The Racket

This film reminds me a lot of an earlier film that paired Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan (CROSSFIRE), as both have very tough and gritty plots that are excellent examples of Film Noir. However, in this film instead of a plot involving anti-semitism, it's a good cop versus organized crime flick. Once again, Ryan is a scumbag and Mitchum is a decent and hard-as-nails cop bent on justice. A particular standout is the dialog between them--very snappy and pure Noir! I particularly liked the exchanges between them in the police station when they were cross-examining the cocky and unrepentant Ryan. And, since it is Noir, you know that there will be ample quantities of violence and testosterone. Give it a try--this is a seldom-mentioned classic.

Howard Hughes produced this film, and he knew a thing or two about the power of big money and racketeering. So it was natural for him to want to make a noir thriller about it. In the capable directorial hands of old pro John Cromwell, this is an excellent study of the octopus tentacles of crime syndicates and how a handful of people struggle against them, many getting hurt in the process. William Talman plays a stalwart and honest cop, so you can imagine what happens to him. The hero is Robert Mitchum, as the only incorruptible police captain on the police force in 'the city'. The main baddie in town is psycho crime boss Robert Ryan, just as menacing and ruthless as ever, except that he gets carried away by his passion for murder and out of impatience even kills someone himself, whereas crime bosses are meant to sit back and have this kind of thing done for them, like asking in the barber and the manicurist. Lizabeth Scott is the sultry gal caught up in it all, trying to decide whether to follow her cynical streak or go honest. Her part is not big enough to do her justice, but she does her usual good job. The best thing in the film is the powerful confrontational scene between Mitchum and Ryan, where they face each other down, and we see that Ryan is even taller than Mitchum (I always wondered!) What fireworks that brings! Always ominous and in the background is 'the Old Man', whom we never see, and who is the boss of bosses. Of course, nothing ever happens to him, and The Racket goes on as before, after this particular story is played out. This is a potent tale, well worth watching. The only thing missing is Gloria Grahame.

A corrupt crime syndicate has moved into town, bringing with it new tools and pulling political strings instead of just using muscle. They join up with local boss Nick Scanlon who is old-school and trades on violence more than anything else. Into the middle of this corruption and rising crime comes honest policeman Capt Tomas McQuigg who has history with Scanlon but aims to bring him down and expose the syndicate's web of corruption as well.

First of all, let me correct the entry on this page that classes this film as `film-noir', I assume that this has been added by another user that doesn't know what this means and equates it to any black and white film that involves crime. Needless to say, I do not see this as a noir, I see it as a basic crime story with tough cops and equally tough criminals. The basic story is good as it involves corruption as much as the usual crime boss characters. The film doesn't really be all it could have been and it stays at a tough if basic level for the majority. All told the story goes by slickly enough and is enjoyable despite that fact that you will have almost totally forgotten it fifteen minutes after it has finished.

The cast help it to be better than it actually is and features two typically tough-talking and square jawed leads. Mitchum isn't as impressive as he can be but he does has a solid screen presence and he does well here. Ryan plays a character than has actually become more interesting with time due to other, similar characters than he has played since - his character is a bit toothless but that has more to do with codes of the time than his performance. The support cast are OK but nobody really stands out.

Overall this is an OK film that will pass quite easily but has few qualities that will really stick in your mind for very long after you see it. Oh, and it's not a film-noir!

A deep cast of well-known actors highlights this film noir effort. Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Lizabeth Scott, William Talman, Ray Collins, Don Porter and William Conrad are all familiar names, especially to film noir buffs.

Ryan lifts this from an average classic-era crime film to above-average with a convincingly nasty character. He plays a no-compromise hood who lives by the code of violence. You have a problem? Violence, not brains, is the answer, according to Ryan's character "Nick Scanlon."

The film is fast-moving despite not having a lot of action scenes. All the characters are good, not just Ryan's, and the dialog is excellent in spots. The photography is nothing special, at least not as dramatic as most noirs, but it's a solid crime film, thanks to this cast. I would rate this a bit higher but I didn't care for the ending.

This is a story that has been presented thousands of times on the big screen. What makes this film, The Racket, a cut above most of the other crime/drama films of the past 70 odd years is the standout performance by Robert Ryan as the gangster Nick Scanlon. I used the word "gangster"which is based on the Websters dictionary which defines the word "gangster: as follows: "a member of a gang of criminals : racketeer".

In today's films we hear more about the word "mobster" defined as "someone who is part of a secret organized group of criminals : a member of the Mob" Nick Scanlon is not part of any criminal organization, not even if the criminal organization he associates with refers to their head honcho as "the old man". Robert Ryan's character is a formidable foe to the 7th Precinct Police station as well as to all the criminal elements as he certainly marches to his own drum and that drum is beaten often by his own fists on to the other criminals who do not take his orders without talking back to him. The 7th precinct police station has recently been advised of their new Captain an honest hard working and devoted officer of the law named Captain Thomas McQuigg played by first rate actor Robert Mitchum.

Captain Thomas McQuigg and the feisty criminal Nick Scanlon share a common trait. They don't run away from trouble, no these two tough opponents they run head on towards trouble. This film also reflects how the criminal element has infiltrated the police and the judicial system with their brute force and cash influence. I guess some things such as in this film, the more they change the more they stay the same. (Police and justice corruption are still prevalent in the year 2018 as the current U.S. president, Donald Trump, has been under siege with non truth accusations, and the news stated pay to play by the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.)

The film The Racket does have one clear message besides the strong performances by many of the actors and actresses in this excellent film and that message is "justice will prevail".

I give the film a 7 out of 10 rating