Shakedown

Moviecut—Shakedown

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'.

"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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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'.