The entire premise of "Picture Snatcher" is pretty weak, but put Jimmy Cagney in the lead role and you have the makings of an entertaining flick. Cagney shows all the energy and grit that made him a star as early as the 1930's, and here he's top billed as a former mobster going straight as of all things, a tabloid photographer and reporter for "Graphic News", described by journalism student Sterling Holloway as a 'filthy blot on American writing'. That pretty much sums it up, as Danny Kean (Cagney) uses all the street smarts and professional contacts he can muster to get the latest scoop.
Before I ever saw the picture, I wondered what the term 'picture snatcher' might mean, and I guess I was pretty close. The story makes it clear that the job had to do with getting photos of down and out people who can't fight back, and in that regard, Cagney's character is a whiz. His very first job involved stealing a wedding picture of a couple that made front page news when the bride was caught cheating by her fireman husband. Stories like that wouldn't even raise an eyebrow today, but it sure looked sensational back in the day. We've come quite a way in seventy plus years.
You know, I was curious about that invitation to an execution angle that revolved around the death of an inmate at the State Prison at Ossining, New York. The letter Danny Kean steals from a fellow reporter mentioned 'Sing Sing' by name in the letterhead; I wonder if that was for real. New Yorkers like myself, especially those from Westchester County will have fun with the place names and street addresses mentioned in the story. The harder part is trying to visualize them as they might have been back in the Thirties.
It was way back in 1931's "Public Enemy" that Cagney gained notoriety for that grapefruit smackeroo in the kisser against Mae Clark. If anything, he's even rougher here sending Alice White flying into a chair using her face as a launch pad, and knocking her out and flipping her into the back seat of a car when his 'real' girlfriend (Patricia Ellis) approaches. Then of course there's all the sexual innuendo and banter that's strictly pre-code; how about "Keep in step, bedroom eyes". I had to rewind that one to be sure I heard it right.
All in all, the whole tenor of the story is pretty unrealistic, even if you get past the part where Danny tells his mob he's going legit. But even so, it's vintage Cagney and that's good for something. Without him, the picture wouldn't even garner enough IMDb votes to give it much more than a five rating, but put the wise cracking hoofer in the lead and that's good enough for bonus points!
Before I ever saw the picture, I wondered what the term 'picture snatcher' might mean, and I guess I was pretty close. The story makes it clear that the job had to do with getting photos of down and out people who can't fight back, and in that regard, Cagney's character is a whiz. His very first job involved stealing a wedding picture of a couple that made front page news when the bride was caught cheating by her fireman husband. Stories like that wouldn't even raise an eyebrow today, but it sure looked sensational back in the day. We've come quite a way in seventy plus years.
You know, I was curious about that invitation to an execution angle that revolved around the death of an inmate at the State Prison at Ossining, New York. The letter Danny Kean steals from a fellow reporter mentioned 'Sing Sing' by name in the letterhead; I wonder if that was for real. New Yorkers like myself, especially those from Westchester County will have fun with the place names and street addresses mentioned in the story. The harder part is trying to visualize them as they might have been back in the Thirties.
It was way back in 1931's "Public Enemy" that Cagney gained notoriety for that grapefruit smackeroo in the kisser against Mae Clark. If anything, he's even rougher here sending Alice White flying into a chair using her face as a launch pad, and knocking her out and flipping her into the back seat of a car when his 'real' girlfriend (Patricia Ellis) approaches. Then of course there's all the sexual innuendo and banter that's strictly pre-code; how about "Keep in step, bedroom eyes". I had to rewind that one to be sure I heard it right.
All in all, the whole tenor of the story is pretty unrealistic, even if you get past the part where Danny tells his mob he's going legit. But even so, it's vintage Cagney and that's good for something. Without him, the picture wouldn't even garner enough IMDb votes to give it much more than a five rating, but put the wise cracking hoofer in the lead and that's good enough for bonus points!