Review of The Racket (1951) by Brody M — 06 May 2010

I love Eddie Mueller's commentaries. A film noir expert who's not afraid to point out a film's shortcomings. The Racket has a lot of shortcomings, having been touched and retouched by several different directors and writers.

The result is a confusing and overly complicated movie about gangster syndicates and government corruption. It could be a whole lot more noir, but too many scenes are about a multitude of secondary characters doing things that aren't that important.

It's also a little too black and white, with lines clearly drawn between good guys (including William Talman, playing the exact opposite of his character in The Hitch-Hiker) and bad guys. But there are a few scenes that really sing, Robert Ryan leaps off the screen, Mitchum is good despite phoning it in, and in general it's kinda fun to watch.

Talman and Lizabeth Scott are pretty good, too.