drednm 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.

kidboots Big things were expected of Sally Starr - she was one of the many actresses who were bought to the movies to be the next Clara Bow, but there really wasn't a next anything for Sally. She had a featured article in Photoplay - but what was this, she rode in a bus to and from the studio, didn't attend parties and was tucked up in bed by 10 pm!! She may have looked like a "vest pocket edition of Clara Bow" but she had none of Clara's personality, charisma or talent - maybe she should have gone to some parties, or at least some dancing lessons!! Blanche Sweet, however, was riding on a short wave of renewed popularity. It was 1929 and suddenly "those in the know" realised she could talk and usually took acting honours away from her newer, flashier co-stars (Alice White).Officer Tom (Tom Moore) pinches singer Julia (Sweet) in a raid on a gambling den but when she pleads innocent of any wrong doing he believes her and they become a couple. Married life brings disillusion to Julia, who is fed up with scrimping and saving and wants to go back to her old profession. She sneaks a visit to her old club where a shyster manager, Chris (did John Miljan ever play any other roles) persuades her to sing "He's Good Enough For Me" - Miss Sweet does a great job!!Things go from bad to worse with Julia going back to work at the "Blue Moon" nightclub and missing out on the police parade to celebrate Tom's promotion to Sergeant. Enter Buddy (Sally Starr), who's cute and cuddly but won't get anywhere, based on her dancing. She performs "Call Me to Arms" and her dancing is terrible - it's all arms!! She is Julia's protégé and Julia is determined that she will stay fresh and clean and that means keeping Chris away from her. When a big winner from the club is found badly beaten and later dies, Julia, who was force to show him a good time, can see she was set up and is going to be blamed for his murder. She desperately wants to see Tom and tell all she knows about Ben but almost doesn't make it!!Always wanted to hear those immortal words spoken "Ooooh... he got me"!!! and I did - in this movie!!!

Michael_Elliott 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.

MartinHafer Blanche Sweet was a huge star during the silent era--having appeared in something like 150 films. However, by the time talking pictures came along, her career came to an almost complete halt. In 1930 she made three minor talkies--and then retired from the movies to play on Broadway and have a family. Only in the 1950s did she return for a few small TV roles. What's amazing about this is that her movie career was over by the time she was 34--even though she was a very popular silent star. I don't think the problem was her voice (although here in "The Woman Racket" they had her sing....and this was NOT a good idea but her speaking voice was fine) but simply tastes as well the Hollywood love of the very young.The plot idea for "The Woman Racket" is a bit hard to believe. The film begins with a raid on a speakeasy. When one of the cops finds a lady there and feels sorry for her (Sweet), he lets her go. Soon they begin dating and marry. As I said, it's a bit hard to believe. However, in a nod to reality, the marriage is not all it's cracked up to be for her. Staying home and being a housewife is dull stuff and soon Sweet is sneaking out to her old life as a singer in nightclubs--which was a serious problem since these sort of clubs sold liquor and it was during Prohibition. Eventually, she leaves him...and that's only the first quarter of the movie. What happens next? See for yourself.When you watch a film from this era, you need to change your expectations a bit. Early talkies had relatively poor sound, lacked incidental music and were a bit more static (as they hadn't yet figured out how to pick up the sound while folks moved about the set). So, taking this in mind and comparing the film to like films of the same era is how I rated this film--not compared to the much more polished products being released just a few years later. And, keeping this in mind, it's an average film--no better, no worse than others. It is a bit scandalous and moralistic. Tom Moore, who co-stars, has the on-screen personality of saw dust--and that also doesn't help much. But, the story is a big racy--and that might keep you interested. Had it been made a few years later, I would have probably given it a 3 or 4.By the way, according to IMDb, like many early talkies, this was filmed in both a sound and silent version. This made sense, as the switch to sound was not instantaneous--and many smaller theaters simply weren't wired for sound. Plus, in the case of MGM (the slowest of the major studios to switch to sound), I really think they were just hoping sound was a passing fad and hoped it would vanish.