The Racket

A competent crime movie, enlivened by two strong lead performances from Mitchum and Ryan. The latter has the more interesting part as the gangster who ultimately finds himself friendless when those loyal to him decide he has become too much of a liability. Although the political machinations behind the scenes are dealt with more predominantly than many of the film's contemporaries, much of the satire is lost due to the 'other-worldliness' of the setting. Time and place are never specified, so we are more entangled in the personalities than the bigger moral implications.

A slight, but entertaining example of the genre.

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.

The Racket (1951)

A stellar cast and gritty photography can't quite lift this movie into the exciting classic it might have been. The basic problem here is the material, the story, which is slow and steady. It involves lots of conversations, all filmed with huge drama, about negotiating new ways of doing things as a national mob organization squeezes out the local mob boss.

This is still a good movie, for sure. Robert Ryan plays the local boss getting overshadowed and he ramps it up as usual, beating a few people senseless. Robert Mitchum is given a dull role, not as a cop on the beat but as the chief of a precinct in charge of cops on the beat. And he was once buddies with Ryan, so they have a couple of one-on-ones. Lizabeth Scott is sharp and as good as she gets in her quirky femme fatale manner, but we don't see enough of her. Throw in Ray Collins as a slithering politico (a role he seems to have been born for) and William Conrad as a corrupt cop (with many pounds to gain before his days as t.v.'s Cannon, etc.) and you see how it looks like good stuff.

A star behind the scenes is definitely cinematographer George E. Diskant, not a big name in the field but responsible for several terrific film noirs including the flawless "They Live by Night." He is in good form here even though there isn't much action. You only wish the director, John Cromwell, had more guts to let Diskant fly with things. Cromwell is one of those by-the-book directors who gets the job done but doesn't seem to see the opportunities to surprise the viewer. And he was loaded with opportunity here.

The story is basically about life as a cop in a big city. That's why half the time (almost literally) we are in the police station. Or a squad car. There is no actual crime at the center of things (lots of crimes go zipping by, for sure). It's not about solving a crime, but about getting the old boss. It's Mitchum vs. Ryan. And Ryan is more fun. Things get fairly complicated, perhaps needlessly, but the overall trend is toward justice, and how it is best served in a corrupt world. Filled with good nuances, but packaged a bit awkwardly by the end.

I say this isn't quite a film noir, but of course in the big picture most people would have to call it that. What it lacks (for me) is the loneliness of the lead character, and maybe even the evilness of the femme fatale. Mitchum is part of a big machine, and a sympathetic one (a huge police force). Ryan is just a thug, and a mean one with a small mind. It's pure crime stuff with noir stylizing. Good enough for a great evening--if you stay alert to all the details.

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.

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