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.

Amusing, inexpensive, and predictable, this 50's gangster film's highlights are the snarling confrontations between Ryan and Top Cop Robert Mitchum. Ryan's cruelties are three-dimensional, but Mitchum seems to be thinking about something offscreen when he's not in a face-off with Ryan. Other secondary characterizations are quite vivid, especially by Ray Collins (a few years before "Touch of Evil") as a crooked political candidate, and William Talman, 50's TV stalwart, as the doomed rookie cop.

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.

The 80-minutes has the cast elements of a memorable crime drama—Ryan, Mitchum, Talman, Conrad. Then too, RKO's head honcho Howard Hughes actively participated, along with a narrative of city corruption that's handled in some revealing detail. So why aren't the results more memorable than I think they are. To me, the screenplay is more congested than it should be. For example, Liz Scott's role is clearly there for marquee value, adding nothing to the plot, other than crowding up the many characters and sub-plots. Considering the number of writes, rewrites, and re-shoots (IMDB), perhaps the crowding is understandable. All in all, the number of production fingerprints fail to blend into an impactful whole, leaving a movie of a few memorable parts.

Ryan, of course, is Ryan, scary in his intensity, and wholly convincing in his criminal belligerence. Mitchum, however, is cast against type as the unwavering precinct captain. In fact, Captain McQuigg runs his precinct much like Scanlon's (Ryan) territorial tyrant. Thus McQuigg is more like a competing territorial chief than a neutral enforcer of the law, (note how McQuigg unlawfully tears up a legal writ.). The film's worth watching for its outlining of how corruption works in a city environment. District Attorney Welch (Collins) and Sgt. Turk (Conrad) betray their public trust by allying with the crime syndicate, becoming instrumental as go-betweens and influence-peddlers.

This was a period in the country's history (1951) when organized crime was getting headlines thanks to Sen. Kefauver's investigation committee. So Hollywood's response is not surprising. I just wish the movie had lived up to its potential, but I guess there's a lesson here about too many cooks.

Entertaining film with politics, crime and corruption the main themes here.

Robert Mitchum plays a dedicated, righteous policeman who heads a unit of officers. He is as honest as 24 hours in a day. He takes pride in such officers as Bill Talman, a young cop gunned down in police headquarters by the usually evil Robert Ryan. Without the insanity of his earlier crime driven roles, Ryan comes across as the embodiment of evil.

Ray Collins steals the show as a worm of a prosecuting attorney up to his neck in corruption. It is interesting to note that both Collins and Talman went on to TV careers in "Perry Mason."

Lizabeth Scott, as a lounge singer, caught up in the mayhem, tries hard to please but she does not evoke the emotion needed for her role.

To say that the ending is justified is more than right.