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The Big Shakedown

  • 1934
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 4m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
1.2K
YOUR RATING
Bette Davis, Ricardo Cortez, Charles Farrell, Glenda Farrell, and Allen Jenkins in The Big Shakedown (1934)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:01
1 Video
16 Photos
CrimeDrama

Racketeers flood the market with counterfeit cosmetics and drugs, causing some tragedies.Racketeers flood the market with counterfeit cosmetics and drugs, causing some tragedies.Racketeers flood the market with counterfeit cosmetics and drugs, causing some tragedies.

  • Director
    • John Francis Dillon
  • Writers
    • Niven Busch
    • Rian James
    • Samuel G. Engel
  • Stars
    • Charles Farrell
    • Bette Davis
    • Ricardo Cortez
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.2/10
    1.2K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • John Francis Dillon
    • Writers
      • Niven Busch
      • Rian James
      • Samuel G. Engel
    • Stars
      • Charles Farrell
      • Bette Davis
      • Ricardo Cortez
    • 23User reviews
    • 11Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    The Big Shakedown
    Trailer 2:01
    The Big Shakedown

    Photos16

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    Top cast41

    Edit
    Charles Farrell
    Charles Farrell
    • Jimmy Morrell
    Bette Davis
    Bette Davis
    • Norma Nelson
    Ricardo Cortez
    Ricardo Cortez
    • Dutch Barnes
    Glenda Farrell
    Glenda Farrell
    • Lily 'Lil' Duran
    Allen Jenkins
    Allen Jenkins
    • Lefty
    Henry O'Neill
    Henry O'Neill
    • Mr. Sheffner
    Dewey Robinson
    Dewey Robinson
    • Slim
    John Wray
    John Wray
    • Higgins
    Philip Faversham
    Philip Faversham
    • John - New Salesman
    Robert Emmett O'Connor
    Robert Emmett O'Connor
    • Regan - Bartender
    Renee Whitney
    Renee Whitney
    • Mae LaRue
    G. Pat Collins
    G. Pat Collins
    • Gyp
    • (as George Pat Collins)
    Adrian Morris
    • Trigger
    Ben Hendricks Jr.
    • Spike
    • (as Ben Hendricks)
    George Cooper
    George Cooper
    • Shorty
    Oscar Apfel
    Oscar Apfel
    • Digitalis Doctor
    • (uncredited)
    Harry C. Bradley
    Harry C. Bradley
    • Third Drug Store Proprietor
    • (uncredited)
    Matt Briggs
    Matt Briggs
    • Robert J. Wilbur
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • John Francis Dillon
    • Writers
      • Niven Busch
      • Rian James
      • Samuel G. Engel
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews23

    6.21.1K
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    Featured reviews

    6ksf-2

    EARLY bette davis

    Stars a young Bette Davis as Norma, girlfriend to Jimmy (Charles Farrell). Jimmy runs the drugstore that the gangsters want to take over. Jimmy doesn't want to sell, but the gangsters want him to start making cheap knockoffs of major pharma products. what could go wrong? co-stars Glenda Farrell (Lil, and Torchy Blane !) and Ricardo Cortez. and of course, the nasal character actor Allen Jenkins. he was in every single gangster movie made in the 1930s and 1940s... sometimes the good guy, sometimes the bad guy. John Wray would die pretty young at 53, but he made some big films in the 1930s. it's a snapshot of the rough and tumble mobster films of the depression, complete with a chick-fight between the two ladies, Lil and Norma. Directed by John Dillon, his last film; died of a heart attack at 49. From First National. He had also directed the 1930 version of Kismet. Shakedown is pretty good.. some huge hollywood names in the early days of talkies. It's in great condition, considering it's from 1934; it must have been restored.
    6blanche-2

    early Bette in her ingénue days

    Charles Farrell, a great silent screen star, appears with Bette Davis and Ricardo Cortez in "The Big Shakedown," a 1934 film featuring Allen Jenkins and Glenda Farrell.

    Farrell and Davis are Jimmy and Norma, a boyfriend-girlfriend who marry later in the film. They run a corner drugstore. Cortez is a post- Prohibition gangster, Dutch Baines, looking for a new racket. Patronizing the store one day, he realizes that Jimmy can make his own products, which are identical to ones on the market. However, he isn't selling them claiming that they are the commercial brands; he makes them so he can sell a house brand for less.

    Of course, Dutch sees that if these products are sold under the commercial names, he can use their publicity and brand reputation to make a fortune. He talks Jimmy into making toothpaste and beauty products because Jimmy needs money. He's reluctant to do it and planning to quit when Dutch decides to go into medicine and have Jimmy make drugs. Jimmy flatly refuses; Dutch makes noise about Norma's safety, and Jimmy caves.

    This is a typical crime film interesting because of the cast. Davis' role is an ordinary ingénue one that could have been played by anyone. She was still getting a build-up and hadn't yet become a star with a special image. She's blond and pretty. Glenda Farrell has the role of Dutch's girlfriend, whom he throws over. Farrell, with her distinctive speaking voice and likable personality always stands out. Cortez does well playing the tough, uncompromising Baines.

    Charles Farrell, whom I used to see as an elderly man (your fifties were considered like the seventies back then) when My Little Margie was in syndication, was good-looking and popular in his day. He had a gentleness about him and also an earnestness which he displays here. He retired in 1941 to become a land developer, but returned for Margie, which was followed by his own show. Then he retired again.

    Cortez's career as a leading man was just about over. Though he continued working until he retired, he also became a successful broker on Wall Street.

    Of interest, the actor who played the young Jewish boy who buys ice cream (a cone was six cents), Sidney Miller, went on to become a director and composer, and actually revamped the Mickey Mouse Club for Walt Disney beginning in its second season.

    Amazing that Bette Davis was the only one to stay full-time in acting.
    Michael_Elliott

    Gangsters Brush Their Teeth

    Big Shakedown, The (1934)

    ** 1/2 (out of 4)

    Here's yet another Warner crime picture but this one here is about as far-fetched as you can get. A young pharmacist (Charles Farrell) isn't making too much cash in his store, which means he can't marry the girl (Bette Davis) he loves. At the same time a gangster (Ricardo Cortez) realizes there's no market for beer so he gets the bright idea of making fake toothpaste, female products and eventually medicine and hires to pharmacist to make it for him. Before long the gangster has the pharmacies by the neck and soon a tragedy happens. This film runs a very quick 62-minutes and if you're a fan of "B" movies then there's quite a bit to enjoy here. Yes, the story itself is rather silly at times and the final "message" included in a three paragraph newspaper report that we're forced to read is even sillier. I think fans of Warner and the terrific cast are going to enjoy what's on display here as long as they don't go in expecting THE PUBLIC ENEMY or anything of that quality. Farrell is pretty good in his role, although I'm sure many would argue that he's a bit too laid back in part. I thought this actually helped because his character really wouldn't be the type to do anything else than what he goes through here. By this time in his career Cortez was already a master at playing low-level hoods and he's fun to watch as usual. The supporting cast includes Glenda Farrell playing the gangster's mole and we get Allen Jenkins in for a few laughs. Davis isn't the Davis that is now a legend but I always enjoy seeing her in these early movies where she's yet to really hit her stride. Her performance is just fine so fans will have fun here. The director at least keeps the film moving at a fast pace and thankfully it doesn't go on too long because there's really not enough story here for much more. THE BIG SHAKEDOWN is a "B" movie all the way but as long as you don't expect too much it's not too hard to not have fun with the cast.
    6utgard14

    "My tomatoes blew up."

    Pharmacist Charles Farrell goes into business with gangster Ricardo Cortez making counterfeit toothpaste and cosmetics. Soon Cortez wants to branch out into making medication, which Farrell isn't happy about. But Farrell wants to marry fiancée Bette Davis and give her financial security. Early Bette flick before she had really developed her style. She's fine but there's not a lot for her to do through most of the picture but worry about her guy. Charles Farrell is OK. Ricardo Cortez is a great bad guy as usual. Nice supporting cast includes Glenda Farrell, Allen Jenkins, and Henry O'Neill. Fun cat fight between Glenda Farrell and Renee Whitney. Exciting climax you will not be able to predict!
    6boblipton

    Crime May Pay, But It May Get You Thrown Into A Vat Of Acid

    Pharmacist Charles Farrell and fiancee Bette Davis run a marginal neighborhood drug store. Everyone buys on credit, and a national discount chain is moving in. Meanwhile, Prohibition-era beer baron Ricardo Cortez finds that no one wants his bad beer, despite his strong-arm boys. He gets the idea of counterfeiting toothpaste and such goods, and Farrell is just the by who can make them for him. But Cortez is looking for new markets, and when he has Farrell synthesize a popular antiseptic without the necessary ingredients, matters become more desperate.

    John Francis Dillon's last movie as director -- he died three months after this was released -- is a well played cautionary tale, but it seems odd for a Warner Brothers movie. It seems more contemplative than the usual Warners fare, and the print that plays on Turner Classic Movies is darker than most; this highlights Sidney Hickox' glittering images of a shabby drugstore in a manner I haven't noticed before. Cortez is excellent, and Henry O'Neill has a nice role as the chemist who originated the antiseptic. The usual stock of Warner Brothers player show up, including Glenda Farrell, Allen Jenkins, Dewey Robinson, John Wray, and Robert Emmett O'Connor.

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    Related interests

    James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in Les Soprano (1999)
    Crime
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Final film of director John Francis Dillon.
    • Goofs
      When Jimmy and Higgins are fighting in the car, Higgins' position starts off behind the driver and ends up behind the passenger seat. However in the next cut when the fighting is shown through the car mirror, Wiggins's position is the opposite of how it should appear in the mirror.
    • Quotes

      Dutch Barnes: Don't you chumps know when you're licked?

    • Crazy credits
      Opening credits are shown over a background of coins and bills. Then the lead actors are shown above their written names.
    • Connections
      Referenced in This Is Your Life: Bette Davis (1971)
    • Soundtracks
      Free
      (uncredited)

      Lyrics by Edward Heyman

      Music by Dana Suesse

      Played during the opening photo credits and often in the score

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 6, 1934 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Shakedown
    • Filming locations
      • Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA
    • Production company
      • First National Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 4m(64 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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