Rubber Racketeers (1942)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

A Masterpiece!

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

I enjoyed this little propaganda film made in America in 1942. It's a thriller about a criminal organisation making and selling low-quality car tyres from re-used rubber, hence the title. The situation arose due to the strict rationing in place in America during the war years and has plenty of propaganda elements, particularly in a lengthy moralistic conversation at the outset.Otherwise this is a strict B-movie made on a low budget, albeit one with plenty of action and incident to sustain the hour-long running time. The main character is a low key criminal just released from prison who decides to get involved in the racket himself, only to realise the danger to life it poses. He then goes up against the bad guys with the help of his girlfriend. It all ends in one of those delightfully ferocious brawls that usually ended these productions.

****SPOILERS**** Just released from prison after a 14 year stretch for bootlegging mobster "Gil" Glin, Ricardo "Ricky" Cortez, plans to corner the rubber tire racket or market by him and his goons, who stood by him his entire time he was incarcerated, stealing genuine rubber tires that are desperately needed for the war effort. Glin plans to dumb the tires down by mixing them with cheap and tawdry synthetic rubber and selling them at top prices to an unsuspecting public. It's when Freddy, Sam Edwards, the brother of Mary Dale, Barbara Reed, was killed due to a defected tire he brought from a car lot run by Glin that Mary's boyfriend defense worker Bill Barry, Bill Henry, and his fellow defense workers went into action.Checking out all the car lots and tire joints that are run by Glin has him send his goons out to put a stop to Barry's efforts to put him out of business as well as back behind bars for subverting, with his cheap rubber tires, the US war effort against world fascism. At first trying to get on Barry's good side by just leaning on him a little in having his goons mildly working him over Glin finally decides to rub him out and use his moll Nikki, Rochelle Hudson, as bait. Even Nikki sees what a low life jerk as well as traitor to his country Glin is and refuses, at the possible cost of her life, to go along with his evil plan.****SPOILERS**** The last straw for Glin is when his Chinese butler Tom, Kam Tong, who just enlisted into the US Army finds out what he's up to and threatens to turn him into the FBI. With Barry bloody and unconscious from the beating he took from Glin's hood locked in the closet Glin guns Tom, an American soldier on his way to fight fascism overseas, down as he heads to his secret tire factory to lay low from the police and FBI. With Barry breaking out of the closet and heading for the tire factory to confront Glin and his gang Barry's fellow patriotic defense workers join him in a wild mêlée where Glin's whole criminal operation falls apart. It in fact was one of Glin's most loyal followers the not too bright Dumbo, John Abbott, who finally saw the light and helped Barry put him away together with his entire criminal enterprise.

During WWII, lots of items were rationed--mostly because they were needed for the war effort. In some cases, such as rubber, it was even harder to get because many of the nations that provided rubber to the US and its allies had been conquered by the Japanese. So, although it's really odd, a few films like "Rubber Racketeers" (as well as "The Last Ride") were made to warn the public about organized crime and tires sold to the unsuspecting public. "The Last Ride" was a pretty good film--"Rubber Racketeers" was less so."Rubber Racketeers" begins badly, as you hear a young couple having a ridiculously improbably conversation about patriotism, the war effort and the need to all work together for victory. Again, it sounded nothing like a real conversation a man would have with his girlfriend, that's for sure! While "The Last Ride" had a bit of this, here in "Rubber Racketeers" they really lay it on strong--and it continues throughout the film. In fact, in several places it's obvious the characters are making speeches AT the audience and it seriously impairs the film's watchability. Even back in the ultra-patriotic 1940s, folks must have groaned at this speechifying.As for the plot, after a gangster gets out of prison (Ricardo Cortez), his driver manages to cause an accident with his reckless driving. Because of this little incident, he eventually comes up with the idea of selling defective or stolen tires. As for the defective ones, his men are able to make them appear brand-new--but the rubber is crap. Soon, a guy has an accident due to these 'new' tires. So, his friends all band together to get down to the bottom of this--to find these evil un-Americans and bring them to justice. And, in an odd message, the film seems to endorse vigilante justice! So, is there anything I like about the film? Well, Cortez is good (as usual) but most of the rest of the acting is pretty bad. You do, however, get to see a young Alan Hale Jr. in one of his earliest roles--which is mildly interesting. And, the film is a nice window into the past--even if it is a crappy quality movie. The bottom line is that the low-budget really shows in this one, as the film just seems very cheap and jingoistic--even by WWII propaganda standards. It's mildly entertaining provided you have very low expectations! My advice--see the other film instead.With films like this to his credit, I can understand why Ricardo Cortez soon decided to retire from pictures. He was a good actor but the quality of his films kept getting worse and worse. And, incidentally, retiring turned out to be great, as he actually was able to make a very nice living working on Wall Street according to IMDb.

Fast paced little crime programmer, with an unusual topic, involving gangsters who manufacture bad quality tyres. And that makes people's life in jeopardy, especially drivers, as you can guess. The plot line has already been told in detail, just above. The story itself remains after all very classic, not so many surprises. Harry Young, the director, made a batch of films in the thirties and forties very hard to catch. Obscure features, I can guarantee. So, I did not miss this opportunity to watch it.The copy in DVD I saw came from a 16mm print very pleased to play. Good quality. Maybe you will find it on TCM, one of these days. Who knows?