Upon reading about Roy Scheider's death, I had not realized he was 42 when Jaws was released. I guess it was because I felt, no matter how much time passed and how many movies he made, Scheider never really looked to me like he was aging. It was if he had been born that way. He was one hell of an intense actor, and it didn't have everything to do with his chiseled features and wicked stare. Pick most any scene from The French Connection, Jaws, or his delightfully nutty performance in Jaws 2 and you witness an actor who had a craft all his own. Even when he was being calm, there was always a sense the storm was right around the corner.
Looking back over his filmography the other day, I was surprised by how many movies I had forgotten he was in, but was even more amazed by how many of them I had not seen. Being the fan I am of the late John Frankenheimer, I'm not sure how I let 52 Pick-Up slip through the cracks. The picture was not well received during its 1986 release, and it's easy to see why. Like a lot of the action thrillers made during the latter half of the decade, the violence is raw and unapologetic and the villains are sleazy. After leaving the theater, I'm sure film critics Jeffrey Lyons and Michael Medved couldn't wait to go home and take a cold shower.
The basic plot of 52 Pick-Up is nothing to write home about, even it was adapted from (and by) Elmore Leonard. A wealthy businessman named Harry Mitchell (Scheider) is cheating on his wife of 23 years, Barbara (a horrifying Ann-Margaret) with a 22-year-old stripper (a smoking hot Kelly Preston). Three masked men kidnap him at the girl's apartment and threaten to blackmail him with the affair unless he pays them $105,000. Harry refuses, causing things to spiral out of control.
I must say that the set up was boring to me, even stupid, but to write the movie off based on how it starts would be a mistake given how the whole thing is played. Leonard's characters aren't your typical bargain basement movie clowns. They're real people with real problems, and they're desperate enough to make mistakes they might not normally make. And the cast, aside from the inexplicable Ann-Margaret, look and feel right at home in their roles. For instance, you can't have an everyman playing Harry, since we have to believe this guy can possibly screw up the blackmailers' plans. From the moment Scheider appears on screen, we are aware of what he's capable.
Harry is a classic Reagan era movie character. He owns his own business, has a fancy Los Angeles home (complete with a pool that overlooks the city), drives a Jaguar convertible, has a year round tan, and could sleep with any woman he wants. Scheider was unquestionably the right match for the role; he's not a classic looking guy, but someone we could believe has worked his butt off to get to where he is at this point. There's definitely some dirt under his nails. And while he is the kind of guy who would buy a gun just to have it around, he's not afraid to use it to protect what he's earned. Most importantly, Scheider makes Harry into someone with a real history. It never feels like his life started when the movie did.
Most of the characters are played with that type of feel, not more so than the baddies. What impressed me the most about them was the fact they're more confident on the outside than on the inside. It's one thing to plan a blackmail and set it into motion -- it's another to have to take certain measurements when the entire endeavor turns against you. The villainous trio is led by the terrificly named Alan Raimy (John Glover), a porn theater owner and amateur filmmaker. His entrance is superb since we don't even see his face until the end of the scene; one eye is behind a video camera and the other is covered by a patch.
Raimy's partners are Leo (Robert Trebor), who is constantly nervous and talks too much as a result, and Bobby Shy (a mega creepy Clarence Williams III), the only one in the bunch who has no hesitations about pulling the trigger. It's a given almost that these guys don't think in the beginning that anything will go wrong. They show Harry evidence of his affair that they are sure will make him pay; when he doesn't, acts of sloppy hastiness begin to make everything fall apart. What ultimately keeps 52 Pick-Up watchable, aside from its performances, are the ways in which Harry and the villains try to keep control of each other.
As expected, the violence in the movie packs a punch. Some of it is easy to predict, while other moments come out of nowhere. The best '80s actioners were not afraid to kill off characters, and it's a welcome addition here. Frankenheimer creates suspense in unexpected ways throughout and to his credit, he's not afraid to let the characters talk. Action movies these days are only about how many people can get shot; in other words, shoot first and ask questions later. 52 Pick-Up is one of those rare movies where sometimes there is a logical explanation to be given, and the other person is actually willing to listen.
Thanks to Scheider, I often found myself distracted while watching the picture. It would have been so easy to play the role of Harry with lots of shouting and gritted teeth. Instead, Scheider took the time to show the audience that this is a flawed person, he knows it, but that doesn't mean he's going to be exploited for it, even if he does make lots of mistakes along the way. There are numerous moments where his face does all the talking, the best example being right before he confesses his unfaithfulness to Barbara. Quiet moments were his greatest strength. Watch Jaws again and you'll understand what I'm talking about from the get go.
52 Pick-Up may not be up to the caliber of Jaws or The French Connection, as there are lots of elements that feel dated (the score, in particular) and Ann-Margaret creates a character who deserves zero sympathy. It is, however, a welcome contribution to an interesting and diverse career by an actor who put every part of himself into the people he portrayed. Like Chief Brody, Det. Buddy Russo, Joe Gideon, Dr. Heywood Floyd, hell, most all of Scheider's characters, Harry Mitchell is immediately human, and it's all because of how he was played. Put someone else in the role and you wouldn't only have a different movie, but most likely a lesser one.
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