In Shakedown, Howard Duff plays his specialty, a winsome crumb. As a down-at-the-heels shutterbug desperate for a job, he sells lurid pictures -- drownings, defenestrations -- without any thought to the peril his subjects face. Once he lands the job by buttering up his editor's assistant (Peggy Dow), he realizes that compromising photos of crime figures pay better as blackmail than as journalism. He doesn't scruple to double-cross his prey if the profits can underwrite his taste for the high life, including the widow of a mobster he set up for a hit. When he just happens to be on hand to snap that murder, he causes a sensation but raises suspicions. Of course, his duplicity and greed prove his undoing.... With such familiar tough guys as Brian Donleavy and Lawrence Tierney, the movie clicks right along apace with Duff's camera. A nice irony shades the ending, not unlike the denouement of Taxi Driver: the heel gets turned into something like a hero.
14 Reviews
Ambition rears its noir head
XhcnoirX2 March 2016
Howard Duff is an ambitious photographer looking for a job at a newspaper. Once he does, his ambitions start to skyrocket. His brash attitude gets him a snapshot of mobster Brian Donlevy, who takes a shine to him. Donlevy informs him of a robbery his competitor Lawrence Tierney is about to do, and Duff soon has himself another sensational photograph. After he photographs Tierney planting a bomb in Donlevy's car, he tries to blackmail Tierney while also hitting on Donlevy's widow Anne Vernon. Duff thinks he's in control but he's already in way over his head.
Ouch, the print I saw was in bad, bad shape, it seems like a 4th generation VHS recording, washed out with a slightly warped image. But don't let this stop you, this is a really good noir! It is always nice to see a noir where the 'protagonist' is a bigger bastard than the mobsters, including Lawrence Tierney!
Duff does a good job of portraying a man who seems like he's just anxious to find a job but who you soon realize is selfish, ruthless and only out for himself. He even tries to play 2 women at the same time, a mobster's widow and an editor at the newspaper, Peggy Dow (who already has a fiancée!). Donlevy and Tierney do what they excel at, playing rough, no-nonsense men. The rest of the supporting cast, which also includes Bruce Bennett as the chief editor, are equally solid. The cast has a ton of noir credentials between them, including 'The Naked City', 'The Glass Key', 'Born To Kill', 'Mildred Pierce' and many more... For French actress Vernon this was her only Hollywood movie however, but she's great here, bringing a lot of charm to her role.
This was director Joseph Pevney's first movie ('Female On The Beach', 'The Midnight Story'), but he does really well here. DoP Irving Glassberg ('Outside The Wall', 'The Web') also does good work here, making good use of real locations like a parking garage.
Don't let the bad picture quality deter you, this is the real deal, complete with a noir ending. Good stuff! Recommended! 8/10
Ouch, the print I saw was in bad, bad shape, it seems like a 4th generation VHS recording, washed out with a slightly warped image. But don't let this stop you, this is a really good noir! It is always nice to see a noir where the 'protagonist' is a bigger bastard than the mobsters, including Lawrence Tierney!
Duff does a good job of portraying a man who seems like he's just anxious to find a job but who you soon realize is selfish, ruthless and only out for himself. He even tries to play 2 women at the same time, a mobster's widow and an editor at the newspaper, Peggy Dow (who already has a fiancée!). Donlevy and Tierney do what they excel at, playing rough, no-nonsense men. The rest of the supporting cast, which also includes Bruce Bennett as the chief editor, are equally solid. The cast has a ton of noir credentials between them, including 'The Naked City', 'The Glass Key', 'Born To Kill', 'Mildred Pierce' and many more... For French actress Vernon this was her only Hollywood movie however, but she's great here, bringing a lot of charm to her role.
This was director Joseph Pevney's first movie ('Female On The Beach', 'The Midnight Story'), but he does really well here. DoP Irving Glassberg ('Outside The Wall', 'The Web') also does good work here, making good use of real locations like a parking garage.
Don't let the bad picture quality deter you, this is the real deal, complete with a noir ending. Good stuff! Recommended! 8/10
Portrait of a person so amoral, it is difficult to even read him
AlsExGal14 May 2022
The film opens with Jack Early (Howard Duff) in a railroad yard running from what appears to be a group of mobsters, with his camera in hand. He hides the camera before the mobsters can catch up to him. When they get to him they beat him up and throw him on the train tracks, assuming he will be run over. But he gets off of the tracks in time, reclaims his camera, and goes to a local newspaper office to sell his photo of mob activity. He manages to parlay his photo into a job there taking pictures of lost dogs. At this point you like this guy. He seems grateful for the job and looks at it as an opportunity to prove himself and maybe get an even better job there. He begins to romance the assistant editor (Peggy Dow as Ellen), although she has a dentist fiance in Portland whom she doesn't seem to be all that passionate about.
But Early's likeability factor changes, and it becomes clear this guy is and probably always has been a creep. He ingratiates himself with a semi legit mobster (Brian Donlevy), only to end up playing him against still another more violent mobster. He is in love at first sight with the semi legit mobster's wife, although she is completely loyal to her husband. And yet he is still - simultaneously - courting Ellen the assistant editor. Why is he doing all of this? Is he just a bottomless pit of ambition or does he like outsmarting everybody else or is he addicted to danger? I'll tell you now that the answer is never clear.
That's what makes this a very good noir - Jack Early is a complete conundrum. He is not your normal middle class noir protagonist who is a victim of circumstances. He could have easily succeeded in life on the straight path had he so chosen to do so.
This is a treat for Lawrence Tierney fans as he portrays the more homicidal of the two mobsters Jack Early is conning and gets a good amount of screen time. Tierney's intense delivery and perpetual scowl is effective as always, and this is probably the last of his good screen roles after RKO let him go because of his constant brawling ways and before he descended into poverty row films.
But Early's likeability factor changes, and it becomes clear this guy is and probably always has been a creep. He ingratiates himself with a semi legit mobster (Brian Donlevy), only to end up playing him against still another more violent mobster. He is in love at first sight with the semi legit mobster's wife, although she is completely loyal to her husband. And yet he is still - simultaneously - courting Ellen the assistant editor. Why is he doing all of this? Is he just a bottomless pit of ambition or does he like outsmarting everybody else or is he addicted to danger? I'll tell you now that the answer is never clear.
That's what makes this a very good noir - Jack Early is a complete conundrum. He is not your normal middle class noir protagonist who is a victim of circumstances. He could have easily succeeded in life on the straight path had he so chosen to do so.
This is a treat for Lawrence Tierney fans as he portrays the more homicidal of the two mobsters Jack Early is conning and gets a good amount of screen time. Tierney's intense delivery and perpetual scowl is effective as always, and this is probably the last of his good screen roles after RKO let him go because of his constant brawling ways and before he descended into poverty row films.
Repellant Protagonist in a Cynical Crime Film
evanston_dad17 May 2006
Warning: Spoilers
In "Shakedown," Howard Duff plays a photographer who will stop at nothing to climb his way to the very top of the success ladder. On the strength of his sheer tenacity, he gets a job with a major newspaper, and it's not long before he's made a name for himself by charming a notorious crime boss (Brian Donlevy) into allowing himself to be photographed. Donlevy takes him under his wing, but Duff decides to bite the hand that feeds him and sets Donlevy and another crime boss, Lawrence Tierney, against one another. He uses photos to blackmail Tierney into providing him with a steady income while he sidles up to Donlevy's wife on the sly, all the while romancing the photo editor of the paper at which he works. But Duff's cockiness and confidence in his own cleverness get the best of him, and he meets his end in a wildly melodramatic finale in which he snaps one last photo, that of his own murderer, before dying.
"Shakedown" is notable for its highly suggestive dialogue and sexual content, and for the sheer repulsiveness of its protagonist. Duff's character is unapologetically repellant--he has no moral qualms whatsoever about anything he does, even if people get killed as a direct result of his actions. The film is probably about ten minutes too long, and over all is a minor work, but it should be seen as an example of post-war cinema at its harshest and most cynical.
Grade: B.
"Shakedown" is notable for its highly suggestive dialogue and sexual content, and for the sheer repulsiveness of its protagonist. Duff's character is unapologetically repellant--he has no moral qualms whatsoever about anything he does, even if people get killed as a direct result of his actions. The film is probably about ten minutes too long, and over all is a minor work, but it should be seen as an example of post-war cinema at its harshest and most cynical.
Grade: B.
Shakedown (1950)
MartinTeller3 January 2012
A rising star photographer starts using his journalistic influence for personal profit... and sets two gangsters against each other. Ruthless and cynical, with one of the most despicable protagonists this side of Mike Hammer. This guy is a real piece of work, a sleazy manipulator who doesn't care who suffers for his gain. Howard Duff (probably best known to noir aficionados for THE NAKED CITY) plays it completely unsympathetic, delivering his lines with barely concealed contempt and ambition. The supporting performances are all pretty good, too, with special mention for the always intimidating Lawrence Tierney. The story is lean and mean, like the production. It's a decidedly low-budget affair, a little more polish might have amped up the tension (though I should note I watched a very rough copy). The film doesn't pack much of an emotional punch, but it is a down and dirty good time.
"The right place at the right time."
brogmiller7 March 2023
It was said of Joseph Pevney by a colleague that 'some former actors become good directors and some become hack directors. Pevney is no hack and is more than good.'
Although this marks Pevney's directorial debut his undeniable flair and precision are already in evidence, aided immeasurably by one of Universal's most respected editors Milton Carruth.
This is minor Noir to be sure but grips throughout its eighty minutes and reflects not just post War cynicism but the Fourth Estate's questionable ethics when catering to the public's desire for sensationalism.
Pevney is excellent with his actors and the casting is spot on. Not exactly renowned for his sympathetic persona, Howard Duff has arguably his best role as a narcissistic sociopath, a type that the female of the species finds impossible to resist and the troublesome Lawrence Tierney again convinces as a nasty piece of work. On the distaff side there is lovely Peggy Dow who quit filming to raise a family whilst classy Anne Vernon in her only Hollywood appearance provides the Gallic 'Je ne sais quoi'. Solid Bruce Bennett plays a newspaper editor whose conscience is mollified by increased circulation figures. Brian Donlevy has star quality in spades and steals all of his scenes. The eagle-eyed might spot an uncredited Rock Hudson as a doorman. They all have to start somewhere.
The old Hollywood Rule Book requires Duff's loathsome character to get his just desserts but the climax in which he finds redemption has been aptly described by one critic as 'ingeniously ironic'.
Although this marks Pevney's directorial debut his undeniable flair and precision are already in evidence, aided immeasurably by one of Universal's most respected editors Milton Carruth.
This is minor Noir to be sure but grips throughout its eighty minutes and reflects not just post War cynicism but the Fourth Estate's questionable ethics when catering to the public's desire for sensationalism.
Pevney is excellent with his actors and the casting is spot on. Not exactly renowned for his sympathetic persona, Howard Duff has arguably his best role as a narcissistic sociopath, a type that the female of the species finds impossible to resist and the troublesome Lawrence Tierney again convinces as a nasty piece of work. On the distaff side there is lovely Peggy Dow who quit filming to raise a family whilst classy Anne Vernon in her only Hollywood appearance provides the Gallic 'Je ne sais quoi'. Solid Bruce Bennett plays a newspaper editor whose conscience is mollified by increased circulation figures. Brian Donlevy has star quality in spades and steals all of his scenes. The eagle-eyed might spot an uncredited Rock Hudson as a doorman. They all have to start somewhere.
The old Hollywood Rule Book requires Duff's loathsome character to get his just desserts but the climax in which he finds redemption has been aptly described by one critic as 'ingeniously ironic'.
Thought-provoking film ahead of its time
adrianovasconcelos21 April 2022
I do not know a great deal about Director Joseph Pevney, but his work includes THIEVES' HIGHWAY, so SHAKEDOWN was no beginner's luck. It is a well-directed film anchored in a cast of considerable quality, including Howard Duff in one of his better roles, the always duplicitous Brian Donlevy, Lawrence Tierney, French actress Anne Vernon, Bruce Bennett, and the incredibly beautiful Peggy Dow, who always reminds me of Audrey Hepburn.
Boasting a thought-provoking script with greedy, selfish and ruthless reporter Jack Early (as in the early bird that catches the worm) driving the action, this film may well have served as blueprint for NIGHTCRAWLER (2014). I find it surprising that the puritanical U. S. codes of the 1950s, the HUAC investigation, Senator McCarthy, etc, let this attack on the American Dream show in moviehouses... but I am grateful they did!
Fitting and effective cinematography by Glassberg and editing by Carrugh.
Definitely worth watching!
Boasting a thought-provoking script with greedy, selfish and ruthless reporter Jack Early (as in the early bird that catches the worm) driving the action, this film may well have served as blueprint for NIGHTCRAWLER (2014). I find it surprising that the puritanical U. S. codes of the 1950s, the HUAC investigation, Senator McCarthy, etc, let this attack on the American Dream show in moviehouses... but I am grateful they did!
Fitting and effective cinematography by Glassberg and editing by Carrugh.
Definitely worth watching!
Driven Nightcrawler type with an eye for the ladies gets closer to his criminal subjects
declancooley30 April 2022
There's quite a bit to this humdinger of a noir with a nutritious blend of intrigue, guns and dames as well as a dash of humour sprinkled here and there. Our intrepid but amoral news photographer has all kinds of ambition and aspirations for the high life - and with a bit of cleverness, has every intention of achieving it. On the way, he is also not immune to feminine wiles, which fuel his trajectory to success even more. And if that wasn't enough Lawrence Tierney turns up at some point, ever the vicious low-life with his goons not far behind. I expected little from this flick but thoroughly enjoyed it. A noir-lite in some ways but has enough combustible ingredients, familiar faces and unfamiliar twists to make it worth your while.
Duff shines as a Lowlife
gordonl5627 December 2014
Warning: Spoilers
SHAKEDOWN – 1950
Howard Duff entered films in 1947 and by 1950 had made it into leading roles. In this one, Duff is a photographer who wants to become a newspaperman. He manages to get a lucky shot of a killing and gets hired by a local daily. Duff is willing to do anything to move up the ladder. It helps that the man is a first rate heel from the bottom of his shoes up.
He manages to talk a local mob boss into posing for a photo. The man, Brian Donlevy, takes a shine to the smooth talking Duff. He offers him a bit of cash to help him out with a problem. Cash is of course Duff's favourite word, and he agrees.
Donlevy is having a spot of trouble with an old "associate" of his, Lawrence Tierney. Mister Tierney is muscling in on a few of Donlevy's businesses, and Donlevy would like this to stop. He has info on a job Tierney is going to pull, and would like Duff to be on hand to snap a few photos of the deed. The job is a robbery of the cash room at a large department store. Donlevy offers Duff a cool grand for the help.
Duff manages to be in the area when Tierney and his mob walk out with a cool 200 large after the holdup. He snaps several great shots of the mug and his crew. The best shots that identify Tierney without a doubt, Duff keeps, and turns the others into his paper. The paper is pleased with the scoop even if it is difficult to id the crooks. His editor, Bruce Bennett, gives the man a 25 dollar bonus.
Duff has plans for making a little more than a 25 buck bonus. Duff now pays Tierney a visit, and flashes the best photos of him and his mob. Cough up or the negatives go to the paper and the Police. Tierney is less than amused when he hears the price for Duff's silence, $25,000. Tierney however has no option but to cough up.
Duff throws in a sweetener, he tells Tierney that it was his old boss, Donlevy, who had told him about the robbery. Needless to say how our boy Tierney takes this bit of info. Duff of course plans on making a fortune by selling info to the rival gangs. He has also taken a shine to Donlevy's wife, Anne Vernon. He puts the moves on the babe every time Donlevy has his back turned.
Meanwhile, back at the newspaper, he is also romancing his editor's assistant, Peggy Dow. Dow falls for the silver tongued rat in a nice suit. She dumps her present beau and takes up with Duff. Her editor pal, Bennett, does not like the smell of Duff, and tells Dow the same.
By now our boy Tierney has decided on a little payback on Donlevy. He plants a bomb in Donlevy's car. Of course Duff just happens to be hiding nearby, and snaps some more pics he can use for blackmail. Moments after Tierney has wired up the car and split, Donlevy shows and is blown to bits. Duff needless to say has a top picture of the exact moment of Donlevy's demise. In fact, he was so close to the event he is injured in the explosion.
While in the hospital, Duff is offered all sorts of contracts for photo work. He quits the paper and goes freelance. Dow finally clues in that Duff is the rat she had been warned about. Duff now makes moves on the widow Vernon and soon is in her good books.
Duff, now a photographer in demand, lucks onto doing a charity event at a top end joint. There will be over a million in jewels etc on display. Using his cover as the event photographer, he cases the joint and gets all the details. These he gives to Tierney for a large cut of the proceeds.
Tierney by now has had more than enough of Duff's arrogance, and decides to settle his hash. He has a meet with the Donlevy's widow, Vernon. He tells her that it was really Duff who had arranged her dear hubby's death. Vernon is not amused with this info and makes plans to deal with Duff.
Without giving up the actual ending, suffice it to say that it is a real cracker-jack of a twister.
Look close and you will see Rock Hudson in an early bit as a nightclub doorman.
The director here is Joseph Pevney who started out as an actor. He had a half dozen film noir credits before switching to directing. His work behind the camera includes, UNDERCOVER GIRL, IRON MAN, FLESH AND FURY, 6 BRIDGES TO CROSS, THE MIDNIGHT STORY and FEMALE ON THE BEACH. When film work dried up, he moved to television and cranked out over 200 episodes of various series. Two of the more famous episodes, were from STAR TREK, "Amok Time" and "The Trouble with Tribbles".
Howard Duff entered films in 1947 and by 1950 had made it into leading roles. In this one, Duff is a photographer who wants to become a newspaperman. He manages to get a lucky shot of a killing and gets hired by a local daily. Duff is willing to do anything to move up the ladder. It helps that the man is a first rate heel from the bottom of his shoes up.
He manages to talk a local mob boss into posing for a photo. The man, Brian Donlevy, takes a shine to the smooth talking Duff. He offers him a bit of cash to help him out with a problem. Cash is of course Duff's favourite word, and he agrees.
Donlevy is having a spot of trouble with an old "associate" of his, Lawrence Tierney. Mister Tierney is muscling in on a few of Donlevy's businesses, and Donlevy would like this to stop. He has info on a job Tierney is going to pull, and would like Duff to be on hand to snap a few photos of the deed. The job is a robbery of the cash room at a large department store. Donlevy offers Duff a cool grand for the help.
Duff manages to be in the area when Tierney and his mob walk out with a cool 200 large after the holdup. He snaps several great shots of the mug and his crew. The best shots that identify Tierney without a doubt, Duff keeps, and turns the others into his paper. The paper is pleased with the scoop even if it is difficult to id the crooks. His editor, Bruce Bennett, gives the man a 25 dollar bonus.
Duff has plans for making a little more than a 25 buck bonus. Duff now pays Tierney a visit, and flashes the best photos of him and his mob. Cough up or the negatives go to the paper and the Police. Tierney is less than amused when he hears the price for Duff's silence, $25,000. Tierney however has no option but to cough up.
Duff throws in a sweetener, he tells Tierney that it was his old boss, Donlevy, who had told him about the robbery. Needless to say how our boy Tierney takes this bit of info. Duff of course plans on making a fortune by selling info to the rival gangs. He has also taken a shine to Donlevy's wife, Anne Vernon. He puts the moves on the babe every time Donlevy has his back turned.
Meanwhile, back at the newspaper, he is also romancing his editor's assistant, Peggy Dow. Dow falls for the silver tongued rat in a nice suit. She dumps her present beau and takes up with Duff. Her editor pal, Bennett, does not like the smell of Duff, and tells Dow the same.
By now our boy Tierney has decided on a little payback on Donlevy. He plants a bomb in Donlevy's car. Of course Duff just happens to be hiding nearby, and snaps some more pics he can use for blackmail. Moments after Tierney has wired up the car and split, Donlevy shows and is blown to bits. Duff needless to say has a top picture of the exact moment of Donlevy's demise. In fact, he was so close to the event he is injured in the explosion.
While in the hospital, Duff is offered all sorts of contracts for photo work. He quits the paper and goes freelance. Dow finally clues in that Duff is the rat she had been warned about. Duff now makes moves on the widow Vernon and soon is in her good books.
Duff, now a photographer in demand, lucks onto doing a charity event at a top end joint. There will be over a million in jewels etc on display. Using his cover as the event photographer, he cases the joint and gets all the details. These he gives to Tierney for a large cut of the proceeds.
Tierney by now has had more than enough of Duff's arrogance, and decides to settle his hash. He has a meet with the Donlevy's widow, Vernon. He tells her that it was really Duff who had arranged her dear hubby's death. Vernon is not amused with this info and makes plans to deal with Duff.
Without giving up the actual ending, suffice it to say that it is a real cracker-jack of a twister.
Look close and you will see Rock Hudson in an early bit as a nightclub doorman.
The director here is Joseph Pevney who started out as an actor. He had a half dozen film noir credits before switching to directing. His work behind the camera includes, UNDERCOVER GIRL, IRON MAN, FLESH AND FURY, 6 BRIDGES TO CROSS, THE MIDNIGHT STORY and FEMALE ON THE BEACH. When film work dried up, he moved to television and cranked out over 200 episodes of various series. Two of the more famous episodes, were from STAR TREK, "Amok Time" and "The Trouble with Tribbles".
Morality Play
boblipton2 July 2023
Howard Duff wants a job as a photographer on Bruce Bennett's newspaper. But you can't get a job without experience, and he can't get experience without a job. But he convinces assistant editor Peggy Dow with a great shot he got 'while passing by'. Soon he's stealing assignments and gets crooked businessman Brian Donleavy to pose for him. Soon, he's doing dirty work for Donleavy because he craves money, and Donleavy's wife, Anne Vernon.... as well as Miss Dow. He's also got gangster Laurence Tierney paying him off, as he rises rapidly. It doesn't look there's an stopping him.
Joseph Pevney's first movie as director is a bleak morality play about what happens to someone with ability but no moral compass; casting Donleavy and Tierney, two actors who made their bones with such roles, makes his inevitable end seem more inevitable, and that easy casting is, perhaps, an artistic error, but it works well enough here. Duff shows himself as capable in the role, which reminds me of Jake Gyllenhaal in NIGHTCRAWLER. Keep an eye for Chester Conklin and Rock Hudson in bit parts.
Joseph Pevney's first movie as director is a bleak morality play about what happens to someone with ability but no moral compass; casting Donleavy and Tierney, two actors who made their bones with such roles, makes his inevitable end seem more inevitable, and that easy casting is, perhaps, an artistic error, but it works well enough here. Duff shows himself as capable in the role, which reminds me of Jake Gyllenhaal in NIGHTCRAWLER. Keep an eye for Chester Conklin and Rock Hudson in bit parts.
How to make money through professional photography
myriamlenys16 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
"Shakedown" featured an antihero protagonist, to wit a talented photographer, arranging all kinds of interesting business opportunities for himself, mainly by manipulating a variety of criminals and racketeers. At one point I was hoping/suspecting that the movie would introduce an extra layer of intrigue, by disclosing that the protagonist was pitting all these gangsters against each other because he had an ulterior motive. (For instance : he wanted revenge against gangster X for knocking down his mother during a blood-drenched getaway.) This turned out not to be the case, our protagonist was behaving like a callous and greedy opportunist because he was, well, a callous and greedy opportunist. Anyway, watching "Shakedown" was time well spent : I thought it was a suspenseful noir with a well-constructed plot, memorable characters and quotable dialogue. The ending provided an ingenious example of an engineer hoist with his own petard.
Movie lovers interested in "contrast and compare" may want to take a look at the much later "Nightcrawler" (2014), which is a compelling thriller/drama in its own right. (Wrote a small review there too.) Although different in style and plot, both movies raise similar underlying questions, for instance with regard to the public's craving for striking and violent images. If you and me and the postman ask for dramatic pics of victims jumping from the third floor of a burning building, there will arise people willing to satisfy the demand - quite possibly at the expense of the victims and the rescuers.
Movie lovers interested in "contrast and compare" may want to take a look at the much later "Nightcrawler" (2014), which is a compelling thriller/drama in its own right. (Wrote a small review there too.) Although different in style and plot, both movies raise similar underlying questions, for instance with regard to the public's craving for striking and violent images. If you and me and the postman ask for dramatic pics of victims jumping from the third floor of a burning building, there will arise people willing to satisfy the demand - quite possibly at the expense of the victims and the rescuers.
Shakedown
CinemaSerf3 January 2024
Talk about hoist by your own petard! "Jack" (Howard Duff) is an aspiring photo-journalist who manages to get newspaper editor "David" (Bruce Bennett) to take him on for a week. His next task is to stay employed, and to that end he manages to convince "Nick" (Brian Donlevy) - a local "businessman", to pose for a front page photo. This latter man takes a bit of a shine to "Jack" and gives him an opportunity to put away one of his criminal competitors "Colton" (Lawrence Tierney). There's a few grand in it for him, but he gets greedy - he keeps the negative of a shot he takes after a robbery, and submits a less definitive photo to his boss. Next he blackmails "Colton" for $25,000 else the real negative will end up with his paper and the police! What now ensues sees him try to play both men off each other whilst irritating his loved-up editor all as he rather cruelly plays with the affections of his sponsor at the newspaper "Ellen" (Peggy Dow) and tries the same with the wife of "Nick" - the considerably more savvy "Nita" (Anne Vernon) before his house of cards starts to look distinctly shaky! This benefits from a tightly knit cast with a solid story and some decent dialogue - and from guy that it's fairly easy to dislike! It's well paced and ends with an appropriate wise-crack that rather sums up "Jack" nicely.
Picture Snatcher Gone Noir
TheFearmakers24 February 2024
In the 1930's James Cagney programmer PICTURE SNATCHER, he plays a photographer who will stop at nothing (even taking contrived shortcuts) to get a sensational photo... meanwhile romancing the newspaper boss's secretary and dealing with the mob.... who he used to work for but in the case of a more upfront and seemingly sophisticated Howard Duff in SHAKEDOWN, it's a blackmail photo of deadly criminal Lawrence Tierney that lands him in hot water...
Although he did get that gorgeous secretary Peggy Dow with no effort, who basically got him the job through Bruce Bennett, running the paper and not trusting Duff's Jack Early no matter how exciting the photos are... from a man almost drowning in a car to Brian Donlevy's ex-mobster getting blown up in one...
The noir ambiguity is really a cautionary tale on being too sneaky and suspiciously selfish to get ahead, and Duff's character is as stupid and reckless as he's assertive and intrepid, eventually and inevitably falling for Donlevy's French wife, the otherwise comparably bad dame... although she does nothing fatale-like except turning down his constant offers despite him having the far prettier Peggy Dow already in the bag...
This intrusive romantic triangle gets in the way of the first act's exciting action, and at the same time puts the vicious Tierney on the peripheral sidelines: a shame because Duff seemed beyond prime for risk-taking before morphing into yet another smitten noirish sap to a (in this case widowed) woman not worth his time, or the audience's.
Although he did get that gorgeous secretary Peggy Dow with no effort, who basically got him the job through Bruce Bennett, running the paper and not trusting Duff's Jack Early no matter how exciting the photos are... from a man almost drowning in a car to Brian Donlevy's ex-mobster getting blown up in one...
The noir ambiguity is really a cautionary tale on being too sneaky and suspiciously selfish to get ahead, and Duff's character is as stupid and reckless as he's assertive and intrepid, eventually and inevitably falling for Donlevy's French wife, the otherwise comparably bad dame... although she does nothing fatale-like except turning down his constant offers despite him having the far prettier Peggy Dow already in the bag...
This intrusive romantic triangle gets in the way of the first act's exciting action, and at the same time puts the vicious Tierney on the peripheral sidelines: a shame because Duff seemed beyond prime for risk-taking before morphing into yet another smitten noirish sap to a (in this case widowed) woman not worth his time, or the audience's.
A paparazzi story - there was no photoshop in those days
clanciai1 December 2023
Jack Early makes a startling career by time and time again getting the perfect picture at the right moment - how does he do it? There are several who suspect something, there is something uneasy and creepy about him, he is too good to be true, his ambitions seem to get him anywhere, and nothing seems to stop him, but it is rather the other way around - he stops at nothing. This is a blood-curdling horror story of opportunism, and yet you can't hate him, as little as his two ladies can anything but love him, but they all seem to be waiting for the moment of his showdown. Fortunately there are two good people here, his editor who sees him through, the only one to do it, and who will rather quit than keep him on the job, and the other one is Brian Donleavy as Nick Palmer, married to Anne Vernon, who really loves him and who also ultimately gets the truth about Jack Early. The script is too brilliant to be true, and yet it is totally realistic, this is how a ruthless paparazzo works, although it would not become universally evident until decades later. Peggy Dow is wonderful as Ellen, another good relief to the horror story, while Bruce Bennett as the editor is the one here to reconcile you with the journalist's profession. You will stick to this film to the bitter end and perhaps wallow in its constant increasing unpleasantness, waiting like all the actors for the ultimate crisis to bring the curtain down - with an ultimate triumph of unexpected journalism.
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