The 1928 crime thriller that was too dangerous for Chicago to show

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Before it became a lost film rediscovered in a private collection, The Racket was a cultural lightning rod. This silent noir exposed the rot of Prohibition-era corruption so effectively that it was banned in Chicago. It remains a masterclass in underworld tension, featuring a villain modeled after Al Capone.

Directed by Lewis Milestone and produced by Howard Hughes, The Racket (1928) was adapted from Bartlett Cormack’s 1927 Broadway play. The narrative follows James McQuigg, a police officer struggling against a city government deeply compromised by mob influence. The film’s antagonist, Nick Scarsi, was a thinly veiled portrait of Al Capone, while the shadowy political figure known as The Old Man mirrored the real-life Chicago Mayor William Hale Thompson. This proximity to reality made the film radioactive in its home city, leading to an official ban on both the stage play and the motion picture.

The plot centers on the brutal power struggle between McQuigg and Scarsi. After a series of murders and political maneuvers, the film culminates in a cynical display of self-preservation by the city's political machine. When Scarsi becomes a liability, his former allies in the mayor’s office orchestrate his downfall, proving that in this version of Chicago, the law is merely a tool for those who hold the most leverage. It was a bold, unflinching look at institutional decay that earned a nomination for Outstanding Picture at the 1929 Academy Awards.

For decades, the film was presumed lost, a casualty of the fragile nature of early cinema. Its survival is owed entirely to Howard Hughes, who kept a copy in his personal collection. Following his death, the film was eventually recovered and underwent a major preservation effort by the Academy Film Archive in 2016. Today, it stands as a critical success, holding a rare 100 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Beyond its historical significance, the film’s legacy persists through a 1951 remake and ongoing efforts to restore and distribute the original silent masterpiece to modern audiences.

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