Racket Busters Reviews

Another in the series of quick low-budget gangster pictures that Warner Bros. trapped an unhappy Bogart into during the late 1930s; this one turned out better than most. Set in New York City, Bogart plays a powerful crime kingpin who's forcing truckers to pay him protection. Brent, a young truck driver whose wife, Dickson, is about to give birth to their first child, isn't easily intimidated and refuses to capitulate. Together with his partner Jenkins, Brent tries to set an example for the other truckers, incurring the wrath of Bogart and his goons. Meanwhile, Abel, a crusading young lawyer, is picked by the district attorney as a special prosecutor whose main duty is to put Bogart and his hoods behind bars. Bogart's tactics eventually get to Brent, and he starts paying protection too, while Jenkins quits the business and starts selling tomatoes. Eventually, Abel comes to believe that Brent is just the guy he needs to get the goods on Bogart, and the two team up to free the truckers from the hood's clutches. RACKET BUSTERS is a solid crime film that runs at a rapid clip and remains quite entertaining.