Entry 76: 52 Pick-Up (1986)

52 Pick-Up (1986)

Dir: John Frankenheimer

"His wife.  His mistress.  His career...A deadly trap."

 

Roy Scheider (Jaws, Naked Lunch) stars in this lean, mean L.A. neo-noir from director Frankenheimer (Seconds, Prophecy).  Scheider is Harry Mitchell, a wealthy L.A. engineer and Korean war vet married to A.D.A. Ann-Margret (Tommy, The Limey) and fucking nude model Kelly Preston (Amazon Women on the Moon, Twins).  Preston works some low-life individuals who catch she and Harry schtupping on tape and decide to blackmail the man.  This terrible trio consists of sleazy porno director John Glover (The Evil That Men Do, Gremlins 2: the New Batch, slimey and scary in a career-best performance-he sometimes wears an eye patch for no reason!), unhinged ex-con killer Clarence Williams III (TVs Mod Squad and Twin Peaks, scary as fuck here!)  and gay brothel owner Robert Trebor (My Demon  Lover, Universal Soldier).  Harry refuses to pay up, and the scumbags murder Preston (in a genuinely unnerving and affecting snuff movie sequence).  This just pisses Harry off further, and soon this grizzled middle-aged bastard is prowling the seedy streets of downtown L.A., putting in place a plan to exact revenge by pitting these three dirtbags against one another, with help along the way from exotic dancer Vanity (Tanya's Island, Action Jackson-always a favorite in the basement!)!

I really enjoyed this hard-boiled, take-no-shit crime thriller, but it's too bad that the "happy" ending feels like a last-minute tack-on to appease mainstream audiences.  Elmore Leonard wrote the script from his own novel (producers Golan & Globus must've loved the book; they filmed it just two years earlier as The Ambassador!).  The performers are all great, but Scheider owns this movie: Harry's transformation from rich, complacent schlub to vengeful ass-kicker is natural and believable, and he even manages to bring some sympathy and vulnerability to this tough guy in his scenes with Margaret.  Watch for a cameo from Ron Jeremy as a participant in a sex party at Glover's apartment.