The Public Eye (1992)

Story of a 1940s photographer who specializes in crime and in not getting involved... until this time.

Director:

Howard Franklin

Writer:

Howard Franklin

Stars:

Joe Pesci, Richard Riehle, Bryan Travis Smith

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joe Pesci	...	Leon Bernstein
Richard Riehle	...	Officer O'Brien
Bryan Travis Smith	...	Young Cop
Max Brooks	...	Teen at Thompson Street
Richard Schiff	...	Thompson Street Photographer
Laura Cerón	...	Puerto Rican Woman
Chuck Gillespie	...	Cop at Puerto Rican Tenement
Christian Stolte	...	Ambulance Attendant (as Christian Stolti)
Jack Denbo	...	Photo Editor
Ellen McElduff	...	Lonely Woman at Drugstore
Marge Kotlisky	...	Rineman's Receptionist
Timothy Hendrickson	...	Richard Rineman
Del Close	...	H.R. Rineman
Henry Bolzon	...	Cafe Society Photographer
Jared Harris	...	Danny the Doorman

Storyline

Leon Bernstein is New York's best news photographer in 1942, equally at home with cops or crooks. The pictures are often of death and pain, but they are the ones the others wish they had got. Then glamorous Kay Levitz turns to him when the Mob seem to be muscling in on the club she owns due to some arrangement with her late husband. Bernstein, none too successful with women, agrees to help, saying there may be some good photos in it for him. In fact, he is falling in love with Kay.

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Plot Keywords:

photographer | mob | news photographer | picture | 1940s | 

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Taglines:

No matter what he was shooting, he never got involved -- except once.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 October 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Testemunha Ocular

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$3,067,917 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

It took Howard Franklin 10 years before he could get his screenplay turned into a film.

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Goofs

When Kay leafs through Bernstein' photo album, there is picture of a New York City taxi with a rectangular roof light which displays not only the word "Taxi" but also whether the taxi is off duty and its medallion number. Those signs did not come into service until the 1960s. In the 1940s, when the movie is set, New York City taxis used a variety of curved roof lights used in most other cities.

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Quotes

Leon (Bernzy) Bernstein: Nobody does what I do. Nobody.

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Connections

Referenced in Dave's World: The Insecurity System (1993)

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Soundtracks

"You Can't Say No to a Soldier"
(1942)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Mack Gordon
Performed by Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra
Courtesy of Sandy Hook Records

User Reviews

A Surprise Winner

I picked this up at the local grocery never having heard about it before, I thought it was a comedy, it is not. Joe Pesci scores one for the little guy that nobody likes in a big way. There is one confusing thing however. Was that Walter Winchell he was supposed to be friends with? That part confused me. There was also something said about the American mob families working with the Italian mob families to overthrow Italy in the movie era 1942. Was that true? Over all I really enjoyed it and for once could not predict the outcome. If you want something a little different, this is it.