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Try and Get Me

Released Nov 15, 1950 1h 25m Mystery & Thriller List
Tomatometer 4 Reviews 80% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
Down-and-out family man Howard Tyler (Frank Lovejoy), in need of a break, falls under the charm of Jerry Slocum (Lloyd Bridges), a small-time criminal. Tyler and Slocum begin their partnership by pulling robberies at local gas stations, but Slocum wants to take the stakes higher by kidnapping a wealthy man for a hefty ransom. When the plan is botched and turns into murder, the two are caught and face the wrath of a bloodthirsty mob, stirred into action by a sensationalist reporter.
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Try and Get Me

Critics Reviews

View All (4) Critics Reviews
Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand ... one of the most interesting lynch mob movies ever made and most caustic social commentaries of anxiety and fear. May 4, 2024 Full Review Manny Farber The Nation In searching out odd tidbits of reality, the director (Endfield) deserves a TV set for trying valiantly. Nov 24, 2020 Full Review Geoffrey O'Brien The New York Review of Books Forceful, bitter, and evidently designed to be as unpalatable as possible. Aug 13, 2018 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews One of the most powerful statements ever from a Hollywood film about the class divide in America. Rated: A Jun 19, 2015 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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jason m A forgotten, but not unworthy, noir. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Also released by the title. "Try And Get Me," this little known crime film is an unabashedly empathetic look at how an innocent, hard-working American is lured into the world of crime. It's also a cautionary tale at how the news media often paints portraits of perpetrators that lack color fairness. This was the second consecutive movie director Cy Endfield took on the Fifth Estate. Also, in 1950, "The Underworld Story," skewered powerful news moguls and career-thirsty reporters. Both films would be an excellent double-feature The Sound of Fury features a diabolical performance by Lloyd Bridges as the antagonist who lures the downtrodden Frank Lovejoy character into crime. It also offers a climatic scene that I found fabulously directed and filled with tension and drama. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Launching from the same true incident that was the basis for Fritz Lang's Fury (1936), Cy Endfield's film also tells the story of mob violence that ends in lynching. However, The Sound of Fury really turns the screws on Frank Lovejoy's down-and-out California transplant, showing him to be guilty (at least by association) whereas Spencer Tracy was wrongly accused in the earlier film. So, this film is a true noir, as Lovejoy's first mistake leads inexorably to his tragic downfall. Things are all the tougher to take because he has a wife and a child, one of the reasons that he gives in to the easy money available in the life of crime offered by slick and sleazy Lloyd Bridges (who provides a tremendous incarnation of the sociopath). So, on the one hand, we understand that social forces have led to Lovejoy's bad decision, but on the other hand, we can see Bridges is an amoral opportunist. When the mob descends on them, we know it is wrong tarring Lovejoy and Bridges with the same brush - but Bridges doesn't deserve lynching any less. A subplot showing how "yellow journalism" has incited the crowd is a little less effective and more didactic, but viewers can grasp the take home point that democracy requires a fair trial that isn't biased by the press. The fact that this democratic ideal was subverted here (and in the real incident) makes this a dark and troubling film indeed. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member A gripping noir with a moral twist that suprisingly works very well thanks to a great script and convincing performances from the talented cast. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member 2 sentence summary has one spoiler, and ruins an excellent left-turn noir. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member A man is out of work and struggling financially, he gets work acting as a (reluctant) getaway driver and witnesses a murder. The effect of the local newspaper upon its readers is shown very effectively as the murderer and his unwilling accomplice become victims of 'mob justice'. The film is otherwise rather melodramatic, but the vigilante mob was very believable, perhaps tabloid journalists should watch the film as a warning. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis Down-and-out family man Howard Tyler (Frank Lovejoy), in need of a break, falls under the charm of Jerry Slocum (Lloyd Bridges), a small-time criminal. Tyler and Slocum begin their partnership by pulling robberies at local gas stations, but Slocum wants to take the stakes higher by kidnapping a wealthy man for a hefty ransom. When the plan is botched and turns into murder, the two are caught and face the wrath of a bloodthirsty mob, stirred into action by a sensationalist reporter.
Director
Charles De Latour
Producer
Robert Stillman
Production Co
Robert Stillman Productions
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 15, 1950, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 14, 2020
Runtime
1h 25m
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