Tough gangster movie with Humphrey Bogart playing a racketeer putting the squeeze on truck drivers hauling produce. The unlikeliest of all truckers, George Brent, tries to fight the mob but eventually is forced to cooperate. Brent is an ill-fit for a working class Joe but he does an admirable job. Allen Jenkins is fun as Brent's friend Skeets. Walter Abel is OK as a crusading DA, inspired by Thomas Dewey, but doesn't seem like a match for Bogie. Between him and Brent, neither really powerhouse personas, it's no wonder Bogie walks away with the film. From the very first scene Bogart's character is fed up with failure and wants to make it to the top by any means necessary. It's like they took all the gangsters he's played up to this point and rolled them into one, giving them a final chance to make it big. And no matter how bad he was to others in this, I was pulling for him. The rest of the fine cast includes Gloria Dickson, Penny Singleton, Henry O'Neill, Fay Helm, and Joe Downing. Nice action and characters. If, like me, you're a sucker for seeing old cars and trucks in action in older films, you'll get your fill here. Definitely worth a look for fans of the WB crime dramas of the 1930s.

I liked this film and I am sure part of this is because I really do love the Warner Brothers gangster films of the 1930s. Sure, they were very predictable, but the stock company of actors (Bogart, Cagney, Robinson and others) and writing have made these movies timeless--something that can still be enjoyed into the 21st century. And this film has many of these wonderful elements--including Bogart in his "pre-nice guy" part of his career, as the evil mob boss.However, this Warner formula is a little different because of some of the plot elements and George Brent is playing a different sort of character. Brent usually did not play in gangster films even though he was a Warner contract player, and the guy he plays in this film really isn't a villain or exactly a good guy either. In many ways I appreciated that he was more a "typical guy who rises above when the chips are down"(how's that for using the lingo?). This doesn't always work well, though, as Brent's character just isn't very consistent--ranging from a dull-witted hothead who thinks he can take on the mob single-handedly to a wimp who willingly serves the mob to save his own sorry skin. With a bit of a re-write, this character could have been great and elevated the movie to greatness. As is, he's very interesting but very flawed. Another flawed character is the Special Prosecutor. Again and again he begs and threatens but can't understand why truckers won't give evidence against the mobsters. However, EVERY TIME that anyone talks(except at the end), they are either dead or beaten almost to death and the Prosecutor's Office did NOTHING to help!!! Duh!!!As for the plot, it's not exactly the typical gangster film with hoods knocking each other off or selling bootleg hooch (like in THE ROARING TWENTIES or THE PUBLIC ENEMY) but is about mob control of the trucking industry. The steps by which they muscle into the union and the lengths they go to destroy the opposition were actually pretty interesting and timely. By being a little different, the film really kept my interest. A very good film, but certainly not a great one due to a few plot holes.

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.

"Racket Busters" is a Warner Brothers period piece that zeroes in on racketeering in the food and trucking business of the 1930's. John "Czar" Martin (Humphrey Bogart) has his sights set on the entire industry, seeking tribute from everyone in the food chain through intimidation and bribery. Denny Jordan (George Brent) is the wavering hero, who at first stands up to the mob, but falls victim to their tactics after stealing a mob satchel to provide for his ailing wife. Martin is willing to overlook Jordan's indiscretion, provided he cooperates with Martin's plans to take over the trucker's association. A few of the truckers stand true to their ideals throughout the film - "Pop" (Oscar O'Shea), the father figure of the working stiffs; and Skeets Wilson (Allen Jenkins), a friend of Jordan's who manages to see through the corruption even after his friend falls under Martin's influence. Future "Blondie" star Penny Singleton is on hand as Skeets' fiancée, providing a moral anchor for her man.The film is fairly formulaic, with the bad guys holding the upper hand for most of the film, but after "Pop" is murdered, and Skeets takes the lead in riling the truckers to action, Jordan wakes up to the reality of the situation and takes up the cause once again. In a climactic scene, Jordan and Martin duke it out, as special prosecutor Hugh Allison (Walter Abel) finally collects enough damaging evidence to put Martin away for years to come. Humphrey Bogart is top billed, but it's George Brent who has more screen time and is the film's center of interest. Allen Jenkins does a credible job, keeping the faith even as his tomato commission business takes it on the chin. "Racket Busters" is not as hard edged as the title might make it seem, but it deserves at least a single viewing. For another Bogey film with a trucking theme, try 1940's "They Drive by Night", co-starring George Raft.