I was surprised to see that the listed running time for "The Racket" is only 88 minutes, because the film feels MUCH longer. It's probably because there is so much plot and so many characters, too many, crammed into the brief running time.
"The Racket" feels more ambitious than your standard noir because of its relatively epic scope, but that's also what I didn't care for. I like noirs when they're sleek and streamlined and focused. "The Racket" felt like it was all over the place, and it was difficult to feel truly vested in any one plot strand because there were so many vying for attention.
I do give it credit for being a pretty gritty film for its time, and for unpredictably killing off a major character that in any other movie would have been ensured survival by the conventions of the genre.
This film was a remake of the silent Lewis Milestone version from 1928, which happened to be nominated for Best Picture in the very first year of the Academy Awards. I've seen it, and from what I can remember the 1951 version bears little resemblance.
Grade: B
"The Racket" feels more ambitious than your standard noir because of its relatively epic scope, but that's also what I didn't care for. I like noirs when they're sleek and streamlined and focused. "The Racket" felt like it was all over the place, and it was difficult to feel truly vested in any one plot strand because there were so many vying for attention.
I do give it credit for being a pretty gritty film for its time, and for unpredictably killing off a major character that in any other movie would have been ensured survival by the conventions of the genre.
This film was a remake of the silent Lewis Milestone version from 1928, which happened to be nominated for Best Picture in the very first year of the Academy Awards. I've seen it, and from what I can remember the 1951 version bears little resemblance.
Grade: B