A gossip columnist helps a Broadway ingenue beholden to a penthouse gangster.A gossip columnist helps a Broadway ingenue beholden to a penthouse gangster.A gossip columnist helps a Broadway ingenue beholden to a penthouse gangster.
André Luguet
- Max Boncour
- (as Andre Luguet)
William Burress
- Ollie
- (scenes deleted)
George Raft
- Sneaky
- (scenes deleted)
George Beranger
- Manager of Elizabeth Morgan's
- (uncredited)
Gino Corrado
- Sardi's Waiter
- (uncredited)
George Ernest
- Newsboy
- (uncredited)
Harrison Greene
- City Editor
- (uncredited)
Eddie Kane
- Sardi's Captain of Waiters
- (uncredited)
John Larkin
- Tod - Jimmy's Elevator Operator
- (uncredited)
John Marston
- George Curley
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDuring his tenure with Warner Bros., William A. Wellman churned out a number of energetic, fast-paced entertainments which are often overlooked by admirers of his work but stand out from the assembly-line programmers they were intended to be. Among the highlights from this early period are Night Nurse (1931) with Barbara Stanwyck, the grim Pre-Code drama Safe in Hell (1931) and Love Is a Racket (1932) (1932) starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as a newspaper columnist working the Broadway beat. The latter film is not only a fascinating time capsule of its era, with glimpses of then-popular New York City nightspots such as Sardi's, but also presents an unapologetic, cynical view of reporters who often resort to any means necessary to score a front-page story.
Wellman would go on to make several more distinctive B-pictures for Warner Bros. including the post-World War I social drama Heroes for Sale (1933) and the picaresque railroad adventure, Wild Boys of the Road (1933), but Love Is a Racket (1932) is a fun, unpretentious introduction to his Pre-Code films for the studio.
- Quotes
James 'Jimmy' Russell: [Giving her a gift of 'nylon' stockings] Here you are, ya' peroxide pirate.
Switchboard Operator: Oh, Mr. Russell... they're lovely! And extra length, too!
James 'Jimmy' Russell: Yeah... winter'll soon be here.
- ConnectionsAlternate-language version of L'athlète incomplet (1932)
Featured review
marginal case
Jimmy Russell (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) writes a Broadway gossip column for the New York Globe and Sally Condon (Ann Dvorak) is his Girl Friday. He pursues Broadway It Girl Mary Wodehouse (Frances Dee) who is in terrible debt problem. That's before her debts are taken by dangerous gangster Eddie Shaw.
This is a crime newspaper drama with a sprinkling of comedy slap-dashed on top of it. I wanted more Ann Dvorak. I'm not really sold on Jimmy and Mary. She's more trouble than she's worth. I like the newspaper and gangster stuff but the comedy seems out of place. It's a bumpy ride and a marginal film.
This is a crime newspaper drama with a sprinkling of comedy slap-dashed on top of it. I wanted more Ann Dvorak. I'm not really sold on Jimmy and Mary. She's more trouble than she's worth. I like the newspaper and gangster stuff but the comedy seems out of place. It's a bumpy ride and a marginal film.
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- SnoopyStyle
- Nov 5, 2023
Details
- Runtime1 hour 11 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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