Picture Snatcher (1933) User Reviews

Energetic Cagney Film

[mrb1980 · 8/10 · 9 August 2005]

Frantic, fast-paced film of ex-con Cagney getting a job at a local scandal sheet working for Bellamy and producing exclusive photographs for the paper. First he poses as an insurance adjuster to steal a photo, then through chicanery he manages to obtain a forbidden photo of a woman in the electric chair. Satisfying story conclusion has Cagney getting the girl and Bellamy playing the chump--again.

This film moves like lightning, guided along by Cagney's seemingly inexhaustible energy. Lots of snappy dialog, great acting, and fine direction make this quite a little gem. Great 1930s feel, and watch quickly for Sterling Holloway (wearing outrageous glasses!) as a journalism student. Highly recommended.

Early Papparazzi

[jotix100 · 8/10 · 24 June 2005]

James Cagney, who was always so intense, as the 'bad guy' in most of his movies, seems to be having a great time in "Picture Snatcher', this 1933 film directed by Lloyd Bacon.

In fact, Danny Kean, is first seen being released from jail, after serving three years, but he has had enough of the crime life. He tells his criminal friends he wants out. Not knowing what to do, he decides to try his hand at photo journalism by applying to be a news photographer at the Graphic News. The friendly editor, Al Mclean, decides to give him a break.

Thus begins Danny's adventures as a news photographer that gets the right picture, at the right moment for his paper. He also finds happiness with Pat, the lovely daughter of a friendly policeman. At the same time, he is being the object of a co-worker's desire, something he wants no part of, since he has decided to go straight.

The great James Cagney is a joy to watch in the film. He was a charismatic actor that is always excellent no matter what he did. Another surprise is Ralph Bellamy, who played the editor that decides to give the ex-con a break. The lovely Patricia Ellis is the object of Danny's affections. Alice White plays a bad girl that wants to get Danny for herself.

The film will not disappoint fans of Mr. Cagney for the change of pace it represented and the fun one gets by watching it.

Good fun with Cagney trying to go straight.

[alfiefamily · 7/10 · 24 November 2004]

At seventy-seven minutes in length, "Picture Snatcher" contains just enough action and comedy to support this little trifle.

Cagney is terrific as a former mobster who gets released from prison and tries to make a go of it as a photographer for a local newspaper rag, which is edited by Ralph Bellamy.

This film is from the first scene, where Cagney shows affection for the guards and warden, has a ridiculous story line all the way thru to the end. But it moves along at a breakneck pace and has several very good performances, so although we might know it's ridiculous, we really don't care.

Alice White is terrific as a gun moll on the make for Cagney. Bellamy is good as Cagney's drunken editor.

But the film belongs to Cagney, who turns in another terrific, under - appreciated performance.

7 out of 10

Newsgal

[tedg · 30 June 2006]

I'd like to recommend this to you for a couple reasons.

I'm right now doing a survey of films that feature newsrooms. Its a simple sort of fold that wouldn't work today. Amazingly, right after seeing this, I saw the new "Superman Returns." Horrid little move, but it reminded me that Superman was invented in the 30s and that's why we have Lois as a reporter.

In the 30s there were hundreds of movies set in newsrooms. Its roughly the same as a movie about the movie business, since the creation of stories and modeling of life was essentially a writer's game in that era. And the newsroom was one of the few places where women could be strong, sexy and articulate. And wow is this dripping with sex.

In those days, women could be nurses, teachers, secretaries or whores. Or if they were particularly clever, they were reporters. It was a sort of shorthand, lost today. If your movie put you in a newsroom, it was a stage where stories were made. And to have a woman weave stories and in some way control the world. That was something.

The story here is Cagney's typical gangster, head of a gang but imprisoned. He gets out and instead of returning to his gang, takes a job as a reporter. Actually — to make the folding good — as a photographer, hence the title. You can pretty much guess the story, knowing that he is both ruthless in invading lives and sweet on the daughter of the cop who "sent him up."

Here's the really interesting part: the sexy, precode blond is a reporter in the same pool. She's the girl of Cagney's boss but hot for Cagney. He's being chased by another broad too. To both he's mean, but the encounters with them are directly sexual.

Its odd. We see her as distinctly available, a silly blond. But we also know she is a crackerjack mind underneath. One scene: Cagney by subterfuge has obtained a picture of the execution of a murderess. He is chased all over town but makes it to the newsroom just under deadline. Breathlessly, he dictates the story to our sexy blond to type. He speaks in blunt gangster slang and we laugh at the notion that such a description would appear in the paper.

She types furiously, then the editor reads it aloud and it is three times as long, cleverly and articulately written. Big joke. No one notices. Bigger joke.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

It May Not Be Illegal, but is it legitimate?

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 27 September 2005]

Paroled convict James Cagney is determined not to return to a life of crime and decides to go to straight. He wants to get into journalism, but the only place that will hire him is the Graphic Record, the National Enquirer of its day. And not as a reporter, but as a picture snatcher. Now we would call Cagney a papparazzi.

Still and all it's a job and Cagney is pretty resourceful at getting sensational pictures. He photographs an electric chair execution and his ruthlessness gets his girlfriend's father in some heat. But later on he redeems himself with his knowledge of the criminal underworld.

Considering at where papparazzi are in the social pecking order these days, the viewer of Picture Snatcher is left to wonder just how legitimate Cagney has gone. Joe Pesci almost sixty years after Picture Snatcher was done did a period piece called The Public Eye which explored the same concerns. I think the viewer would like both films and Picture Snatcher if they are Cagney fans.

subtle? Nope--but very entertaining

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 19 July 2006]

This is a rather strange early Code film that features Jimmy Cagney as a sleazy ex-con who now devotes his energies to taking pictures for newspapers. But, given his larcenous nature, he specializes in getting the pictures no one else would dare take due to good taste! For example, at an execution, he insinuates himself into the prison as a witness to the execution and snaps a photo surreptitiously--getting his paper a big scoop on the competition. While Cagney's character is sleazy, he is also rather likable in the usual plucky and swaggering way the public learned to expect during the 1930s. However, in the film, all this bravado and lack of good taste eventually came to haunt him--after all, who would want a boyfriend or husband like that?! An interesting curio that is both entertaining and original.

Tough Mug goes "Legit"

[Ugarte-5 · 10/10 · 5 April 1999]

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?

Into the Lens

[1930s_Time_Machine · 6/10 · 25 November 2022]

In just the first two minutes you know exactly what is going to happen: nothing could be more typical of an early 30s Cagney film than this.

As always he's the wisecracking cheeky chappie this time a gangster trying to go straight.....in the newspaper business! However hard he tries to stay on the level, there's something in him, a naive unappreciation of what's acceptable which just pushes him too far. His character is a little darker than usual, he's not a particularly nice person, he's rude, arrogant, dishonest and is a borderline thug so not easy to like but the skill of Cagney is that he makes you want to get to know him and once you do....you're still not quite sure whether you like him.

It's no classic but it is a very entertaining hour and a bit and that's not just because of Cagney. Although 'conveyor belt' director Lloyd Bacon was always more about speed rather than style (a Lloyd Bacon movie was not a leisurely experience) but he knew what he was doing and builds up the tension in this leaving you on the edge of your seat. Also Ralph Bellamy is surprisingly pretty decent in this - I'm more used to seeing him play the wet lettuce reading his lines as if seeing them for the first time but he can act!

Cagney Joins The Paparazzi!

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 21 October 2006]

This was great! It's vintage Cagney: tough, cocky, funny and endearing! The film is also typical early '30s: short, entertaining, fast-moving with some wild dialog and plenty of action and humor.

Imagine the outcry today if they showed the hero pushing women around as James Cagney did here and in other films of the period. This particular story has Cagney playing "Danny Kean," an ex-con who quits his former mob and winds up at a tabloid newspaper as a member of the paparazzi! (I guess this story was ahead of it's time.) He does what he has to do get a picture for the paper, and a financial raise for his efforts.

Along the way are several very pretty women "Pat" and "Allison" (played respectively by Patricia Ellis and Alice White); a number of sexual innuendos (which wouldn't have made it in the picture had this been made a year later); and just a fun-filled corny 1930s ride.

I wish a bunch more of these entertaining films, especially with Cagney, were available.

"You're a credit to dear old Sing Sing, Danny."

[utgard14 · 7/10 · 30 July 2014]

Ex-con Danny Kean (James Cagney) becomes a successful newspaper photographer by getting the pictures nobody else can because he's not afraid to take risks. He falls for a dame who turns out to be the daughter of the policeman that arrested him years before. So naturally Pops isn't pleased. But he is convinced by Danny's boss (Ralph Bellamy) that Danny has changed for the better. That is until the ambitious Danny does something that lands him in trouble and turns his boss, his girlfriend, and her father against him.

Another of the many entertaining, fast-paced films Jimmy Cagney did in the '30s. Whether they were gangster pictures, comedies, war movies, or anything else, Cagney always delivered. Nice support from Ralph Bellamy, Robert Barrat, Alice White, and Patricia Ellis. Some punchy dialogue and humor helps keep this crime drama moving. Cagney fans will love it.

Cagney at his cocky spontaneous best

[AlsExGal · 9/10 · 17 June 2021]

The film opens on Danny Kean(James Cagney) being released from prison just as the cop who arrested him (Robert Emmett O'Conner as Emmett Nolan) is bringing another convict into the prison. Kean's gang is ready for him to take the lead again, but after taking a bath and his cut of the loot, Danny says what he really wants is to be a reporter and he is going straight.

He gets a job at the tabloid Graphic News by "snatching" a picture under dangerous circumstances. He then takes a shine to a girl who turns out to be the daughter of the cop who arrested him. Dad is not pleased with his daughter's new beau. Complications ensue.

Cagney's character is an ex-con you feel sorry for despite his devious ways of getting the job done once he turns legit. He adds a ton of "goodies" as he called them (improvs, adlibs, and etc.) that surprise and delight at every turn. He is like catnip to Alice White's character, who can't leave him alone, and is actually somebody else's girl.

This is actually a very good Cagney precode, maybe his best although there is stiff competition. You have the big city newsroom, Ralph Bellamy losing the girl AGAIN, a precode situation involving...the fire department?, and that criminal gang Cagney left behind at the beginning of the film? -They enter back into the plot later on. The storyline exploits the actual photo that the Daily News ran of a woman taken secretly at the moment of her execution making it more timely still.

But it is basically the rambunctious charm of James Cagney at his youthful best rescuing a Warner Brothers quickie from itself through his trademark energy, grace, and humor.

Cagney the Paparazzi

[wes-connors · 7/10 · 14 March 2015]

Freshly paroled from New York's "Sing Sing Prison", tough-guy James Cagney (as Daniel "Danny" Kean) takes a perfume bath and gets himself a new suit. After telling old gangster pals he's going straight, Mr. Cagney decides he wants a career in journalism. He approaches the tabloid "Graphic-News" for a job. Hard-drinking city editor Ralph Bellamy (as McLean) won't hire Cagney, but changes his mind when the ex-con delivers an exclusive picture for the newspaper. Cagney saves Mr. Bellamy's job and is hired as a staff photographer. Cagney arouses sexy staff reporter Alice White (as Allison), but later prefers pretty Patricia Ellis (as Patricia "Pat" Nolan)...

Cagney struts around this second-tier feature like a first-rate star. He, director Lloyd Bacon, photographer Sol Polito, editor William Holmes and the Warner Bros. crew make punk look classy. The centerpiece is Cagney's assignment to photograph an electric chair execution. Also notable is the easy sex offered by a lone female co-worker. She puts the lonely staff ladies room to good use, but Cagney is a gentleman after discovering Ms. White is considered Bellamy's girl. Also watch for bookish bit-player Sterling Holloway and three beautiful young students. Based on a story by Danny Ahern, "Picture Snatcher" was re-made as "Escape from Crime" (1942).

******* Picture Snatcher (5/6/33) Lloyd Bacon ~ James Cagney, Ralph Bellamy, Alice White, Patricia Ellis

An enjoyable little James Cagney comedy.

[Robby-17 · 4/10 · 8 February 1999]

As usual James Cagney provides nothing short of his usual high standard, in this light comedy/drama with a dark edge. Seeming more relevant now, especially with all the recent scandals involving the paparazzi and it's stars, this movie takes the usual 'Cagney' structure. He starts out a broke bad boy on the ropes, but with his wiley charm and dodgy dealings, does good. Cagney is impossible to hate, even when, as in this movie he becomes as obnoxious as ever. In particular the scene in which the Fireman, comes to find the man who got his picture on the front page. It is in scenes like this, that Cagney shows his deft comic touch, something so under-used in his long and prestigious career. In short The Picture Snatcher, is well worth an hour and a half of anyones time. Although by no means Cagney's best, it still holds up well against an 'Accidental Hero'. Enjoy!!!

Cagney As Photographer.

[AaronCapenBanner · 7/10 · 3 November 2013]

Lloyd Bacon directed this brisk drama that stars Jimmy Cagney as Danny Kean, an ex-convict turned newspaper photographer who isn't afraid to go the extra distance to get a dangerous or controversial photo. He falls in love with Patricia, daughter of the police officer who first arrested him! This relationship is used by Kean to get a much sought-after photo of a woman's execution, which ruins the romance, though Kean's boss Mclean(played by Ralph Bellamy) does what he can to help, and Kean goes back in action after an old friend becomes wanted by the police... Good yarn with appealing performances and well-paced direction. Cagney is in his element here, and film is entertaining.

A terrific crazy romp, never stopping, Cagney charming and sharp

[secondtake · 8/10 · 18 January 2011]

Picture Snatcher (1933)

A fast, pre-code romp, really fun. Cagney movies are so blazing in general, from his fast talking style and his frenetic body movements, this is terrific. It's not a gangster flick, though there are traces of that (he comes out of jail in the first scene), but it has the trappings of the end of Prohibition and all the fun of the cars and the times.

There are a number of interesting characters in addition to Cagney, sassy and chipper and really bright. The plot is crazy, really, with all kinds of rivalries among the thugs, the cops, the newsmen, and the women. There are some terrific newspaper scenes (like the lead typesetting machines, used for love notes by Cagney and his girl), but the title refers to Cagney's turn at being photojournalist. They don't show him in action much, but there is a key scene where he photographs a woman being killed in the electric chair. And he does it the same way the same kind of picture was taken in 1928 of Ruth Snyder at Sing Sing, the camera hidden on the photographer's calf, and the pant leg lifted at the time of the electrocution. The camera appears to be an American made Ansco, a slightly cruder version of the new small Leica style miniature camera hitting the market in the late 1920s.

But in fact photography plays a small role here. This is a movie about Cagney being his frenetic best, and that's what makes it great. I would say don't miss it. It's sweet, sassy, fun, and surprising.

Not bad, but needed a better script.

[hemisphere65-1 · 6/10 · 7 July 2021]

Cagney is great and Bellamy is pretty good, but Alice White gives the best performance!

Good, fast-paced movie, but there are many unexplained incidents that you can't ignore. The fireman who threatens the lives of several people but isn't locked up. The cop (Pat's father) who literally fired his pistol at Kean (Cagney) on a city street and it's played off as a bit.

CAGNEY LIKES A LAVENDER SMELLING BATH IN THE TUB!!

[whpratt1 · 10/10 · 9 August 2003]

Have enjoyed all Cagney movies and thought I had seen them all until I viewed this film on TV. James Cagney tries to go straight after getting out of prison and has a great desire to become a photographer; he loves to smell like a rose in this picture and is depicted taking a bath in the tub while his gangster friends pour in the LAVENDER, he remarks to his friends, "Is this the same perfume that those two(2) gals had on in the car?" Ralph Bellamy,"Rosemary's Baby" '68 gives a great supporting role as a drunk newspaper man and Patricia Ellis(I) "Back Door to Heaven"'39 gives the romance Cagney is looking for. In 1933, money was hard to come by after the Great Depression and actors had to make a living in any picture that came their way. This is a great CAGNEY CLASSIC and in NO WAY should it be PICK APART!! Just sit back and enjoy a great American Irish ACTOR!!!

Early pre-code Cagney is as funny and energetic as ever...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 17 June 2010]

This is the kind of hard-hitting Warner crime caper that the studio turned out on an assembly line basis in the '30s and '40s--and since it's pre-code, lots of sexual innuendo and kissing scenes that wouldn't get past the censor a year or so later.

It's the age-old story of a convict trying to go straight and all the obstacles thrown into his path. Cagney is the ex-con who decides to quit the gang for a straight job on a newspaper. When he manages to snatch a photo off the wall of a man and woman whose marriage was destroyed by a tragic fire, the city editor (Ralph Bellamy) gets him a job as a photo reporter. From there on, the story is full of dames, booze, action-packed moments and plenty of shenanigans performed by the energetic Cagney who lights up the screen whenever he appears. Alice White is the brassy blonde that he keeps giving the cold shoulder to and Patricia Ellis is the nice gal whose father doesn't want Cagney around his daughter.

The newspaper office scenes look pretty convincing except for the moment when Cagney dictates his story to a girl using a typewriter who takes his street talk description and translates it into suitable newspaper lingo in a jiffy. Only in the movies.

It's the kind of yarn that put Cagney on the map during the '30s and is as fast moving and entertaining as any other crime film he was associated with, but not as polished as his big-time films "Angles with Dirty Faces" or "White Heat."

Very Good

[Michael_Elliott · 12 March 2008]

Picture Snatcher (1933)

*** (out of 4)

Fast paced, hard hitting drama from Warner Bros. has a gangster (James Cagney) being released from prison when he decides to go straight and gets a job for a tabloid newspaper as a cameraman. Everything is going fine until he breaks all the rules to take a picture of a woman in the electric chair. This is a pretty interesting film especially today when there's so much controversy surrounding tabloid photographers so I guess this new trend was around back in the day as well. Cagney is energetic as ever and Ralph Bellamy delivers a strong performance as the alcoholic editor. A good little pre-code that, according to the Robert Osbourne intro, was made because Warner wanted a gangster picture but due to all the controversy surrounding them, put Cagney in as the photographer.

Cagney goes straight with the "tabloid press?"

[SimonJack · 7/10 · 11 July 2020]

"Picture Snatcher" is one of the early tough guy movies of James Cagney. But this one has him going straight after spending time in Sing Sing prison. The plot is interesting and provides a peek at the early newspaper competition in New York, including the "tabloid" press. Before the term became common language in English countries, paparazzi describes his character in this film. He would go to any length - and do anything, to get a photograph of a well-known person who was in the spotlight of the day.

This is a fair drama and crime film and the story keeps one interested. But it has the trademark violence that marked many of the crime films of the 1930s, most noticeably the rough handling of women. The IMDb bio entry on Cagney has a quote attributed to him already in 1931: "I'm sick of guns and beating up women. Movies should be entertaining, not bloodbaths." Yet, he would continue to make violent type of crime films, mostly through his first 10 years with Warner Brothers. Cagney did do other films, occasionally a musical and/or comedy. He was a multi-talented actor who could sing and dance.

In later years, he made the occasional tough-guy movie, but had films across the range of genres. He made war films, Westerns and action/adventure movies. Cagney's Oscar for best actor came for his great performance as George M. Cohan in "Yankee Doodle Dandy" of 1942. The hit biographical musical was nominated for Best Picture but lost out to "Mrs. Miniver."

This film is all Cagney as Danny Kean, but Ralph Bellamy has a very good meaty supporting part as McLean. Most of the rest of roles are small, but well done. Sterling Holloway plays a journalism student who visits Kean's paper with two other college students. He waxes poetic in the press room as Kean takes them on a tour. His line is quite good.

The movie gets one extra star from me for its historical depiction of the press. The newsroom is realistic, and the press room shows the physical plant of a letterpress newspaper, right down to the working Linotype operators and their craft. I'm an old former reporter, photographer, columnist and editor myself.

Here are some notable lines in the film.

Allison, played by Alice White, "For no particular reason, I think I'll take charge of you." Danny Kean, "You're the warden."

Journalism Student, "You know, Professor Stanley says that the things we'll see are the things in journalism not to do. Professor Stanley says that this newspaper is a filthy blot on the escutcheon of American writing."

Journalism Student, "In my opinion, modern journalism has descended to a deplorable level."

Grover, "If Danny gets the picture, it'll be the biggest scoop in the history of our paper." McLean, "Our what?"

Police Lt. Casey Nolan, "There's something in this town I wanna step on."

Good for a quick movie, but...

[davidwalsh66 · 7/10 · 19 February 2022]

A little too much physicality with the ladies, including where Cagney knocks one out and tosses her in the backseat. Otherwise, there were a few parts that get a chuckle.

don't like the character

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 3 February 2020]

Former gangster Danny Kean (James Cagney) is released from Sing Sing. His old gang welcomes him with open arms but he decides to go straight. The slick operator gets a photographer job at a tabloid and falls for Patricia Nolan, the daughter of his arresting police officer.

I don't like this character. Cagney is playing his streetwise gangster character but I don't like it for some reason. The problem is that he's neither a gangster nor a news man. He's both and he's neither. It may be better if he doesn't start as a gangster. He plays it light but I don't want it light. I'm conflicted. I like Cagney in general but less so in this movie. It's still compelling and it's interesting.

Cagney plays the part and plays it Well.

[jonerogers · 10/10 · 28 October 2018]

This is a fab Little film even though i detest the media of today, this film nails it.

Again its Cagney coming from being a criminal to being the good boy and throw in the odd Blonde and a few cheeky laughs and your there. Cagney actually falls for a pretty dark haired girl but bad news....her father is a local cop who has had run ins with Cagney in the past and so he has to work him round. As a picture snatcher he has to go all out to get that one great scoop and beat the competition and he does this several times and with hes cheeky smiles and giggles he make it up the ladder.

There is also a usual fall back during the film where Cagney's character falls from grace and has to be pulled out of the puddle and the love story ends well.

You can't help but love Cagney as he has that cheeky little nature about him we all love, be it as a Gangster or womaniser he brings an electric buzz to the screen and keeps it pretty up there pulling us in.

Not very good, could have been better

[raskimono · 5/10 · 17 July 2002]

Cagney gets out of prison, is reformed and becomes a picture snatcher or what we would call today; a tabloid photographer. He does anything to get the shot and one of them gets the press in trouble and makes him an outcast. His redemption comes with a happy ending in this cliched and hackneyed, poorly written movie. Cagney's good but he's always good.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Bucks

[LeonLouisRicci · 9/10 · 23 July 2014]

Snappy Tabloid Journalism Story with James Cagney Developing into a Photographer out to get the Goods on those who are Down and can't Fight Back. But in this Yellow Journal Yarn He is so Energetic, Lighthearted, and Light on His Feet it All seems in Good Fun. The way the Picture is Handled it is, although the Subject Matter is Very Lurid at Times.

Not the Pre-Code Sexual Stuff that has Pretty Dames Baring Some Skin and Making with the Bedroom Eyes, or Cagney Slapping them around when Their Sexual Advances are Unwelcome. But the Actual Assignments.

Photographing a Woman at the Moment of Her Execution for Murder (with a camera smuggled into Sing Sing), a Firemans Breakdown after He finds His Wife in Bed with Another, or the Finale that is a Rousing Shoot em' Up with Machine Guns Blasting Away with Children in the Crossfire.

This is some Pretty Gruesome Goings On Amidst the Comedic Banter and the Overall Tone of the Delivery that the Film Takes On. But Overall, it Works to the Benefit of Entertainment and the Film has a Distinctive Edge and Feel that After the Code would be Gone for Decades.