The Racket (1928 film)


The Racket is a 1928 American silent crime drama film directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Thomas Meighan, Marie Prevost, Louis Wolheim, and George E. Stone. The film was produced by Howard Hughes, written by Bartlett Cormack and Tom Miranda, and was distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was adapted from Cormack's 1927 Broadway play ''The Racket.

Background

Due to the controversial portrayal of a corrupt police force and city government, both the film and the play were banned at the time in Chicago.

Reception

The Racket is one of the films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in the 1929 Academy Awards.

Preservation status

Only one copy of the film was known to exist. It was long thought lost before being located in Howard Hughes' film collection after his death. The Racket was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2016.
The Howard Hughes-owned RKO studios remade The Racket in 1951 with Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan in the lead roles.

Cast