When it comes to writing crime, I don’t think anyone has ever done it better than Elmore Leonard. When you look at his books and you see the number of quality films and TV series that have been adapted from his work, it is pretty impressive. 3:10 to Yuma, Out of Sight, Jackie Brown aka Rum Punch, Justified, Get Shorty … I could keep going, but that’s just a glimpse of what the man is responsible for. I discovered his books in high school, and I have been a fan ever since. When he passed away in 2013, it was a pretty sad day for me. He was an icon and one of my major influences on becoming a writer. So when the chance came along to review the release of the 1986 film 52 Pick-Up, I was more than eager to get my grubby paws on this one. This isn’t my first time watching the film. My first time was back in the 90s when I picked it up on VHS at the local mom & pop video store, but to be fair, I don’t think I’ve seen it again since.
The film starts up simple enough with entrepreneur Harry Mitchell (Roy Scheider) being blackmailed by three pornographers. They have video of Harry caught in an affair with a young twenty-something girl, and they threaten to hand over the tape to his wife unless he pays the men. It seems simple enough, but when it comes to a story from Elmore Leonard, that magic isn’t so much in the story but in the unique and colorful characters that litter his tales and the directions that he takes them. Sure, you can guess that Harry is going to want to fight back against these blackmailers, but it’s the way he gets them to turn on one another that makes this one a fun one to watch.
The bad guys trying to back Harry into a corner are Alan Rainy (John Glover) as the man in charge and the bad man behind the camera, Leo Franks (Robert Trebor), who runs a strip club, and then there is Bobby Shy (Clarence Williams III), who is not just a pimp but is pretty much the heavy of the three. Really it is hard to imagine these three characters working together, but it’s their deviant ways that bring them together on this scheme to make some fast cash.
At first I wasn’t a fan of the relationship between Harry and his wife, Barbara (Ann-Margret); it just seemed cold and on the verge of fizzling into a divorce. But there is a moment where the relationship shifts gears, and it seems maybe Harry really does want to salvage this relationship, and we can see the chemistry change between the characters. It is a part of the story and the reasoning is honestly kind of thin, but it’s the performance between Scheider and Margret that sells it. And it’s important that we believe Harry wants to salvage this relationship, especially when the third act rolls around and we see him making some crazy moves.
Directing the film is John Frankenheimer, who has a pretty solid resume and is a good fit when it comes to working with this kind of material. I love the style that he gives this film. It takes place in Los Angeles, but with the locations he used it could be any major city. He’s not concerned about showing us flashy locations; instead he throws us deep into the shady underbelly where sex and crime thrive. The only thing that really dates the film is some of the wardrobe, but aside from that, Frankenheimer delivers a film that is pretty timeless and could be told pretty much the same way and released today.
While this isn’t one of my top Elmore Leonard adaptations, it is still a pretty fun film from start to finish with some terrific performances from all involved including a young Kelly Preston playing the woman Harry had the affair with. This is one of those films that you throw on and enjoy because sadly they just don’t make these kinds of films anymore. Now “if” they were to remake this, I feel this is something I can see Liam Neeson sinking his teeth into and Nicolas Winding Refn helming, but I doubt that will ever happen.
