Picture Snatcher (1933)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Lloyd Bacon

Writers:

Daniel Ahern (story)
Allen Rivkin (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

6 May 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Crime

Tagline:

His camera takes 'em from love nests to Page One before they can bat an eye---or put on a negligee!

Plot:

Ex-convict Danny Kean decides to become honest as a photographer for a paper. He falls in love with Patricia...

Plot Keywords:

Photographer | Execution | Automobile Accident | Chase | New York City

Cast

James Cagney	...	Danny Kean
Ralph Bellamy	...	J.R. 'Al' McLean
Patricia Ellis	...	Patricia 'Pat' Nolan
Alice White	...	Allison
Ralf Harolde	...	Jerry the Mug
Robert Emmett O'Connor	...	Lieutenant Casey Nolan
Robert Barrat	...	Grover, Graphic News Owner
G. Pat Collins	...	Hennessy the Fireman (as George Pat Collins)
Arthur Vinton	...	John, the Head Keeper
Tom Wilson	...	Leo

Runtime:

77 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

First cinema film of Vaughn Taylor.

Goofs:

Continuity: Cagney's suit goes from dirty to clean to dirty again during the car chase from Sing Sing and the subsequent subway ride.

Quotes:

[Danny is giving a tour of his newspaper's printing room]
Journalism Student: Yes, here it is - white wood pulp, plain white... Why, today it's raw, but tonight it's cooked with printer's ink, photographic art, the sweat of creative effort. Tomorrow it goes out and hundreds of thousands of men and women feed their starving, mediocre souls on the indiscretions and adventures of others. And then, a little while later, what is it?
Danny Kean: Don't you know? They use it to wrap herring.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Female (1933)

Soundtrack:

Young and Healthy

Tough Mug goes "Legit"

Everyone has seen Public Enemy and Yankee Doodle Dandy, but if you're a serious Cagney buff you've got to see this flick. Made in '33 it is set in that time period. Cagney gets out of the big house and goes legit, if being a paparazzi is legit. The formula is tried and true; with pluck and luck Cagney makes good. The characters are stock, on paper, but the actors breath so much personality into them that they become individuals. Though we know Cagney will prevail, we don't know just how he will succeed, and that is where the drama comes from. The pace is quick enough that you wont go to the kitchen for a sandwich without hitting the stop button first. Great acting, a good story, a happy ending, bouncy theme music, and those great cars of the 1930s. What more do you want?