Madame Racketeer (1932) is a total blast of pre-code fun

If you have about an hour to spare tonight and want to see an old lady crime boss lie her way through a sleepy Wisconsin town, then yes, Madame Racketeer is absolutely worth your time. It is a total blast for anyone who loves old Pre-Code movies where the bad guys are actually the heroes, but if you need big explosions or a plot that makes perfect sense, you will probably hate this.

I found this gem by accident on a rainy afternoon, and boy, Alison Skipworth is a force of nature. She plays Martha Hicks, a world-class con artist who gets out of jail and immediately decides to go "cure her rheumatism" at her ex-husband's hotel.

Except she isn't really there for the mineral water. She is actually there to spy on the two daughters she abandoned when they were babies, who have no idea who she is.

The setup is incredibly goofy but it works. One daughter wants to marry a rich snob's son, and the other is hanging out with a shady bank robber played by a very young, very intense George Raft.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Madame Racketeer (1932) through its definitive frames.

Raft has this funny way of looking at the camera like he wants to fight it. It is hilarious because his character is supposed to be this dangerous hoodlum, but he just looks like a grumpy teenager who needs a nap.

The husband, played by Richard Bennett, looks constantly tired. He has this look on his face like he's been sighing for twenty years straight, which honestly makes sense if you were married to a lady who steals bank drafts for fun.

Skipworth’s character, who calls herself the Countess, doesn't try to be a sweet, apologetic mom. Instead, she uses her elite lying skills and blackmail to fix her daughters' lives while pretending to be a wealthy tourist.

Its a bit like the chaotic energy of Husbands for Rent but with way more lock-picking and stolen jewelry. She just walks into rooms, takes what she wants, and smiles.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Madame Racketeer (1932) through its definitive frames.

There is this one scene where she casually swindles a guy out of a massive check and you can see her brain working out the math of the lie in real-time. Her face barely moves, but you just know she is three steps ahead of everyone else in the room.

The movie moves so fast it almost forgets to explain how she gets away with half of this stuff. The detective chasing her is basically a cartoon character who keeps missing her by five seconds, which gets a bit silly after a while.

Also, I love how cheap some of the hotel sets look. You can tell the main lobby is just three painted walls and a very sad-looking potted plant in the corner.

But the dialogue has that sharp, biting early-1930s flavor that we just don't get anymore. "My dear, money is only useful when you spend it," she says, right before spending money that doesn't belong to her.

It is definitely not a cinematic masterpiece, and the ending wraps up so fast you might blink and miss the resolution. But for a quick, trashy chuckle with a cool grandma criminal, it does the job perfectly. 💸