Why so much hype?

the audience applauded

Let's be realistic.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

This is a story that has been presented thousands of times on the big screen. What makes this film, The Racket, a cut above most of the other crime/drama films of the past 70 odd years is the standout performance by Robert Ryan as the gangster Nick Scanlon. I used the word "gangster"which is based on the Websters dictionary which defines the word "gangster: as follows: "a member of a gang of criminals : racketeer". In today's films we hear more about the word "mobster" defined as "someone who is part of a secret organized group of criminals : a member of the Mob" Nick Scanlon is not part of any criminal organization, not even if the criminal organization he associates with refers to their head honcho as "the old man". Robert Ryan's character is a formidable foe to the 7th Precinct Police station as well as to all the criminal elements as he certainly marches to his own drum and that drum is beaten often by his own fists on to the other criminals who do not take his orders without talking back to him. The 7th precinct police station has recently been advised of their new Captain an honest hard working and devoted officer of the law named Captain Thomas McQuigg played by first rate actor Robert Mitchum.Captain Thomas McQuigg and the feisty criminal Nick Scanlon share a common trait. They don't run away from trouble, no these two tough opponents they run head on towards trouble. This film also reflects how the criminal element has infiltrated the police and the judicial system with their brute force and cash influence. I guess some things such as in this film, the more they change the more they stay the same. (Police and justice corruption are still prevalent in the year 2018 as the current U.S. president, Donald Trump, has been under siege with non truth accusations, and the news stated pay to play by the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.)The film The Racket does have one clear message besides the strong performances by many of the actors and actresses in this excellent film and that message is "justice will prevail". I give the film a 7 out of 10 rating

Robert Mitchum stars in this crime story that has him star as Police Captain Thomas McQuigg, the only honest captain left in a corrupt police force paid off by local crime boss Nick Scanlon(played by Robert Ryan) who has to deal with the national crime syndicate moving in, and being pressured to conform to their methods, which isn't in Nick's nature. William Talman plays honest patrolman Bob Johnson, who helps McQuigg battle the gangsters and a corrupt D.A. turned politician(played by Ray Collins) even as his life is put in grave danger. Good cast cannot save routine and predictable story that also defies credibility one time too many.

The Racket (1951)A stellar cast and gritty photography can't quite lift this movie into the exciting classic it might have been. The basic problem here is the material, the story, which is slow and steady. It involves lots of conversations, all filmed with huge drama, about negotiating new ways of doing things as a national mob organization squeezes out the local mob boss.This is still a good movie, for sure. Robert Ryan plays the local boss getting overshadowed and he ramps it up as usual, beating a few people senseless. Robert Mitchum is given a dull role, not as a cop on the beat but as the chief of a precinct in charge of cops on the beat. And he was once buddies with Ryan, so they have a couple of one-on-ones. Lizabeth Scott is sharp and as good as she gets in her quirky femme fatale manner, but we don't see enough of her. Throw in Ray Collins as a slithering politico (a role he seems to have been born for) and William Conrad as a corrupt cop (with many pounds to gain before his days as t.v.'s Cannon, etc.) and you see how it looks like good stuff.A star behind the scenes is definitely cinematographer George E. Diskant, not a big name in the field but responsible for several terrific film noirs including the flawless "They Live by Night." He is in good form here even though there isn't much action. You only wish the director, John Cromwell, had more guts to let Diskant fly with things. Cromwell is one of those by-the-book directors who gets the job done but doesn't seem to see the opportunities to surprise the viewer. And he was loaded with opportunity here.The story is basically about life as a cop in a big city. That's why half the time (almost literally) we are in the police station. Or a squad car. There is no actual crime at the center of things (lots of crimes go zipping by, for sure). It's not about solving a crime, but about getting the old boss. It's Mitchum vs. Ryan. And Ryan is more fun. Things get fairly complicated, perhaps needlessly, but the overall trend is toward justice, and how it is best served in a corrupt world. Filled with good nuances, but packaged a bit awkwardly by the end.I say this isn't quite a film noir, but of course in the big picture most people would have to call it that. What it lacks (for me) is the loneliness of the lead character, and maybe even the evilness of the femme fatale. Mitchum is part of a big machine, and a sympathetic one (a huge police force). Ryan is just a thug, and a mean one with a small mind. It's pure crime stuff with noir stylizing. Good enough for a great evening--if you stay alert to all the details.

Robert Ryan made a career of playing against type. Off-screen, he was a warm-hearted, intelligent man who fought against injustice and campaigned for civil rights. In character, he frequently played sardonic, sadistic villains. Maybe being 6"4" with the swagger of the ex-Marine and college boxer he'd been, coupled with a face of chiseled granite, contributed. And he was never more entertainingly sociopathic than as Nick Scanlon in "The Racket." A loose cannon mobster allied with a national crime syndicate, he refuses to cool his natural taste for violence to protect his associates' political power plays. His adversary and ex-childhood pal is staunchly honest cop Robert Mitchum. Together, they strike sparks in what has been incorrectly described as a "noir" film. It's more of a tough, smart gangster movie. There are stand-outs throughout, led by Ray Collins' sweaty, corrupt DA and Don Porter's smooth syndicate "front." But it's Ryan who ambles off with the acting honors.