The Racket (1951)
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20% of critics liked it
(5 reviews) -
44% of users liked it
(803 ratings)
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… More 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. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- John Cromwell, Nicholas Ray
- Written By
- William Wister Haines, W.R. Burnett
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense, Classics
R,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1951 Wide
Critic Reviews
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, Time Out
Softer than it should have been, then, but still dark enough to lose yourself in.
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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.
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, TV Guide's Movie Guide
[A] hard-hitting melodrama.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
A typical gangster film.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Featured Audience Ratings
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Cast
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Robert Mitchum
as Capt. Thomas McQuigg
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Lizabeth Scott
as Irene Hayes
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Robert Ryan
as Nick Scanlon
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William Talman
as Johnson
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Ray Collins
as Welch
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Joyce Mackenzie
as Mary McQuigg
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Robert Hutton
as Ames
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Virginia Huston
as Lucy Johnson
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William Conrad
as Turck
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Walter Sande
as Delaney
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Les Tremayne
as Harry Craig
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Walter S. Baldwin
as Sullivan
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Brett King
as Joe Scanlon
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Tito Vuolo
as Tony
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Iris Adrian
as Sadie
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Eric Alden
as Sergeant
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Don Beddoe
as Mitchell
- Robert Bice
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Matthew Boulton
as Simpson
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Barry Brooks
as Cameron
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Howland Chamberlain
as Higgins
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John Day
as Menig
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Donald Dillaway
as Harris
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Pat Flaherty
as Clerk
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Jack Gargan
as Lewis
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Dick Gordon
as Man
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Richard Karlan
as Enright
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Hazel Keener
as Secretary
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Harry Lauter
as Police Officer Mosley
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Ralph Montgomery
as Man
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Al Murphy
as Newsboy
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Eddie Parker
as Thug
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Ralph Peters
as Davis
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Don Porter
as Connolly
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Joey Ray
as Reporter
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Richard Reeves
as Leo
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Steve Roberts
as Schmidt
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George Sherwood
as Douglas
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Milburn Stone
as Foster
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Herb Vigran
as Headwaiter
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Max Wagner
as Durko
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Bud Wolfe
as Detective
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Jack Shea
as Sergeant
- Dulce Daye
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Art Dupuis
as Policeman
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Jane Easton
as Operator
- Richard H. Gordon
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Howard Joslin
as Sgt. Werker
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Michael Lally
as Sergeant
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Allen Mathews
as Man
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Sally Yarnell
as Operator
- Bret Hamilton
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Ronald Lee
as Elevator Boy
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Harriet Matthews
as Librarian
- Miles Shepard
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Duke Taylor
as Policeman
