Shakedown
His camera Was More Deadly Than A Gangster's Gun!
1950 | 80m | English
Popularity: 4 (history)
| Director: | Joseph Pevney |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Nat Dallinger, Don Martin, Alfred Lewis Levitt, Martin Goldsmith |
| Staring: |
| Jack Early is a photographer who will stop at nothing to climb his way to the very top of the success ladder. On the strength of his sheer tenacity, he gets a job with a major newspaper, and it's not long before he's made a name for himself by charming a notorious crime boss, Nick Palmer, into allowing himself to be photographed. Palmer takes him under his wing, but Early decides to bite the hand that feeds him and sets Palmer and another crime boss, Colton, against one another. | |
| Release Date: | Sep 01, 1950 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Joseph Pevney |
| Writer: | Nat Dallinger, Don Martin, Alfred Lewis Levitt, Martin Goldsmith |
| Genres: | Drama, Crime, Thriller |
| Keywords | san francisco, california, robbery, photographer, infidelity, blackmail, despair, gangster, seduction, opportunist, film noir, murder, extortion, mobster, photograph, newspaper man |
| Production Companies | Universal International Pictures |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Aug 03, 2024 Entered: Apr 24, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Howard Duff | Jack Early |
| Brian Donlevy | Nick Palmer |
| Peggy Dow | Ellen Bennett |
| Lawrence Tierney | Harry Colton |
| Bruce Bennett | David Glover |
| Anne Vernon | Nita Palmer |
| Jack Reitzen | Joe Downing |
| Peter Virgo | Roy |
| Charles Sherlock | Sam |
| Elsie Baker | Palmer's Maid (uncredited) |
| Ralph Brooks | Photographer (uncredited) |
| Douglas Carter | Photographer (uncredited) |
| Peggie Castle | Coat-Check Girl at Bay View Club (uncredited) |
| Jack Chefe | Shop Proprietor (uncredited) |
| Chester Conklin | Chet (uncredited) |
| Bert Davidson | Photographer (uncredited) |
| Joe Dougherty | Man (uncredited) |
| Roy Engel | Waiter Captain (uncredited) |
| Bess Flowers | Party Guest (uncredited) |
| James Garwood | Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited) |
| Winifred Harris | Party Guest (uncredited) |
| Rock Hudson | Ted - Bay View Club Doorman (uncredited) |
| Doretta Johnson | Nurse (uncredited) |
| Stapleton Kent | City Editor (uncredited) |
| Donald Kerr | Newsboy (uncredited) |
| Will Lee | Cabbie (uncredited) |
| Leota Lorraine | Guest (uncredited) |
| William Marks | Detective (uncredited) |
| Gregg Martell | Newspaper Worker (uncredited) |
| John Miller | Brownie (uncredited) |
| Forbes Murray | Mr. Spencer (uncredited) |
| William H. O'Brien | Waiter (uncredited) |
| Kenneth Patterson | Fred Thurman (uncredited) |
| Joseph Pevney | Keller - Reporter (uncredited) |
| Jack Rice | Floorwalker (uncredited) |
| Kay Riehl | Mrs. Spencer (uncredited) |
| Stephen Roberts | Magazine Representative (uncredited) |
| Carl Sklover | Taxi Driver (uncredited) |
| Wendy Waldron | Information Clerk (uncredited) |
| Steve Wayne | Reporter (uncredited) |
| Josephine Whittell | Mrs. Worthington (uncredited) |
| Eric Wilton | Mrs. Worthington's Butler (uncredited) |
| Charles Flynn | Fireman (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Bud Westmore | Makeup Artist |
| Joseph Pevney | Director |
| Everett Brown | Grip |
| Miklós Rózsa | Music |
| Frank Skinner | Music |
| Nat Dallinger | Story |
| Don Martin | Story |
| Irving Glassberg | Director of Photography |
| Milton Carruth | Editor |
| Alfred Lewis Levitt | Screenplay |
| Martin Goldsmith | Screenplay |
| Robert Clatworthy | Art Direction |
| Bernard Herzbrun | Art Direction |
| Russell A. Gausman | Set Decoration |
| Ruby R. Levitt | Set Decoration |
| Yvonne Wood | Costume Design |
| Del Armstrong | Makeup Artist |
| Joan St. Oegger | Hairstylist |
| Helen Turpin | Hairstylist |
| Joseph Gershenson | Music Director |
| Lew Leary | Production Manager |
| Joseph E. Kenney | Assistant Director |
| George Lollier | Assistant Director |
| Leslie I. Carey | Sound |
| Robert Pritchard | Sound |
| Evelynne Smith | Stunts |
| Sherman Clark | Still Photographer |
| Norton Kurland | Gaffer |
| Kyme Meade | Camera Operator |
| Pat Betz | Script Supervisor |
| Daniele Amfitheatrof | Music |
| Milton Rosen | Music |
| Hans J. Salter | Music |
| Leith Stevens | Music |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Ted Richmond | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 2 |
| 2024 | 5 | 7 | 15 | 3 |
| 2024 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 2 |
| 2024 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 2 |
| 2024 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 2 |
| 2024 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 2024 | 10 | 4 | 11 | 1 |
| 2024 | 11 | 3 | 11 | 1 |
| 2024 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 2025 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
Trending Position
Talk about hoist by your own petard! "Jack" (Howard Duff) is an aspiring photo-journalist who manages to get newspaper editor "David" (Bruce Bennett) to take him on for a week. His next task is to stay employed, and to that end he manages to convince "Nick" (Brian Donlevy) - a local "businessman", t ... o pose for a front page photo. This latter man takes a bit of a shine to "Jack" and gives him an opportunity to put away one of his criminal competitors "Colton" (Lawrence Tierney). There's a few grand in it for him, but he gets greedy - he keeps the negative of a shot he takes after a robbery, and submits a less definitive photo to his boss. Next he blackmails "Colton" for $25,000 else the real negative will end up with his paper and the police! What now ensues sees him try to play both men off each other whilst irritating his loved-up editor all as he rather cruelly plays with the affections of his sponsor at the newspaper "Ellen" (Peggy Dow) and tries the same with the wife of "Nick" - the considerably more savvy "Nita" (Anne Vernon) before his house of cards starts to look distinctly shaky! This benefits from a tightly knit cast with a solid story and some decent dialogue - and from guy that it's fairly easy to dislike! It's well paced and ends with an appropriate wise-crack that rather sums up "Jack" nicely.