IMDb RATING
6.4/10
7.2K
YOUR RATING
A secret extramarital fling between successful Los Angeles construction magnate Harry Mitchell and his stripper mistress Cini leads to three strangers blackmailing him for a six-figure sum, ... Read allA secret extramarital fling between successful Los Angeles construction magnate Harry Mitchell and his stripper mistress Cini leads to three strangers blackmailing him for a six-figure sum, followed by burglary, theft, and Cini's murder.A secret extramarital fling between successful Los Angeles construction magnate Harry Mitchell and his stripper mistress Cini leads to three strangers blackmailing him for a six-figure sum, followed by burglary, theft, and Cini's murder.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
Herschel Savage
- Party Goer
- (as Harvey Cowen)
Ron Jeremy
- Party Goer
- (as Ron Jeremy Hyatt)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaPorn stars Randy West, Tom Byron, Amber Lynn, Sharon Mitchell, Ron Jeremy, Herschel Savage, Erica Boyer, Barbara Dare, Cara Lott and Jamie Gillis appear in the film during the party sequence.
- GoofsWhen Mitch is taken to a secret location to meet with the extortionists, he sits in a wooden chair against a "wall". He sees his mistress shot five times. After the bad guys leave, he jumps up when he realizes he is in the chair she was murdered in. But, when he first walks in, there is no blood on the chair or wall behind him.
- Alternate versionsUK cinema and video versions were cut by 1 min 36 secs and heavily edit a scene where Harry watches a video showing a topless woman being tied to a chair and shot to death. The cuts were waived for the 2004 MGM DVD.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Siskel & Ebert: 52 Pick-Up/Nobody's Fool/Tai Pan/The Sacrifice (1986)
- SoundtracksStratusphunk
Written by George Russell
Published by Russ-Hix Music (BMI)
Courtesy of Soul Note Records
Featured review
Our marriage has lasted 23 years. That's longer than she's been alive!
52 Pick-Up is directed by John Frankenheimer and written by Elmore Leonard (adapting from his own novel) and John Steppling. It stars Roy Scheider, Ann-Margret, John Glover, Vanity, Clarence Williams III, Robert Trebor and Kelly Preston. Music is by Gary Chang and cinematography by Jost Vacano and Stephen Ramsey.
Successful business entrepreneur Harry Mitchell (Scheider) finds himself the victim of blackmail by three pornographers who have video evidence of his extramarital affair. With his wife about to embark on a new stage of her political career, the last thing Harry needs is a scandal, but when things take a turn for the worse Harry decides to use unorthodox methods to deal with the blackmailers.
A nifty neo-noir this, certainly deserving of being better known in neo- noir circles. The presence of Leonard at the writing table ensures that the story doesn't drift too far away from his own source material, though location is moved to L.A. as opposed to the Detroit of the novel. Thematic thrust centres around Mitchell being caught for his indiscretions and what the consequences of his actions means for all around him, quite often with devastating results.
Mitchell has to move about a seedy world of pornography, of cheap peekaboo bars, strip joints and snuff movies, he has to get to the level of his blackmailers so as to enact his plans with conviction. The three weasels played by Glover, Williams and Trebor are in turn slimy, menacing and a twitchy neurotic, an off-beat trio suitably framed by Frankenheimer's sleazy and cold world.
It may not be prime Frankenheimer but the director knows his noir onions, both in performances garnered from his strong cast and via his visual ticks. Characters are more often than not smoking or drinking liquor, sweating or looking pained as the camera gets up close and personal, the director even finds place for a bit of slatted shadow play in one sequence and menacing angled shards for another.
Some contrivances are more annoying than hindrances, it's a bit bloodless for a picture not lacking in action scenes, and although the finale is signposted without due care and attention, it is still sufficiently rewarding. Decadence, sleaze, greed, paranoia and moral decay come crashing together to create a sadly neglected piece of 1980s neo-noir. A yuppie revenger where there are no heroes, just sinners and victims. 7.5/10
Successful business entrepreneur Harry Mitchell (Scheider) finds himself the victim of blackmail by three pornographers who have video evidence of his extramarital affair. With his wife about to embark on a new stage of her political career, the last thing Harry needs is a scandal, but when things take a turn for the worse Harry decides to use unorthodox methods to deal with the blackmailers.
A nifty neo-noir this, certainly deserving of being better known in neo- noir circles. The presence of Leonard at the writing table ensures that the story doesn't drift too far away from his own source material, though location is moved to L.A. as opposed to the Detroit of the novel. Thematic thrust centres around Mitchell being caught for his indiscretions and what the consequences of his actions means for all around him, quite often with devastating results.
Mitchell has to move about a seedy world of pornography, of cheap peekaboo bars, strip joints and snuff movies, he has to get to the level of his blackmailers so as to enact his plans with conviction. The three weasels played by Glover, Williams and Trebor are in turn slimy, menacing and a twitchy neurotic, an off-beat trio suitably framed by Frankenheimer's sleazy and cold world.
It may not be prime Frankenheimer but the director knows his noir onions, both in performances garnered from his strong cast and via his visual ticks. Characters are more often than not smoking or drinking liquor, sweating or looking pained as the camera gets up close and personal, the director even finds place for a bit of slatted shadow play in one sequence and menacing angled shards for another.
Some contrivances are more annoying than hindrances, it's a bit bloodless for a picture not lacking in action scenes, and although the finale is signposted without due care and attention, it is still sufficiently rewarding. Decadence, sleaze, greed, paranoia and moral decay come crashing together to create a sadly neglected piece of 1980s neo-noir. A yuppie revenger where there are no heroes, just sinners and victims. 7.5/10
- hitchcockthelegend
- Jul 12, 2014
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Igraj ili umri
- Filming locations
- Dodger Stadium - 1000 Vin Scully Avenue, Chavez Ravine, Elysian Park, Los Angeles, California, USA(Baseball stadium scene.)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $5,186,646
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $1,654,835
- Nov 9, 1986
- Gross worldwide
- $5,186,646
- Runtime1 hour 50 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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