Der Mann mit der Kamera

Picture Snatcher (1933)

A fast, pre-code romp, really fun. Cagney movies are so blazing in general, from his fast talking style and his frenetic body movements, this is terrific. It's not a gangster flick, though there are traces of that (he comes out of jail in the first scene), but it has the trappings of the end of Prohibition and all the fun of the cars and the times.

There are a number of interesting characters in addition to Cagney, sassy and chipper and really bright. The plot is crazy, really, with all kinds of rivalries among the thugs, the cops, the newsmen, and the women. There are some terrific newspaper scenes (like the lead typesetting machines, used for love notes by Cagney and his girl), but the title refers to Cagney's turn at being photojournalist. They don't show him in action much, but there is a key scene where he photographs a woman being killed in the electric chair. And he does it the same way the same kind of picture was taken in 1928 of Ruth Snyder at Sing Sing, the camera hidden on the photographer's calf, and the pant leg lifted at the time of the electrocution. The camera appears to be an American made Ansco, a slightly cruder version of the new small Leica style miniature camera hitting the market in the late 1920s.

But in fact photography plays a small role here. This is a movie about Cagney being his frenetic best, and that's what makes it great. I would say don't miss it. It's sweet, sassy, fun, and surprising.

This was great! It's vintage Cagney: tough, cocky, funny and endearing! The film is also typical early '30s: short, entertaining, fast-moving with some wild dialog and plenty of action and humor.

Imagine the outcry today if they showed the hero pushing women around as James Cagney did here and in other films of the period. This particular story has Cagney playing "Danny Kean," an ex-con who quits his former mob and winds up at a tabloid newspaper as a member of the paparazzi! (I guess this story was ahead of it's time.) He does what he has to do get a picture for the paper, and a financial raise for his efforts.

Along the way are several very pretty women "Pat" and "Allison" (played respectively by Patricia Ellis and Alice White); a number of sexual innuendos (which wouldn't have made it in the picture had this been made a year later); and just a fun-filled corny 1930s ride.

I wish a bunch more of these entertaining films, especially with Cagney, were available.

Frantic, fast-paced film of ex-con Cagney getting a job at a local scandal sheet working for Bellamy and producing exclusive photographs for the paper. First he poses as an insurance adjuster to steal a photo, then through chicanery he manages to obtain a forbidden photo of a woman in the electric chair. Satisfying story conclusion has Cagney getting the girl and Bellamy playing the chump--again.

This film moves like lightning, guided along by Cagney's seemingly inexhaustible energy. Lots of snappy dialog, great acting, and fine direction make this quite a little gem. Great 1930s feel, and watch quickly for Sterling Holloway (wearing outrageous glasses!) as a journalism student. Highly recommended.

Freshly paroled from New York's "Sing Sing Prison", tough-guy James Cagney (as Daniel "Danny" Kean) takes a perfume bath and gets himself a new suit. After telling old gangster pals he's going straight, Mr. Cagney decides he wants a career in journalism. He approaches the tabloid "Graphic-News" for a job. Hard-drinking city editor Ralph Bellamy (as McLean) won't hire Cagney, but changes his mind when the ex-con delivers an exclusive picture for the newspaper. Cagney saves Mr. Bellamy's job and is hired as a staff photographer. Cagney arouses sexy staff reporter Alice White (as Allison), but later prefers pretty Patricia Ellis (as Patricia "Pat" Nolan)...

Cagney struts around this second-tier feature like a first-rate star. He, director Lloyd Bacon, photographer Sol Polito, editor William Holmes and the Warner Bros. crew make punk look classy. The centerpiece is Cagney's assignment to photograph an electric chair execution. Also notable is the easy sex offered by a lone female co-worker. She puts the lonely staff ladies room to good use, but Cagney is a gentleman after discovering Ms. White is considered Bellamy's girl. Also watch for bookish bit-player Sterling Holloway and three beautiful young students. Based on a story by Danny Ahern, "Picture Snatcher" was re-made as "Escape from Crime" (1942).

******* Picture Snatcher (5/6/33) Lloyd Bacon ~ James Cagney, Ralph Bellamy, Alice White, Patricia Ellis

Everyone has seen Public Enemy and Yankee Doodle Dandy, but if you're a serious Cagney buff you've got to see this flick. Made in '33 it is set in that time period. Cagney gets out of the big house and goes legit, if being a paparazzi is legit. The formula is tried and true; with pluck and luck Cagney makes good. The characters are stock, on paper, but the actors breath so much personality into them that they become individuals. Though we know Cagney will prevail, we don't know just how he will succeed, and that is where the drama comes from. The pace is quick enough that you wont go to the kitchen for a sandwich without hitting the stop button first. Great acting, a good story, a happy ending, bouncy theme music, and those great cars of the 1930s. What more do you want?