Keira Brennan
The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.
Lidia Draper
Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.
Freeman
This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
Bighead55555
This is the kind of movie where you want to take a shower afterwards. So much degradation, slimy characters, and dirty-looking locations. Scheider does what Scheider always does, Glover does what Glover always does, Williams does what Williams always does. You see a pattern? The musical score must have been performed on a Commodore 64, and cost $1.98 to produce. While the production is competently lensed, whatever production "value" is overwhelmed by the sordid plot and predictable execution. Tiresome, pedantic, and shopworn, this thing is a pass.
Scott LeBrun
Roy Scheider is solid as a rock as self-made millionaire Harry Mitchell, one of those kinds of guys who seemingly has it all. But his indiscretion with young stripper Cini (Kelly Preston) has led to unexpected complications: a trio of bad guys with knowledge of his actions attempt to blackmail him. Harry decides to basically tell them to do something obscene to themselves and confesses all to his wife Barbara (Ann-Margret); he loves her enough to not want to damage her budding political career. So the three lowlifes up their game: they abduct Cini, torture and murder her (in a memorably disturbing sequence), and set things up to make it look like Harry killed her. So now Harry *definitely* can't go to the police. He then stubbornly sets about trying to solve the problem on his own.Co-written for the screen by Elmore Leonard, from his own novel, this is compelling every step of the way, with efficient direction by the legendary John Frankenheimer. Granted, it may not be to all tastes: some people may find it overly sleazy, or feel that the leading characters are just a little too cold, but it's fundamentally a good and twist laden story that is well told by Frankenheimer and a talented bunch of collaborators, including cinematographers Jost Vacano ("RoboCop" '87) and Stephen Ramsey. The lurid descent into the slimy universe inhabited by the villains gives the tale an effective edge; for one thing, ringleader Alan Raimy (John Glover) runs a porno movie theatre. At the very least, the villains are set up as being scummy enough that you just can't wait to see them get their comeuppance.Glover is simply perfect in his part, receiving strong support from a genuinely spooky Clarence Williams III as pimp Bobby Shy and an amusing Robert Trebor as pathetic worm Leo Franks, operator of a nude model salon. Also among the cast are the super sexy Vanity as nude model Doreen (she and Preston do show off a great deal of skin along the way), Lonny Chapman as Harry's lawyer Jim O'Boyle, and Doug McClure as politician Mark Arveson. Porn aficionados will note the appearances of stars like Ron Jeremy, Sharon Mitchell, and Jamie Gillis during the party scene.The film does admittedly go on a little long but it keeps its grip thanks to the acting and Leonards' enjoyably sordid tale.Eight out of 10.
Lee Eisenberg
Elmore Leonard died recently, and so I decided to watch this movie based on one of his novels. John Frankenheimer directed Roy Scheider and Ann-Margret in "52 Pick-Up", about an industrialist whose affair leads to severe consequences. It seems that the movie is simultaneously testing your willingness to watch a lot of nasty stuff and making you feel as if you want to watch ever more of it. Gross as a lot of it is, Frankenheimer's slick direction keeps even the most unpleasant scene relevant to the story. Mired as the characters are in a world of sleaze, there's sort of no nice way for the story to progress."52 Pick-Up" continues the string of serious movies in which Ann-Margret started appearing in the '70s ("Carnal Knowledge", "Tommy", "Magic"). No doubt she realized that it was time to move away from her sex kitten image. A really different role for her was the 2006 suspense thriller "Memory". Above all, "52 Pick-Up" is a movie that I recommend. It's definitely not going to be for everyone, but I liked it.
tavm
Just watched this movie today on a used VHS tape I bought several days ago. This is the one where Roy Scheider is blackmailed by the villainous trio of Robert Trebor, Clarance Williams III, and as the ringleader, John Glover. They have evidence he cheated on his beautiful wife Ann-Margret with a hooker played by the young Kelly Preston. The title refers to the amount in thousands Scheider is supposed to pay but he has other plans...Directed by John Frankenheimer from a screenplay co-written by Elmore Leonard on whose book it's based on, this was a very absorbing thriller even with the somewhat cheesy '80s score tacked on. Everyone I've mentioned are quite good with both Williams and Glover especially turning on the heat. Pop singer Vanity is also good as a roommate of Ms. Preston's who provides her own moments with Scheider and Williams. From the Golan-Globus team at Cannon Films, 52 Pick-Up is one of their most compelling films made during their '80s heyday. P.S. This is one of those movies that doesn't use the fake 555 prefix whenever a telephone number is mentioned.
