" The Racket " Manga - Region 2

directed by John Cromwell + Mel Ferrer (uncredited) + Nicholas Ray (uncredited)
USA 1951

Howard R. Hughes produced a silent version in 1928 of this routine old-fashioned crime film, which was based on a play by Bartlett Cormack. It details the political corruption and violence in an unnamed Midwestern city, where the syndicate openly operates. Nick Scanlon (Ryan) is an old-fashioned ruthless local crime boss who uses rough tactics to get his way while his new bosses, a national crime syndicate, headed by the unseen and unidentified Old Man. They represent the modern type of crime organization who believe in smoothing things over with graft and deals. They are not pleased with Scanlon as they want a low-profile man in charge of the operation, no physical violence, and a more businesslike approach to their corruption schemes. They are opposed by a dedicated and incorruptible conservative police captain, McQuigg (Mitchum), who vows to get Scanlon and bring the syndicate to justice the old-fashioned way.

The secondary types depicted can be considered as film noir characters: nightclub torch singer Irene Hayes (Scott), who learns that Nick Scanlon's brother is a weakling after he dumps her and she decides to blow the whistle on the mob even though that places her in jeopardy; the crooked prosecutor promised a judgeship by the syndicate after the election and would sell his soul for that, the pragmatic Welch (Collins); a dishonest police sergeant, Turck (Conrad), who straightens things out in a cunning way for the mob as a special investigator; Johnson (Talman), a young cop who is tough and honest like McQuigg; and, a naive cub reporter, Ames (Hutton), who falls for the blonde torch singer.

Excerpt from Dennis Schwartz' review on Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Poster

Theatrical Release: December 12th, 1951 - USA

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DVD Review: Manga - Region 2 - PAL

Thanks to Herb Kane for the screen captures!

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Manga Films - Region 2 - PAL
Runtime	1:28:52
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.87 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 1.0)
Subtitles	Spanish, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Manga Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details: • text screen in Spanish DVD Release Date: May 14th, 2003 Keep Case Chapters: 12

Comments:

Perhaps a shade better than your average RKO weak transfer to PAL - it should fare alright on a tube, but other than that it is poor. Typically thick and heavy. Removable Spainsh subtitles and only Spanish language extras. Its big plus for Noir fans is that it is not out yet in Region 1- so if you can't wait - go for it. out of