Wary of being stereotyped as a comedy director, Lewis Milestone shifted to an emerging genre that was popularized by director Josef von Sternberg in Underworld (1927).
The Racket, a taut and realistic depiction of mobster-controlled police department distinguished Milestone as an able practitioner of the genre.
However, its reception was damaged by the large number of superior gangster films released in the late 1920s.
The Racket was nominated for Best Picture at the 1928 Academy Awards.
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