The Racket

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!

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

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.

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.