The Racket Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

The Racket Blu-ray Movie Review

Crime and punishment.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III October 30, 2025

Tense and entertaining but more than a little convoluted, RKO Pictures' The Racket was officially helmed by John Cromwell... but as many as four uncredited directors worked on it, including Nicholas Ray and Mel Ferrer. (Five, if you count notoriously "hands-on" studio head Howard Hughes.) What it lacks in logic and organization it makes up for with relentless drive and rock solid performances from Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Lizabeth Scott, and William Talman. They're all part of a tangled narrative that involves shady gangster dealings, good cops, political intrigue, domestic bliss, and terrible tragedy, all wrapped up in moody noir window dressing with extra shadows on top.

In then-present day Los Angeles, a mysterious organization known as "The Syndicate" has been running rampant so a meeting between the Governor and his Crime Commision, led by chief investigator Harry Craig (Les Tremayne), takes place. We're reminded that one of the best and brightest cops in the city is Captain Thomas McQuigg (Robert Mitchum), who's been transferred around in recent years and now resides over the Seventh Precinct where he's shaken things up dramatically in the next few weeks. Some men are eager to fall in line, such as promising officer Bob Johnson (Talman), while others are more resentful of McQuigg's iron-fist approach. They'll need all the help they can get to take down Nick Scanlon (Ryan), a high-ranking Syndicate member who's bought off just about everyone of consequence... except for McQuigg, that is. Balancing their own home lives with stressful days and nights on the job, the ongoing battle for L.A. heats up and, soon enough, sultry nightclub singer Irene Hayes (Scott) is caught up in all the drama too... but with a man as ruthless as Scanlon tightening his grip on the city, things will get worse before they get better.

It certainly sounds like a compelling enough film noir... and in many ways The Racket has its moments and carries a capable amount of intrigue as the story progresses. But it's not always told in a way that makes much sense: character motivations flounder along the way, too many inconsequential characters and detours are introduced, and The Racket's momentum is reduced to stop-and-start by the time its final act arrives. There's a truly great movie buried under some of the rubble that piles up during just 89 minutes... but if nothing else, The Racket's 's performances and sharp visual precision carry an unusual amount of weight here. All told, it's more than enough for first-time viewers, of course, and certainly enough to encourage a future rewatch to pick up on things you likely missed the first time around.

Enough can't be said about the terrific performances from top to bottom; even if Mitchum doesn't make the world's most believable police captain and Lizebeth Scott feels more like a token femme fatale than a truly necessary part of the story, The Racket surely holds a certain charm that genre fans will thoroughly enjoy in spite of its shortcomings. Simply put, it's one of those almost, but not quite productions that falls short of "hidden gem" status but is still well worth revisiting more than 70 years after its theatrical release. Thankfully, Warner Archive's welcome new Blu-ray package makes it easy for fans and first-timers to (re)discover The Racket, as its terrific new 4K-sourced restoration and lossless audio resurrect the sights and sounds of 1951-era Los Angeles in unrivaled detail.

The Racket Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Racket's moody noir visuals make it an ideal candidate for Warner Archive's careful restoration process, which as usual takes the purist-friendly approach with a careful touch and dazzling results. This 1080p transfer was sourced from a recent 4K scan of the original nitrate negative with additional manual cleanup performed, yielding a high amount of fine detail that really shows off the stylish cinematography by George E. Diskant; his other noir credits include They Live By Night and The Narrow Margin, which is long overdue for Blu-ray. True to the genre, shadows play a big role in The Racket's overall aesthetic, with silvery greys and black levels showing a tremendous amount of depth and density. On the other end of the spectrum, lighter contrast levels and stray bright whites also shine with no apparent blooming, while its suitably strong mid-range details and strong gradients don't suffer from banding or other harsh compression-related issues. Film grain, as always, is readily apparent and this really adds to the era-specific atmosphere, while disc encoding is solid and the movie runs at a high and supportive bit rate on this dual-layered disc. All things considered, this is more reliably great work from one of the most beloved boutique labels in the business.

The Racket Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix follows suit with an equally well-restored profile, one that showcases crisp dialogue and sound effects with potent music cues by composer Paul Sawtell, whose long and prolific career included several stays with RKO. No obvious age-related damage could be heard along the way -- only trace amounts of hiss here and there, which is usually a good sign that the original elements weren't compromised with noise reduction. It may not reach the inarguably dazzling heights of its visuals, but this workmanlike presentation surely gets the job done.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature only, not the extras listed below.

The Racket Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with attractive poster-themed cover artwork but only a few bonus features; one is carried over from the DVD days and is an essential listen for fans of the film.

• Audio Commentary - Film noir expert and TCM fixture Eddie Muller contributes a relaxed and very informative legacy track that goes into a lot of interesting details about The Racket's production, casting, interference from Howard Hughes, and lots more behind-the-scenes detours and back roads. It's a refreshingly candid commentary that isn't afraid into delve into some of the film's more obvious shortcomings while still acknowledging its merits. Please note that this audio commentary plays during a standard-definition presentation of the film.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:07) - This rare vintage promotional piece is a heavily compressed, blocky mess.

The Racket Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Racket is a direct remake of a 1928 silent film produced by Howard Hughes, who undoubtedly had a heavy hand in this 1951 film's development. The end result is a bit of a patchy mess at times but it's still plenty memorable, thanks to its terrific noir-laced atmosphere and fine performances from its four main players. Warner Archives polishes the film to a shine for Blu-ray with their new 4K-sourced restoration and lossless audio which, combined with an excellent legacy audio commentary, make it a decent purchase for genre enthusiasts. Recommended to the right crowd.