social standing of stool pigeons.When things happen to his wife Gloria Dickson and his friend Oscar O'Shea, Brent himself becomes as big a racketbuster as Walter Abel.Allen Jenkins is a surprise here. Usually a mug whether a good guy or a bad guy, Jenkins steps up to the plate here as a man who went from the truckdriving game to the produce business. He understands the point of view of both sides and urges them to settle and kick out Bogart and his henchmen. Good job by Jenkins.No doubt in 1938 who this film was all about.