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The Racket

DVD

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Overview

The Racket was based on a play by Bartlett Cormack, first filmed as a silent in 1928. The storyline was updated to include references to Estes Kefauver's Senate Crime Investigating Committee: otherwise, the plot (and much of the dialogue) was lifted bodily from the Cormack play. Racketeer Robert Ryan has managed to get several government and law-enforcement higher-ups in his pocket. But Ryan can't touch the incorruptible police officer Robert Mitchum, who refuses all attempts at bribery. Ryan pulls strings to get Mitchum transferred to a series of undesirable precincts, but Mitchum will not be dissuaded. The battle of wills between cop and criminal comes to a head when mob-connected nightclub singer Lizabeth Scott turns on her former protector Ryan. The Broadway version of The Racket starred Edward G. Robinson as the racketeer; the 1928 film version featured Louis Wolheim in the Robinson role and Thomas Meighan as the upright cop. Both the silent and sound versions of the property were personally produced by Howard R. Hughes.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/08/2016
UPC:	0888574446000
Original Release:	1951
Source:	Warner Archives
Time:	1:29:00
Sales rank:	23,806

Special Features

Commentary by Film Historian Eddie Mueller

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Robert Mitchum	Capt. Thomas McQuigg
Lizabeth Scott	Irene Hayes
Robert Ryan	Nick Scanlon
William Talman	Johnson
Ray Collins	Welch
Joyce MacKenzie	Mary McQuigg
Robert Hutton	Ames
Virginia Huston	Lucy Johnson
William Conrad	Turck
Walter Sande	Delaney
Les Tremayne	Harry Craig
Walter S. Baldwin	Sullivan
Brett King	Joe Scanlon
Tito Vuolo	Tony
Don Beddoe	Mitchell
Robert Bice	Actor
John Day	Menig
Dulce Daye	Actor
Richard H. Gordon	Actor
Donald Porter	Connolly
Bret Hamilton	Actor
Miles Shepard	Actor
Richard Karlan	Enright
Howland Chamberlain	Higgins
Ralph Peters	Davis
Iris Adrian	Sadie
Jack Shea	Sergeant
Eric Alden	Sergeant
Mike Lally	Sergeant
Howard Joslin	Sgt. Werker
Joey Ray	Reporter
Duke Taylor	Policeman
Hazel Keener	Secretary
Steve Roberts	Schmidt
Pat Flaherty	Clerk
Milburn Stone	Foster
Max Wagner	Durko
Matthew Boulton	Simpson
Barry Brooks	Cameron
George Sherwood	Douglas
Jack Gargan	Lewis
Herb Vigran	Headwaiter
Bud Wolfe	Detective
Ronald Lee	Elevator Boy
Dick Gordon	Man
Allen Mathews	Man
Ralph Montgomery	Man
Al Murphy	Newsboy
Sally Yarnell	Operator
Jane Easton	Operator
Harriet Matthews	Librarian
Eddie Parker	Thug
Art Dupuis	Policeman
Harry Lauter	Police Officer Mosley
Richard Reeves	Leo
Donald Dillaway	Harris

Technical Credits

John Cromwell	Director
Nicholas Ray	Director
Harold Adamson	Songwriter
Constantin Bakaleinikoff	Score Composer,Musical Direction/Supervision
Mel Berns	Makeup
W.R. Burnett	Screenwriter
Mel Burns	Costumes/Costume Designer,Makeup
Albert S. D'Agostino	Art Director
George E. Diskant	Cinematographer
Edmund Grainger	Producer
William Wister Haines	Screenwriter
Jimmy McHugh	Songwriter
Frank McWhorter	Sound/Sound Designer
Jack Okey	Art Director
Clem Portman	Sound/Sound Designer
Paul Sawtell	Score Composer
Darrell Silvera	Set Decoration/Design
William L. Stevens	Set Decoration/Design
Sherman Todd	Editor
Roy Webb	Score Composer
Michael Woulfe	Costumes/Costume Designer

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- The Racket
1. Credits [1:05]
2. Crime Commission [2:52]
3. Nick Knows [5:10]
4. Higgins' Accident [5:05]
5. McQuigg's Reputation [3:11]
6. Nice Work, Johnson [5:49]
7. Getting Personal [6:09]
8. Danger on Their Doorstep [1:55]
9. Rooftop Ruckus [4:27]
10. Pressure Above and Below [3:40]
11. Collar at the Club [4:45]
12. When I Say It, Do It [3:08]
13. Prominent Names [3:58]
14. Nick's Business [3:55]
15. Holding Onto Irene [2:36]
16. Johnson's Visitors [4:06]
17. Plan of Attack [2:43]
18. Station Shooting [5:47]
19. Killed On Duty [3:16]
20. The One I Want [2:51]
21. Unafraid Witnesses [4:06]
22. The Old Man's Orders [3:38]
23. Silencing Nick [1:51]
24. Justice Machine [2:27]

Editorial Reviews

Although it misses being as good a film as it should have been (likely due to interference from studio boss Howard Hughes), the 1951 remake of The Racket still provides pretty good entertainment. Credit its stars for the majority of that entertainment value. Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan turn in enthralling performances, the former using his familiar laidback style to create enormous power and the latter making his loose cannon character full of good old inevitable surprises. Sure, it's a bit odd seeing Mitchum playing the cop, especially one that is as upstanding and "Establishment" as this character. But that oddness adds a fine new layer to the part and to the film, and also helps to explain the ridiculous ending in which the character is satisfied with the way things have turned out -- despite the real fat cats having gotten away. It's very possible that the original screenplay made much more sense; legend has it that Hughes insisted on significant rewrites during shooting, as well as numerous post-production changes that necessitated the participation of new directors who were not involved in the original shoot. As a result, the film doesn't hang together cohesively and involves too many dead ends and a lack of unifying vision. But as long as Mitchum and Ryan are around - along with Lizabeth Scott, wasted in an underdefined role but good to have on board -- it's still a decent ride.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler