Newspaper reporter-turned-playwright Bartlett Cormack stunned Broadwayites in 1927 with his ultra-realistic play The Racket. Essentially a tale of gangsterism run rampant, The Racket was also an exposé of political corruption in the 1920s, going so far as to suggest that there was many a Prohibition agent and police commissioner "on the take." The play was so inflammatory that it was denied a presentation in Chicago, allegedly at the orders of Al Capone; the ban remained in effect for nearly two decades. Journeying to Hollywood in 1928, Cormack (who also billed himself as Bartlett McCormick) wrote screenplays for personalities as diverse as Cecil B. DeMille and Will Rogers. In 1935, he stirred up another storm of controversy when he collaborated with Norman Krasna on the powerful anti-lynching piece Fury (1935). Briefly relocating to England in 1938, Cormack made his directorial debut with the Charles Laughton picture Vessel of Wrath (aka The Beachcomber). One of Bartlett Cormack's final screenwriting assignments was 1941's Unholy Partners, which starred Edward G. Robinson--who back in 1927 essayed his first gangster role in the original Broadway staging of The Racket.
| Title | Year | Editors' Rating | User Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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The Racket
Play Author |
1951 | |||
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Unholy Partners
Screenwriter |
1941 | |||
|
Sidewalks of London
Actor, Screenwriter |
1938 | |||
|
The Beachcomber
Book Author, Director, Screenwriter |
1938 | |||
|
Fury
Screenwriter |
1936 | |||
|
Doubting Thomas
Screenwriter |
1935 | |||
|
Orchids to You
Screenwriter |
1935 | |||
|
Cleopatra
Screenwriter |
1934 | |||
|
Four Frightened People
Screenwriter |
1934 | |||
|
The Trumpet Blows
Screenwriter |
1934 | |||
|
The Past of Mary Holmes
Producer |
1933 | |||
|
This Day and Age
Screenwriter |
1933 | |||
|
Is My Face Red?
Screenwriter |
1932 | |||
|
The Half-Naked Truth
Screenwriter |
1932 | |||
|
The Phantom of Crestwood
Screenwriter |
1932 | |||
|
Thirteen Women
Screenwriter |
1932 | |||
|
Kick in
Screenwriter |
1931 | |||
|
The Front Page
Screenwriter |
1931 | |||
|
The Benson Murder Case
Screenwriter |
1930 | |||
|
The Laughing Lady
Screenwriter |
1930 | |||
|
The Spoilers
Screenwriter |
1930 | |||
|
Gentlemen of the Press
Screenwriter |
1929 | |||
|
The Greene Murder Case
Dialogue Writer, Screenwriter |
1929 | |||
|
Woman Trap
Screenwriter |
1929 | |||
|
The Racket
Play Author, Screenwriter |
1928 |

