Smashing the Rackets
Brief Synopsis
Pushed into a do-nothing job, an FBI man finds his own way of going after the mob.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Lew Landers
Director
Chester Morris
Jim Conway
Frances Mercer
Pat Lane
Rita Johnson
Letty Lane
Bruce Cabot
Steve Lawrence
Edward Pawley
Chin Martin
Film Details
Genre
Crime
Release Date
Aug
19,
1938
Premiere Information
New York opening: 8 Aug 1938
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Suggested by the series of articles "Smashing the Rackets" by Forrest Davis in The Saturday Evening Post (16 Oct 1937--15 Jan 1938).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 9m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Synopsis
Hailed as a hero for his efforts against a group of racketeers, F.B.I. agent Jim Conway is asked by District Attorney Edward Greer to become an assistant district attorney in his office. Unaware that Greer desires him for political reasons only, Jim, who graduated from a night law school, eagerly accepts the position. When Jim learns about Greer's true intentions, however, he threatens to quit but changes his mind after he is assigned to represent Letty Lane, a wild debutante whose older sister Pat, Jim admires. While Jim romances Pat, the racketeers, led by Whitey Clark and Chin Martin, press the local businessmen to put slot machines in their shops. Concerned by the shop owners' resistance to his scheme, Chin Marin hires lawyer Steve Lawrence, Letty's boyfriend, to file an injunction against the district attorney's office. Lawrence also suggests to Chin that he would provide better leadership for the gang than Whitey, who uses excessive strong-arm tactics, and Chin agrees to consider Whitey's elimination. Whitey then orders his men to "put the heat" on a select number of uncooperative shop owners, and Franz and his young son Otto, neighbors of Jim, are attacked. After Otto dies from his wounds, Jim demands to take the case against the hoodlums, but is unable to convict any of the indicted men because of judicial corruption. Determined to nail Otto's killer, however, Jim and police detective Mac trick a fourth thug into identifying the attackers. After the ambitious Chin and Lawrence arrange for Whitey to be killed during an attempt on Jim's life, Jim, who has been named a special prosecutor, learns that the gang has infiltrated the entertainment business. By convincing Flo Fisher, nightclub owner, to "play dead" in front of her fellow entertainers, Jim secures enough testimony to indict a key racketeer. Lawrence, meanwhile, sets up the greedy Chin in a police raid and leaves for the country without Letty. Suspicious, Letty follows Lawrence to his country home and, when Chin arrives and threatens Lawrence with a gun, kills the interloper while Peggy, Lawrence's other woman, watches. Eventually Jim deduces that Lawrence is the "big boss," but is stymied when he accuses Letty of Chin's murder. Armed with Peggy's eyewitness account, Lawrence tries to bargain with Jim for a reduced charge but is denied. To save Pat from scandal, Letty then kills herself in an automobile crash. Later, Jim, who is now married to Pat, opens his own law office.
Director
Lew Landers
Director
Cast
Chester Morris
Jim Conway
Frances Mercer
Pat Lane
Rita Johnson
Letty Lane
Bruce Cabot
Steve Lawrence
Edward Pawley
Chin Martin
Joseph De Stefani
Donald Douglas
Spaulding
Kay Sutton
Peggy
Ben Welden
Whitey Clark
Paul Fix
Maxie
Edward Acuff
George Irving
Edward Greer
Jimmy Conlin
Witness
Frank M. Thomas
Judge Wend
Walter Miller
Mac
Theodore Von Eltz
Ellis
Edith Craig
Flo Fisher
George Lloyd
Mike Leonard
Lester Scharff
Franz
Crew
Gladys Atwater
Contr to trmt and Screenplay const
J. Robert Bren
Contr to trmt and Screenplay const
Howard Campbell
Art Director Associate
Forrest Davis
Original Story
B. P. Fineman
Producer
Lionel Houser
Screenwriter
Harry Marker
Editing
Earl B. Mounce
Recording
Nicholas Musuraca
Photography
Van Nest Polglase
Art Director
Edward Stevenson
Gowns
Frank Tours
Music Director
Douglas Travers
Montage
Film Details
Genre
Crime
Release Date
Aug
19,
1938
Premiere Information
New York opening: 8 Aug 1938
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Suggested by the series of articles "Smashing the Rackets" by Forrest Davis in The Saturday Evening Post (16 Oct 1937--15 Jan 1938).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 9m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Articles
Smashing the Rackets
Pushed into a do-nothing job, an FBI man finds his own way of going after the mob.
Smashing the Rackets
Pushed into a do-nothing job, an FBI man finds his own way of going after the mob.
Quotes
What does F.B.I. stand for? Feeling Brutally Inclined?- Susan 'Pat' Lane
I hope I never set eyes on you again!- Susan 'Pat' Lane
Lady, you took the words right out of my heart.- Jim 'Sock' Conway
Trivia
Loosely based on the career of New York D.A. Thomas E. Dewey.
Notes
Forrest Davis' series of articles chronicled the life and exploits of Thomas E. Dewey, who from 1935 to 1937 was a special prosecutor in New York, investigating and exposing organized crime. From 1937 to 1938, Dewey was the district attorney for the county of New York and was governor of New York from 1942 to 1954. In 1944 and 1948, he ran for President on the Republican ticket. Although the character played by Frances Mercer is referred to in reviews and the cutting continuity as "Susan," in the film she is called "Pat." Hollywood Reporter production news items add Clyde Dilson, Jack Adair, Walter Rogers, Ann Evers and Nestor Paiva to the cast. Their participation in the film has not been confirmed. RKO borrowed Rita Johnson from M-G-M for this production. Daily Variety's preview running time of 80 minutes suggests that the film was cut substantially before its general release.
