The Woman Racket

THE WOMAN RACKET is an early MGM talkie filmed in 1929 and released in January 1930. It's a crime drama notable as the feature-film talkie debut of Blanche Sweet, who had returned from England, where she filmed her final silent film (THE WOMAN IN WHITE). She had made one Vitaphone short at Warners before tackling this feature at MGM. Interestingly, Photoplay magazine had run a squib about MGM's interest in shooting ANNA CHRISTIE as a talkie and Blanche Sweet was rumored to be in line to star in the remake of her 1923 silent film.

In this talkie, Sweet is very very good as Julia and pulls out all the stops as the speakeasy hostess who gets in over her head. She even sings "He's Good Enough for Me" atop a piano. The film is sunk, however by only so-so performances by Tom Moore as her cop husband and John Miljan as the snarky club owner. The film was apparently also released as a silent. There are also a couple of obvious sound issues.

In any case, the film apparently didn't do much at the box office and Sweet obviously didn't get another crack as playing Anna Christie.

During prohibition, a speakeasy is raided. Good-natured policeman Tom Moore (as Thomas "Tom" Hayes) discovers nightclub singer Blanche Sweet (as Julia Barnes) trying to avoid arrest. Stricken by her beauty, Mr. Moore allows her escape, and the two begin dating. Although they are happily married, Ms. Sweet becomes bored being a housewife and getting along on Moore's meager salary. His gift of a new dress tempts Sweet into sneaking out for the evening. She has fun seeing old friends and sings "He's Good Enough for Me" - signaling her heart remains with Moore... however...

Against Moore's wishes, Sweet accepts a job entertaining at "The Blue Moon" and succumbs to the charms of smarmy boss John Miljan (as Chris Miller). Ironically, Sweet leaves Moore just before he receives a promotion to detective sergeant. Months later, Sweet has been lured into criminal activities with Mr. Miljan, who is unsurprisingly revealed as a gangster lord. When a mugging turns to murder, Moore arrives to investigate...

The "talkie" technology is primitive here, but Sweet does well in her first feature length sound film. While not well remembered today, Blanche Sweet was one of the silent era's most renowned actresses - she was often considered on par with Mary Pickford and Lillian Gish. Like many, Sweet was considered old-fashioned when the medium changed, although her 1930s films reveal her in arguably better stead than her peers. Moore was the brother of silent stars Owen and Matt Moore (Pickford dynasty in-laws). "The Woman Racket" apparently did not advance its co-stars' careers, but it is an enjoyable time capsule.

****** The Woman Racket (1/24/30) Robert Ober, Albert Kelley ~ Blanche Sweet, Tom Moore, John Miljan, Tenen Holtz

Woman Racket, The (1930)

** (out of 4)

A cop (Tom Moore) saves a show girl (Blanche Sweet) from a pinch and soon the two are married. Things start off well but soon the wife grows bored of her housewife role and soon she's back in the nightclubs where she gets caught up with a dangerous gangster (John Miljan). THE WOMAN RACKET is your typical crime picture from MGM and sadly it's really not all that good. I think the main reason for people to tune into this thing is for Sweet who most film buffs will remember from her remarkable work with D.W. Griffith. This was one of her few sound films so that will be the main draw and there's no doubt that she's the best thing in the movie. As someone who has seen over a hundred Griffith films, it's always fun seeing his original troupe in other people's work. With Sweet she was always playing that "down home girl" and she was usually dressed in rags or made to look less attractive. It was really pretty strange seeing her in this role playing a sexy singer who uses her looks to gain a thing or two. I was really caught off guard at how well Sweet looked in this role but she also comes across extremely charming. There wasn't a single second where you don't believe her in the part and she perfectly sells that sexuality and charm. Moore, on the other hand, doesn't come off as well. I think he's a tad bit too laid back at times and it seems like he was struggling with some of the dialogue at times. He's certainly far from horrible but he doesn't add too much. Miljan is pretty good in the role of the gangster as he has no trouble coming off like a snake and he makes it easy to hate this character. Like many early talkies, this one here suffers from talking way too much as there are way too many dialogue scenes that just keep on and on. There are a couple musicals numbers, which aren't too bad and especially those performed by Sweet. Buffs will notice Sammy Lee served as musical director and he would eventually become a director at the studio doing various musical shorts. THE WOMAN RACKET just doesn't have enough life, energy or style to make it work so in the end it's mainly for those interested in Sweet.

There is a raid on a speakeasy. Policeman Thomas (Tom Moore) keeps Julia (Blanche Sweet) from being arrested. They get married, but she is soon drawn back to the other side of the law.

I don't know much about Blanche Sweet. She seems to be a brassy gal with good screen presence. Her sound era is short-lived with a few appearances later in life as she got rediscovered. One is never sure why one star stays and another goes. She is into her thirties and she wouldn't be the only one left behind by the Hollywood machine as she reaches this age. If television existed back in her day, she could have transition to that medium.

Blanche Sweet plays a singer at a speakeasy who is caught by a cop during a raid, but instead of arresting her, he lets her go and eventually winds up marrying her. However, life as a cop's wife turns out to be not quite what she expected, and she longs for the excitement and fun of her former career. One day, after a particular trying day at home, she goes back to her old nightclub and meets up with the good-hearted owner (Tenen Holtz) and his slimy new business partner (John Miljan, terrific as usual). She leaves her husband to become the club's singer and, eventually, Miljan's mistress, and before she knows it she finds herself involved in a murder.

This is an interesting little crime drama, more suited to Warner Bros. than MGM, but even though the pacing tends to be a little choppy and the camera-work is a bit shaky at times, it's eminently watchable. Blanche Sweet is pert, cute and charming and a pretty good singer, and few villains were slicker or more sophisticated than Miljan. Tom Moore as Sweet's cop husband leaves a bit to be desired; he's actually too old for her, pours on the Irish charm (and brogue) a bit too thick and comes across as a bit naive for a tough New York City cop. Nevertheless, it's a pretty good little picture overall, helped along greatly by Sweet (it's a shame her career never really took off during the talkie era).

The direction is credited to two men, Robert Ober and Albert H. Kelley. This was Ober's only directorial effort--he was an actor--and Kelley was a "full-time" director. My best guess is that Kelley was brought in when the task proved to be too much for Ober. If so, he actually did a pretty good job. Kelley spent his career mired in the lower depths of Poverty Row, churning out shorts, low-rent crime dramas and cheap jungle pictures for the likes of PRC, Monogram and Republic. This looks like it was his shot at big-time features, and for some reason he didn't--or couldn't--capitalize on it. It's too bad, because he shows potential here that was absent in most of his subsequent pictures.

Overall this is definitely a picture to watch. Although it was made in 1930, I've seen plenty of films that came out several years after this that weren't as well-made, fluidly paced, well-shot or entertaining as this is. Give it a shot.