52 Pick-Up

"His Wife... His Mistress... His Career... A Deadly Trap"

1986 1h 50m EN

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 161

CrimeThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Harry Mitchell is a successful Los Angeles manufacturer whose wife is running for city council. His life is turned upside down when three blackmailers confront him with a videotape of him with his young mistress and demand $100,000. Fearing that the story will hurt his wife's political campaign if he goes to the police, Harry pretends that he will pay the men, but does not follow through.

“His Wife... His Mistress... His Career... A Deadly Trap”

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Cast

Roy Scheider
Harry Mitchell
Ann-Margret
Barbara Mitchell
Vanity
Doreen
John Glover
Alan Raimy
Robert Trebor
Leo Franks
Lonny Chapman
Jim O'Boyle
Kelly Preston
Cini
Doug McClure
Mark Arveson

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Frankenheimer
Writers: Elmore Leonard, John Steppling
Languages: English, Italian
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

40 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Frankenheimer, shot by Jost Vacano. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Gary Chang. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robert F. Shugrue shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Roy Scheider and Ann-Margret and Vanity carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "His Wife... His Mistress... His Career... A Deadly Trap".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0090567 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Frankenheimer directs. Jost Vacano behind the camera. Gary Chang scores. Robert F. Shugrue cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

140 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.
3Directed by John Frankenheimer, shot by Jost Vacano. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Gary Chang. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Robert F. Shugrue shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Roy Scheider and Ann-Margret and Vanity carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "His Wife... His Mistress... His Career... A Deadly Trap".
8IMDB entry: tt0090567 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jost Vacano
Original score: Gary Chang
Editing: Robert F. Shugrue
Production design: Philip Harrison
Costume design: Ray Summers
Makeup / hair: Norma Collins
Sound: Rick Alexander
Stunt coordinator: Ted Grossman
Runtime: 110 min · 1h 50m
Status: Released
Box office: $5,186,646
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: 52 Pick-Up (1986)

Also by

John Frankenheimer

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-07-13
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

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