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The Racket

Play trailer Poster for The Racket 1951 1h 28m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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33% Tomatometer 9 Reviews 44% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
As one of the only honest cops left in the city, Capt. Thomas McQuigg (Robert Mitchum) has his back against the wall when a large crime syndicate makes its way to his doorstep. After bringing aboard local mobster Nick Scanlon (Robert Ryan), the illegal organization intends to help place corrupt attorney Mortimer X. Welsh (Ray Collins) in a prominent government position. But, if McQuigg can stay alive long enough, he just might be able to bring down the crooks with a key witness (Lizabeth Scott).
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The Racket

Critics Reviews

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Time Out Softer than it should have been, then, but still dark enough to lose yourself in. Jun 24, 2006 Full Review Bosley Crowther New York Times As for the film's observations on crooks and poltics, they are so generalized and familiar that this is just a case of one more time around. Rated: 2/5 Mar 25, 2006 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...a predominantly underwhelming and uninvolving endeavor... Rated: 1.5/4 Jun 14, 2023 Full Review Yasser Medina Cinefilia It is a film noir that, before an hour passes, takes away all my interest with its mechanical plot, the clichés and the repertoire of ductile characters of the police procedural. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 5/10 Jan 14, 2021 Full Review Harry MacArthur Washington Star Director John Cromwell keeps crackling along at a fast and noisy clip. Feb 6, 2020 Full Review Michael E. Grost Classic Film and Television Well-told version of a famous stage play. Dec 26, 2016 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Blu B I wanna call this good but I can't see myself watching this again just because the first half is really nothing special and very dry. It's so close but man there are serious issues. Almost no soundtrack in this the entire time and what is here is very boring and generic stuff. It just feels very dry 80% of the time. The cinematography is just alright too. This is very basic direction, camerawork, and cheap looking sets. The whole thing has a low budget feel to it and doesn't really ever have any mood, shadows, or atmosphere like other Noirs of this time too. The acting isn't bad thanks to Ryan & Mitchum who are the two best things in this, especially Mitchum. Everyone else though is jus alright and very wooden, stilted, and forgettable. The dialouge isn't anythin special either. The editing is pretty solid though and the pacing despite being pretty dry isn't that bad. It's very jumpy setting up the plot at first and gets kind of hard to follow and involved which is expected for a Noir though. There really isn't much in the way of character outside of the two leads though. Things do get better once we focus on Mitchum mainly and taking down Nick. Than it starts jumping around again with lesser characters carrying the story for a bit and it just kills momentum and things become dry again before a solid conclusion. The ending is actually pretty satisfying too and does a good job wrapping things up which suprised me. I did like parts of it but this needed better hallmarks of a Noir to standout and not be so dry as well. If your a die hard Mitchum or Ryan fan this might be worth a watch once but most could skip this and not miss much. There are so much better for noir fans. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 12/27/24 Full Review Steve D Solid but breaks no new ground. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 06/23/23 Full Review deke p 1951! Mitchum! Wm Talman. Robert Ryan as ganster. Great cast. Police in corrupt town. Saw it 12.30.2021 The movie channel Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Poor acting by Ryan, amateurish. He puts too much stress on some words in his dialogue, appears wooden and overacts. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Matthew D Action, fedoras and Robert Mitchum not taking shit. Everything you need for a good movie. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/09/21 Full Review Audience Member Nothing special, typical gangster film. Two good leads though. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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The Racket

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Movie Info

Synopsis As one of the only honest cops left in the city, Capt. Thomas McQuigg (Robert Mitchum) has his back against the wall when a large crime syndicate makes its way to his doorstep. After bringing aboard local mobster Nick Scanlon (Robert Ryan), the illegal organization intends to help place corrupt attorney Mortimer X. Welsh (Ray Collins) in a prominent government position. But, if McQuigg can stay alive long enough, he just might be able to bring down the crooks with a key witness (Lizabeth Scott).
Director
John Cromwell
Screenwriter
William Wister Haines, W. R. Burnett
Production Co
RKO Radio Pictures Inc.
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 1, 2009
Runtime
1h 28m
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