Love Is a Racket: Fast Talking and Even Faster Troubles

Should you watch this?

If you like movies where everyone talks at 100 miles per hour and wear fancy suits while doing something shady, this is your jam. It is short, punchy, and doesn't waste time with a lot of heavy breathing. But if you need your movies to have a clear moral compass or a plot that makes sense every single second, you might want to skip this one. It is a bit messy around the edges.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Love Is a Racket (1932) through its definitive frames.

Lee Tracy is doing the heavy lifting here. He plays the columnist like he’s got a train to catch. It is the kind of performance that makes you wonder if he actually slept at all during the shoot. He is just vibrating with energy.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Love Is a Racket (1932) through its definitive frames.

The plot is basically a chain reaction of bad decisions. A girl wants to be a star, a gangster wants to own her, and the columnist just wants a good story. It reminds me a little of the frantic pacing in Pants, though the tone here is way more cynical.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Love Is a Racket (1932) through its definitive frames.

Odd moments that stuck

• There’s a scene in a penthouse that feels like the set was decorated by someone who only saw a picture of luxury once. It feels weirdly hollow.
• The dialogue is so dense sometimes you have to rewind just to catch the insults.
• There is a reaction shot from Douglas Fairbanks Jr. that lasts just a split second too long, making him look like he’s waiting for a cue that never came.

Ann Dvorak is great, but the movie keeps pushing her into these cornered-animal situations that get repetitive. You can almost feel the scriptwriter trying to squeeze one more dramatic turn out of her before the reel runs out. It’s not subtle. At all. But who needs subtle when you have this much attitude?

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Love Is a Racket (1932) through its definitive frames.

It’s not as atmospheric or grounded as something like Frozen River, obviously, but that’s an unfair comparison. This is a factory-floor studio movie from the early 30s. It’s built to entertain for 70 minutes and get you out of the theater before the next show starts.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Love Is a Racket (1932) through its definitive frames.

I found myself laughing at parts that were definitely supposed to be tense. The gangster stuff feels like a caricature, which takes some of the stakes away. When the heavy enters a room, he walks like he’s carrying a backpack full of bricks. It’s a bit silly.

Still, there’s a grit here. It feels like the city it’s set in—noisy, dirty, and a little bit desperate. I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, but it’s a fun, jagged little pill of a movie. Keep your expectations for the plot low, and you'll probably have a decent time.