Directed by:
Joseph PevneyCinematography:
Irving GlassbergCast:
Howard Duff, Brian Donlevy, Peggy Dow, Lawrence Tierney, Bruce Bennett, Anne Vernon, Rock Hudson, Peggie Castle, Joseph Pevney, Chester Conklin (more)Plots(1)
If there was a poll for the most villainous character in film noir, one of the hot candidates to win would be journalist Jack Early from Shakedown. Played by Howard Duff, he’s a man with no scruples and no morals, who will stop at nothing in his quest to become a leading reportage photographer. In order to achieve his professional goal and get a good picture, he literally goes over dead bodies – he lets people pose in front of the camera lens in imminent danger of their lives and cold-bloodedly watches a murder. This remarkable contribution to the journalistic noir cycle, set like many noirs in San Francisco, was directed by actor Joseph Pevney in his directorial debut. Rather than a condemnation of media sensationalism, Shakedown can be read as an indictment of materialism and consumerism – for it reads like an anamnesis of a man who has been bound by his desire to fulfill the American Dream. (Noir Film Festival)
(more)Cast
Gregg Martell
USA
Best movies:
Winchester '73 (1950)
Shakedown (1950)
Kiss of Death (1947)
Josephine Whittell
USA
Best movies:
Song of Love (1947)
A Place in the Sun (1951)
Stage Door (1937)
Carl Sklover
Russian Empire
Best movies:
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Brute Force (1947)
The Harder They Fall (1956)
Jack Reitzen
USA
Best movies:
This Gun for Hire (1942)
Shakedown (1950)
The Naked Jungle (1954)
Peter Virgo
USA
Best movies:
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Spartacus (1960)
A Song Is Born (1948)
Bert Davidson
USA
Best movies:
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Adam's Rib (1949)
Three Little Words (1950)
Douglas Carter
UK
Best movies:
Storm Warning (1951)
Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)
To Each His Own (1946)
Elsie Baker
USA
Best movies:
Mystery Street (1950)
Shakedown (1950)
Good Neighbor Sam (1964)
Kenneth Patterson
USA
Best movies:
Being There (1979)
...And Justice for All (1979)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)