THE RACKET

At the beginning of John Cromwell's hard-hitting film noir THE RACKET (1951), we see a state-wide crime commission meeting with the governor of an unnamed state. The investigators on the commission are out to clean up a corrupt city (again, unnamed) and need subpoena power to do the job. The governor agrees and it's the last we'll see of two of the commission investigators, Les (SHAZAM!) Tremayne and Milburn (GUNSMOKE) Stone until the end of the film.

Cut to the city where tough but fair police captain Tom McQuigg (Robert Mitchum) has just been put in charge of one of the worst precincts in the city. McQuigg has two objectives: to run a tight, clean and by-the-book operation and to bring down psychotic gang boss Nick Scanlon (Robert Ryan). Scanlon has had the run of the town for years but now he has to answer to higher-ups for the first time in his career as "the syndicate" has moved into town, fronted by suave but vicious R.G. Connolly (Don Porter). There's also an alleged "Mr. Big" (who is never seen or heard), behind the scenes but it's left up to the viewer to determine if he really exists or if it's just an alias of the cold-blooded Connolly.

In order to solidify the mob's control of the town, they're backing a crooked candidate for judge, District Attorney Mortimer X. Welch (Ray (PERRY MASON) Collins). There's also a bent state cop, Detective Sergeant Turk (William (CANNON) Conrad), on the take.

McQuigg enlists the aid of straight-arrow beat cop Officer Bob Johnson (William (PERRY MASON) Talman), in his quest to destroy Scanlon. Caught in the crossfire are nightclub singer Irene Hayes (Lizabeth Scott) and young newspaper reporter Dave Ames (Robert Hutton). Things come to an explosive climax at the precinct station after which Tremayne and Stone show up with subpoenas for Collins and Conrad. 

Based on a play (with Edward G. Robinson as Scanlon) and filmed previously in 1928, Cromwell's version of the material hews close to the original narrative while opening the action up for more dramatic impact, The screenplay by William Wister Haines and W. R. Burnett, tosses in a house bombing, a rooftop fight to the death between McQuigg and a trigger-man, a chase between a locomotive and a car and other bits of mayhem and violence to liven things up. There's still a lot of scenes of characters just standing around and talking but with a cast and material like this, you're never bored.

Tough, two-fisted and unflinching, THE RACKET is a first rate film noir. Recommended.