52 gioca o muori

Lean, mean and explosively dangerous sordid thriller (with a noir vibe) by director John Frankenheimer and penned by gritty crime writer Elmore Leonard who's details plaster in an authentic charge. Roy Scheider's head-strong performance is creditability good and Ann-Margret favourably so. Where they play a married couple Harry and Barbara Mitchell, as their work commitments seems to come first in their decaying 22 years old marriage. What comes to blows is that Harry is having an affair and soon finds himself being blackmailed for it. Instead of giving in to the blackmailer's demands, he sorts out to play their games which lead him and his wife in to uncertain turmoil.

But in the end what makes the film are three prominent bad guys; John Glover (charismatically manipulative scumbag), Clarence Williams III (coldly intense) and Robert Trebor (seamlessly twitchy). Each adding their own distinguishable traits and clashing personalities that would go on to become their eventual downfalls, which Scheider's character perfectly sets out to achieve. As they soon turn on each other and watch as the tables are constantly turn in who's actually in control of the situation. Leonard's dedicated material is highly engrossing in its impulsive layout (no one is truly spared from its cruel and sleazy tone), and Frankenheimer's tough-as-nails direction is brisk, leering and intensely full-blooded in its conviction to the premise. Some set-pieces truly stand-out mixing morbidly uncomfortable humour with blaring violence.

Rounding off the cast you have a young Kelly Preston who's believably naïve and Vanity is palatable as one of the strippers working in the seedy LA backdrop. Also popping in are porn stars Ron Jeremy and Amber Lynn. Jost Vacano's burnish cinematography is on the spot, the editing is tidely spliced and Gary Chang's electrifying score packs a consuming rhythm.

Simply put this has got to be one of the best harrowing thrillers of the 80s (probably Cannon's most commendable production in its typical staples), that even harks back to the searing roughness of the benchmark 70s hard-boiled fodder.

Leonard's source material was used two years earlier in director J. Lee Thompson's middle east political thriller 'The Ambassador'.

I must have passed this movie in my local video store a dozen times without picking it off the shelf, thinking from the packaging, the era the movie was released in, and the presence of Ann-Margret and Tiffany, that it was just another generic "action" movie like an 80s Stallone, or 'Action Jackson'. Luckily a savvy movie buff recommended '52 Pick-Up' to me, for which I will be forever indebted. Closer inspection reveals the team behind this hard boiled thriller to be underrated director John Frankenheimer ('The Manhurian Candidate', 'Seconds') and crime fiction master Elmore Leonard. (hits forehead! "WHY didn't I already KNOW this?!").

Apart from the aesthetic LOOK of this movie, and a cheesy score, it in no way resembles your standard 80s action fare. It is a lot grittier, morally ambiguous and less predictable than that, and closer to the best 70s crime movies.

Roy Scheider is solid as usual as a blackmailed businessman who decides to fight back, and Ann-Margaret surprises with a strong portrayal of betrayed wife. But the real stars here, and what makes this movie essential viewing, are the brilliantly realized bad guys - John Glover, Clarence Williams III and Robert Trebor.

Trebor is perfect as the slimy, nervous "weak link" Leo. Williams III stunning as the amoral bad ass killer Bobby. And John Glover is simply perfect as their double-crossing, deliciously evil leader Raimy. '52 Pick-Up' is brutal and rivetting viewing that shines out as a beacon of 70s cool from an ocean of 80s dumb thrillers. Don't miss this one whatever you do!!

Roy Scheider is a cheating husband who complicates life for his political hopeful wife, Ann Margret. She gives a many faceted performance, and you'll cheer when she gets in touch with her feelings about cheating husbands. John Glover plays a villain, and he will leave a bad taste in your mouth. He does an excellent job being the bad guy, you'll never forget him in this role. Roy Scheider is cast into a world of sleazy women, cliche' stereotype gay men and conscience free killers. Clarence Williams III (he played Prince's father in Purple Rain) is ironicly cast as Vanity's boyfriend in this movie. (Vanity was originally cast for the female lead in Purple Rain, but left Prince during production. 'The Beautiful ones always smash the picture'.) Clarence has an interesting scene with Vanity and a teddy bear. This is Vanity's best work as an actress, she was the perfect casting choice in this role. She plays a nudie model in a sleazy pay by the hour polaroid porn house. She debuts talent here, as well as her first breast enhancement surgury. She's at her finest for those who love her for her sexy image, but she has some fine acting moments. She does not turn in any musical performances, for those of you who care. It doesn't take much to shock me, but Kelly Preston's (now Mrs. John Travolta) moments onscreen were hardcore... Let's just say graphic is the best way to describe it. That's all I'm saying about that... You'll see recognizable porn actors & actresses in their element, and you'll feel for Ann Margret's character. See this movie.

I've only read one of Leonard's crime novels and it didn't impress me much with its style. The guy writes as if he's producing a technical manual with people instead of parts. But the plot was interesting and dense, as it is in this movie.

Roy Scheider never turns in a bad performance, and here his face is beginning to look comely and battered with time. He's also from Orange, New Jersey, which is a good place to start from. Scheider is Harry, a morally flawed businessman with a mechanical bent. Ann-Margaret is breathtakingly good looking, and her performance is exceptional. The same could be said of Vanity, but her part is rather small. The villains are all superb. John Glover is a delight to watch on screen -- and to listen to -- with that slimy smile and midlands Maryland accent that descends into working-class vulgar when the situation calls for it. He's the kind of villain who would enjoy pulling hooks out of fish. He and Scheider played well off one another in "The Last Embrace." Clarence Williams is a sort of doggedly cunning and brutal muscleman, done quietly but effectively.

There's something oddly amusing about Williams' villainy. After Scheider and Ann-Margaret have clobbered him following a botched murder attempt (a little hard to believe), he sits in a chair having his picture taken while Scheider implants in his mind a few seeds of doubt about the probity of his partners in crime. An expression of dumb comprehension creeps slowly over his face and his eyes squint over his bleeding nose.

Robert Trebor (terrific name, by the way, a palindrome) gives a nearly perfect imitation of a guy who is a sweating, shaking, desperately twitching nervous wreck, but still with his eye pinned on profit and, mostly, survival. What a trio of villains.

The plot is, as I say, dense, but not difficult to follow. The story is in a style that Northrop Frye called low mimetic: Scheider is no hero, and in fact no better than the rest of us. That's what makes his outwitting of the trio so interesting. Frankenheimer's direction is fine, no flashy shots or dazzling fireworks. The story pulls a viewer along on its own terms. Not a masterpiece, but a cleverly done genre piece, it's worth seeing. Can't imagine why people flock to schlock while a movie like this goes by mostly unnoticed.

By all accounts, 52 Pick-up is a nasty piece of cinema; a thriller that wholly benefits from Frankenheimer's direction, Elmore Leonard's characters and a hateful edge.

This is a movie that grabbed me fairly quickly and pulled me right in as Roy Scheider's industrialist had to outsmart his blackmailers. The players both behind and in front of the camera are expert, the plot turns are wicked and while the ending is ... unique ... this tawdry little crime movie delivers.