fredtee Trrrific porno stuff in this 1987 movie. A party to die for; whatever happened to those good times, reminiscent of Studio 54 in NYC in the 70's? Women were shown either as helpless or as sex toys. None of the 2017 Wonderwomen fighting men in cartoons.Not much suspense, but snappy dialoque, if you like "pussy" talk.Schneider must have taken a lot of money to take this part. All through this movie, he worries more about his money and his wife's election than his wife getting killed...who predictably gets kidnapped, drugged with a needle, and raped by the sleazy villain. (We know this because the villain removes his shirt while Ann Margret and the villain sit on a motel bed, just before the scene gets cut....bummer). Bodies get shot all around, but Schneider is afraid to go to the cops? No cop can figure out these dead bodies ?Ann Margaret is shown swimming in the pool in a one-piece swimsuit, but no shot of her outside the pool. Bummer. On the other hand, John Travolta's wife is shown with her boobs hanging out as her shirt is pulled off (no bra, folks). That scene alone is worth the price of a ticket. John Travolta married Kelly Preston in 1991...so it is not likely you'll see Kelly's boobs anytime soon again

mbrachman First of all, how plausible is this? In 1986 L.A., the most jaded town in the world, we are asked to believe that a businessman who is not even running for office would be a credible candidate for blackmail because his proto-Hillary-esque wife IS running for office. The sleazeball blackmailers honey-trap him using a love-interest cohort and assume, rightly (this is unbelievable in my opinion), that he will want it covered up to protect his WIFE's political ambitions. Would the average voter in L.A. in 1986 have given a damn about a political candidate's spouse being caught in an extramarital affair? OK, so this piece of nonsense is the MacGuffin to set the plot of this full-of-itself, not-as-clever-as-it-thinks-it-is, self-consciously 'neo-noir' flick in motion.Next, we get a full-bore tour of the world of L.A. porn (complete with cameos by many porn stars from the era), nudie peepshows, and dive bars, the world the sleazeballs (a smirking white pedophile sociopath, a scowling crackhead black sociopath, and a sweaty, cowardly, fat, gay alcoholic non-sociopath who realizes too late that the two other scumbags are heartless creeps who play for keeps and that he is in too deep) inhabit. Long sections of the movie revel in every gamy, seamy nuance of this tawdry subculture- cheap voyeurism dressed up as "realism."Finally, we have our protagonists: Harry ("Mitch") Mitchell (a Korean War vet, tough as nails, etc.- so tough he has not one but two nicknames; you can imagine all the other clichés that attach to this character) who we are asked to believe is really a good-hearted, honest businessman who made one mistake, played with by-the-numbers machismo by Roy Scheider, previously so good in "The French Connection," "Jaws," and "All That Jazz." And his wife, who, when Harry finally tells her about the affair (he has to- the blackmailers have upped the ante in a horrible way that implicates him in things far worse than adultery- to say more would be a spoiler), doesn't care about the human cost or potential victims but only about how it may affect her political ambitions. This character is played by Ann-Margret. She too is supposed to be tough as nails, but her early scenes are simply by-the-numbers wronged-wife haranguing and in her later scenes she is a drugged, submissive, moaning victim- a cliché of female subordination rescued by the macho man in her life. Neither character expresses a whit of compassion, empathy, or love toward each other or toward the third-party victims of their actions or those of the blackmailers.In other words, there are no sympathetic characters in this film, apparently something all the positive reviewers on this thread find commensurate with noir. Maybe they should take another look at classic noir, whether 1946's "The Big Sleep" or 1974's "Chinatown" or 1941's "The Maltese Falcon." All have sleaze and human ignobility galore, but all also have sympathetic protagonists whom we root for in spite of their flaws.The redeeming features of this film are the performances of John Glover, Clarence Williams III, and Robert Trebor as the three blackmailers. All eventually get their comeuppance. There is also one terrific scene of a car and its occupant being blown to smithereens in a satisfying act of vengeance. But otherwise this movie is an over- long, over-blown, full-of-itself, unpleasant waste of time. If this is indicative of Leonard and his literary and cinematic view of noir, then the genre is degraded and devoid of wit since the days of Chandler and Hammett. But then there are people who think that Stephen King's hyperventilated "horror" is fine art and entertainment, and that Joyce Carol Oates is a novelist and essayist who can actually write. There is no accounting for taste and critical judgment.

Spikeopath 52 Pick-Up is directed by John Frankenheimer and written by Elmore Leonard (adapting from his own novel) and John Steppling. It stars Roy Scheider, Ann-Margret, John Glover, Vanity, Clarence Williams III, Robert Trebor and Kelly Preston. Music is by Gary Chang and cinematography by Jost Vacano and Stephen Ramsey. Successful business entrepreneur Harry Mitchell (Scheider) finds himself the victim of blackmail by three pornographers who have video evidence of his extramarital affair. With his wife about to embark on a new stage of her political career, the last thing Harry needs is a scandal, but when things take a turn for the worse Harry decides to use unorthodox methods to deal with the blackmailers. A nifty neo-noir this, certainly deserving of being better known in neo- noir circles. The presence of Leonard at the writing table ensures that the story doesn't drift too far away from his own source material, though location is moved to L.A. as opposed to the Detroit of the novel. Thematic thrust centres around Mitchell being caught for his indiscretions and what the consequences of his actions means for all around him, quite often with devastating results. Mitchell has to move about a seedy world of pornography, of cheap peekaboo bars, strip joints and snuff movies, he has to get to the level of his blackmailers so as to enact his plans with conviction. The three weasels played by Glover, Williams and Trebor are in turn slimy, menacing and a twitchy neurotic, an off-beat trio suitably framed by Frankenheimer's sleazy and cold world. It may not be prime Frankenheimer but the director knows his noir onions, both in performances garnered from his strong cast and via his visual ticks. Characters are more often than not smoking or drinking liquor, sweating or looking pained as the camera gets up close and personal, the director even finds place for a bit of slatted shadow play in one sequence and menacing angled shards for another. Some contrivances are more annoying than hindrances, it's a bit bloodless for a picture not lacking in action scenes, and although the finale is signposted without due care and attention, it is still sufficiently rewarding. Decadence, sleaze, greed, paranoia and moral decay come crashing together to create a sadly neglected piece of 1980s neo-noir. A yuppie revenger where there are no heroes, just sinners and victims. 7.5/10

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.