The Racket (1951 film)
Encyclopedia
The Racket is a 1951 remake of the the 1928 film The Racket'. This film noir
-style black-and-white
film was directed by John Cromwell
with uncredited directing help from Nicholas Ray
and Mel Ferrer
. The police crime drama is based on a popular Bartlett Cormack
play. (Edward G. Robinson
played the racketeer in the original Broadway production.)
) has managed to buy several of the local government and law-enforcement officials of a large midwestern American city. However, he can't seem to touch the incorruptible police captain Tom McQuigg (Mitchum
), who refuses all attempts at bribery. The city’s prosecuting attorney, Welch (Collins), and a police detective, Turk (Conrad
), are crooked and make McQuigg's job as an honest officer nearly impossible. McQuigg persuades a sexy nightclub singer (Scott
) to testify against Scanlon which makes her marked for death from the mob. McQuigg not only wants to nail Scanlon, but also stop all the mob corruption in the city - without getting himself or his witness killed.
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
-style black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
film was directed by John Cromwell
John Cromwell (director)
Elwood Dager Cromwell , known as John Cromwell, was an American film actor, director and producer.-Biography:...
with uncredited directing help from Nicholas Ray
Nicholas Ray
Nicholas Ray was an American film director best known for the movie Rebel Without a Cause....
and Mel Ferrer
Mel Ferrer
Mel Ferrer was an American actor, film director and film producer.-Early life:Ferrer was born Melchor Gastón Ferrer in Elberon, New Jersey, of Catalan and Irish descent. His father, Dr. José María Ferrer , was born in Cuba, was an authority on pneumonia and served as chief of staff of St....
. The police crime drama is based on a popular Bartlett Cormack
Bartlett Cormack
Edward Bartlett Cormack was an American actor, playwright, screenwriter, and producer best known for his 1927 Broadway play The Racket, and for working with Howard Hughes and Cecil B. DeMille on several films....
play. (Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
played the racketeer in the original Broadway production.)
Plot
The plot of the film is very close to the original play and 1928 movie. Racketeer and mobster Nick Scanlon (RyanRobert Ryan
Robert Bushnell Ryan was an American actor who often played hardened cops and ruthless villains.-Early life and career:...
) has managed to buy several of the local government and law-enforcement officials of a large midwestern American city. However, he can't seem to touch the incorruptible police captain Tom McQuigg (Mitchum
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
), who refuses all attempts at bribery. The city’s prosecuting attorney, Welch (Collins), and a police detective, Turk (Conrad
William Conrad
William Conrad was an American actor, producer and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film and television....
), are crooked and make McQuigg's job as an honest officer nearly impossible. McQuigg persuades a sexy nightclub singer (Scott
Lizabeth Scott
Lizabeth Scott is an American actress and singer widely known for her film noir roles.-Early life:She was born Emma Matzo in the Pine Brook section of Scranton, Pennsylvania, one of six children, to Ruthenian parents who had emigrated from Uzhgorod, in what is now Ukraine...
) to testify against Scanlon which makes her marked for death from the mob. McQuigg not only wants to nail Scanlon, but also stop all the mob corruption in the city - without getting himself or his witness killed.
Cast
- Robert MitchumRobert MitchumRobert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
as Captain Thomas McQuigg - Lizabeth ScottLizabeth ScottLizabeth Scott is an American actress and singer widely known for her film noir roles.-Early life:She was born Emma Matzo in the Pine Brook section of Scranton, Pennsylvania, one of six children, to Ruthenian parents who had emigrated from Uzhgorod, in what is now Ukraine...
as Irene Hayes - Robert RyanRobert RyanRobert Bushnell Ryan was an American actor who often played hardened cops and ruthless villains.-Early life and career:...
as Nick Scanlon - William Talman as Officer Bob Johnson
- Ray CollinsRay Collins (actor)Ray Bidwell Collins was an American actor in film, stage, radio, and television. One of Collins' best remembered roles was that of Lt. Arthur Tragg in the long-running series Perry Mason.- Biography :...
as District Attorney Mortimer X. Welch - Virginia HustonVirginia HustonVirginia Huston was a film actress.Born Virginia Houston in Wisner, Nebraska, Huston appeared in many 1940s and 1950s films noir and adventure films. Signing with RKO in 1945, her first film was opposite George Raft in Nocturne. Her singing voice in the nightclub was redubbed by a singer...
as Lucy Johnson - William ConradWilliam ConradWilliam Conrad was an American actor, producer and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film and television....
as Detective Sergeant Turk