Kim P
John Glover's spot-on Baltimore accent is the main reason to watch this...along with Ann Margret, always worth watching.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
04/08/24
Full Review
J M
I found this to be a criminally underrated thriller that was one of the great viewing surprises I've had in a long time. The works of Elmore Leonard have also been the basis for such films as GET SHORTY and my beloved JACKIE BROWN. And this one pretty much has it all - murder, sex, betrayal, money and revenge. It's one heck of a good time! Scheider does a good job in the good-guy-who-makes-bad-decisions role that Michael Douglas would soon dominate. Ann-Marget is a smart, warm presence - I've always considered her an undervalued actress. The confession scene between Scheider and her is expertly written and played. Best of all is a trio of villains who turn on themselves as often as their prey. Glover's countenance cries scrawny accountant more than lethal bad guy, but he is truly memorable and quite intimidating. The ending is a bit overly clever for my taste, and one would like to think these characters are smart enough to realize that locking their doors would solve a lot of their problems. But this is an action suspense thriller that I would gladly watch again and considering it's a genre I'm not always fond about, that's saying something! - Jeff Marshall, Movie Blogger (Facebook)
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/18/24
Full Review
Amber L
We had so much fun working on 52 Pick-Up. Roy Scheider was so cool - totally starstruck.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
07/05/23
Full Review
Audience Member
As I brought up during The Ambassador, Cannon had been hoping to make Elmore Leonard's 52 Pick-Up into a movie since 1974. John Frankenheimer read the book and wanted to direct a more faithful adaptation, which almost happened in Pittsburgh, which would have stood in for the Detroit location of the novel. It ended up being shot in Los Angeles.
With a screenplay by John Steppling and Leonard himself, this movie is lean, mean and rough. Harry Mitchell (Roy Scheider) has gone from decorated war veteran to owning a steel company that's finally worth some money, while his wife Barbara (Ann-Margret) is running for city council.
Their lives fall apart when Harry is visited by three blackmailers who demand $105,000 a year for life, as they have a videotape of him and his mistress Cini (Kelly Preston). He can't go to the cops or he'll ruin everything his wife has worked for. But he doesn't have the available funds to pay them. And his guilt makes him confess to his wife, even as she tells him she wished that she never knew.
The three men — Alan Raimy (John Glover, who is a revelation in this movie), Bobby Shy (Clarence Williams III) and Leo (Robert Trebor) — get found out by Harry, who refuses to pay them, even after they murder Cini with his gun. Soon, he's turning the gang against one another, with Raimy slowly going even wilder, finally kidnapping Barbara and injecting her with drugs.
This movie is one of those "oh you men" films, because men and their impulses drive every single violent action. It also has a great cast, including Doug McClure, Debra Berger, Blackie Dammit and Vanity as the dancer that gets Cini mixed up in the blackmail and a party scene that's a who's who of American adult film actors in 1986, including Tom Byron, Herschel Savage (his wife at the time Ines Ochoa is also in this scene), Amber Lynn, Ron Jeremy, Erica Boyer, Barbara Dare, Jamie Gillis, Cara Lott, Randy West, Honey Wilder, Pat Manning, Barbara Summers, Miss Sharon Mitchell, and Lorrie Lovett. Seka claimed in her book Inside Seka that she passed on being in the movie after Frankenheimer asked her for a date.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Good pacing help this movie work.
The performances are bang on.
Its the kind of movie that is easy to get through,and can watch and enjoy it again,seeing,and noticing things you missed on a previous viewing.It,s also an acquired but worthy taste.You are hooked right from the beginning because of the cast early on,and its an intense ride for most of it.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/17/23
Full Review
Audience Member
The biggest problem with this movie is that the protagonist is just as reprehensible and vile as the villains he is up against. The movie has some mildly interesting twists, with little thrill. There are significant pacing problems with long minutes of nothing while people drive or think or of just scenery. It fails to create any additional atmosphere and just leads you to reach for the fast-forward button. On a positive note, the acting is above average, and the snarkiness in the dialogue is amusing.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
01/24/23
Full Review
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