Rackety Rax
Cast & Crew
Alfred Werker
Victor Mclaglen
Greta Nissen
Nell O'day
Arthur Pierson
Allan Dinehart
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Racketeer Frank "Knuckles" McGloin, head of McGloin Enterprises, is always looking for a new way to turn an easy buck. When offered the opportunity to get into the dog racing racket, however, he rejects it, saying that he only wants to be involved in "legitimate rackets." McGloin is aided in his crime racket by Mr. Sultsfeldt, who is in charge of the legal department, Sister Carrie, who oversees the welfare department, and Speed Bennett, who runs the publicity department. Following the defeat of a McGloin sponsored candidate in a local election, McGloin shoots Clarence "Horseface" Beamer, the staff member who failed to rig the election in his favor. When McGloin is tried for Horseface's murder, Sultsfeldt turns the proceedings into mayhem when he releases a flock of doves to prove his conviction that his client is a "loving man." The ploy works, however, and McGloin wins his freedom. Once he resumes his business, McGloin is forced to contend with Joe Gilotti, the head of a rival racketeering mob, who is muscling in on his territory. McGloin finds Gilotti at a football game, and warns him to stay out of McGloin territory. While at the football stadium, McGloin becomes so impressed with the high profits generated by the sport, that he decides to get in on it himself. At Sultzfeldt's suggestion, McGloin purchases the mortgage on Canarsie College and hires thugs to play on the school team. Voine, Knuckles' moll, picks out the team colors, and his nightclub dancers are made team cheerleaders. Former Sing-Sing inmate Brick Gilligan is hired as the team's coach, and he trains the boys to play rough. Soon the team takes off on a winning streak, and McGloin corners the college football market. At the big Canarsie versus Lake Shore Tech game, Canarsie's star quarterback, Red, double-crosses his team and leaks the team's signals to Lake Shore Tech. While McGloin threatens his players with harm should they lose, Gilotti, who secretly owns the Lake Shore team under the name J. Scattergood Pemberton, orders his players to win the game to save the honor of his daughter, who was "wronged" by the Canarsie backfield. Prior to kick-off, McGloin learns that Gilotti is Lake Shore's real owner. The game gets off to a gangster-like start when the ball is snapped into the air and gunned down. Both sides immediately pull out their weapons, and a gas bomb is tossed into McGloin's huddle. As a bloody mobster battle rages on the field, Gilotti's car is rigged with explosives to prevent him from escaping alive. When the police break up the fight, Gilotti and McGloin make amends and decide to become partners. The two mob leaders are killed, however, when they drive off in Gilotti's car and the bomb explodes.
Director
Alfred Werker
Cast
Victor Mclaglen
Greta Nissen
Nell O'day
Arthur Pierson
Allan Dinehart
Allen Jenkins
Vincent Barnett
Marjorie Beebe
Esther Howard
Ivan Linow
Stanley Fields
Ward Bond
Eric Mayne
John P. Medbury
Joe Brown
John Keyes
Tom Taylor
Ed Rotan
Edward Lea Jr.
Walter Gahagan
Edmund Mays Jr.
Carl Rhodes
Harold Ross
Lawrence "moon" Mullins
Frank Baker
Jack Riley
Dale Van Sickle
Conrad Caldwell
"van" Van Beeber
George Watkins
Ralph Stone
Ed Kerwan
Pete Heiser
C. S. Ehrhorn
Phil Wilson
Jesse Hibbs
Garrett Arbelbide
Ham Hammock
Stan Williamson
Alonzo Stagg
Howard Jones
Virginia Sale
Crew
Robert Bischoff
Lou Breslow
William Conselman
David Cox
L. Wolfe Gilbert
James F. Hanley
Percy Ikerd
Bradley King
Frank Mackenzie
Ben Markson
L. W. O'connell
Murray Roth
Gordon Wiles
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Many of the football players who appeared in the film were well-known players at the time of the film's release.
