IMDb RATING
7.2/10
7.7K
YOUR RATING
An unethical lawyer who wants to help his older brother becomes a partner with a client in the numbers racket.An unethical lawyer who wants to help his older brother becomes a partner with a client in the numbers racket.An unethical lawyer who wants to help his older brother becomes a partner with a client in the numbers racket.
- Awards
- 1 win
Howland Chamberlain
- Freddie Bauer
- (as Howland Chamberlin)
Murray Alper
- Comptroller
- (uncredited)
Jessie Arnold
- Sorter
- (uncredited)
Georgia Backus
- Sylvia Morse
- (uncredited)
Margaret Bert
- Sorter
- (uncredited)
Larry J. Blake
- Detective
- (uncredited)
Mildred Boyd
- Mother
- (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks
- Attorney
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn order to show cinematographer George Barnes how he wanted the film to look, Abraham Polonsky gave him a book of Edward Hopper's Third Avenue paintings.
- GoofsDuring a climactic montage set at an East Coast racetrack on the Fourth of July, people in the stock footage crowd scenes are dressed in winter garments nobody would wear in the middle of summer.
- Alternate versionsAll existing copies of the film are of the version that was cut by 10 minutes in order to fit into a double bill.
- ConnectionsEdited into American Cinema: Film Noir (1995)
Featured review
The Numbers Racket
An unethical lawyer, with an older brother he wants to help, becomes a partner with a client in the numbers racket.
The plot which unfolds is a terse, melodramatic thriller notable for realist location photography, almost poetic dialogue and frequent biblical allusions (Cain and Abel, Judas's betrayal, stigmata).
What I really liked about this film is how it portrays the numbers racket. Whoever wrote this clearly knew what he was talking about. As someone who has studied the Mafia and its activities, I have a pretty good idea of how the numbers business works and how it can (or cannot) be rigged. These concerns are addressed in a very knowledgeable way.
The plot which unfolds is a terse, melodramatic thriller notable for realist location photography, almost poetic dialogue and frequent biblical allusions (Cain and Abel, Judas's betrayal, stigmata).
What I really liked about this film is how it portrays the numbers racket. Whoever wrote this clearly knew what he was talking about. As someone who has studied the Mafia and its activities, I have a pretty good idea of how the numbers business works and how it can (or cannot) be rigged. These concerns are addressed in a very knowledgeable way.
helpful•160
- gavin6942
- Apr 25, 2016
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- The Numbers Racket
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $948,000
- Gross worldwide
- $1,165,000
- Runtime1 hour 19 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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