"The Racket" is a 1951 film based on an old play. It was first made in 1928. This time around, it stars Robert Ryan and Robert Mitchum and is directed by James Cromwell. The other stars are Lizabeth Scott, Robert Hutton, Ray Collins and William Talman (both of whom were regulars on "Perry Mason").
Robert Mitchum plays McQueeg, a police officer trying to keep his city and force free of corruption. It isn't easy with a crooked DA (Collins) and a loose cannon like thug Nick Scanlon (Ryan) around - even the other mobsters don't want him.
When one of his best officers (Talman) is killed at headquarters, McQueeg becomes all the more determined to get Scanlon.
The corruption in the city is shown as going right up to the top, with Don Porter giving orders for "the old man" and making sure that the machine stays well oiled. A dedicated, honest police commander is the last thing they want.
Lizabeth Scott portrays a lounge singer in her usual smoky way, and Robert Hutton is a reporter who falls for her. Scott was beautiful and had a great screen presence, but she wasn't a big dramatic actress. Believe it or not, she was only 29 in 1951 and her "big" career days were over - that's the way it was back then if you were a beauty. Hutton (Barbara Hutton's cousin), who always reminds me a little of Jimmy Stewart, was an okay actor, but his career never really took off. Nevertheless, he worked constantly and said his life in Hollywood was a wonderful fantasy.
Mitchum is stalwart in the lead. It's said that as RKO players, the scripts would be brought into the annual Christmas party, thrown on a table, and Mitchum would take half and Robert Ryan would take the other half. The actors weren't really interchangeable, but you can see how they would be in some of the films they did.
Interesting film.
Robert Mitchum plays McQueeg, a police officer trying to keep his city and force free of corruption. It isn't easy with a crooked DA (Collins) and a loose cannon like thug Nick Scanlon (Ryan) around - even the other mobsters don't want him.
When one of his best officers (Talman) is killed at headquarters, McQueeg becomes all the more determined to get Scanlon.
The corruption in the city is shown as going right up to the top, with Don Porter giving orders for "the old man" and making sure that the machine stays well oiled. A dedicated, honest police commander is the last thing they want.
Lizabeth Scott portrays a lounge singer in her usual smoky way, and Robert Hutton is a reporter who falls for her. Scott was beautiful and had a great screen presence, but she wasn't a big dramatic actress. Believe it or not, she was only 29 in 1951 and her "big" career days were over - that's the way it was back then if you were a beauty. Hutton (Barbara Hutton's cousin), who always reminds me a little of Jimmy Stewart, was an okay actor, but his career never really took off. Nevertheless, he worked constantly and said his life in Hollywood was a wonderful fantasy.
Mitchum is stalwart in the lead. It's said that as RKO players, the scripts would be brought into the annual Christmas party, thrown on a table, and Mitchum would take half and Robert Ryan would take the other half. The actors weren't really interchangeable, but you can see how they would be in some of the films they did.
Interesting film.