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52 Pick-Up

52 Pick-Up

Crime · Thriller · 1986

Harry Mitchell is a successful Los Angeles manufacturer whose wife is running for city council. His life is turned upside down when three blackmailers confront him with a videotape of him with his young mistress and demand $100,000. Fearing that the story will hurt his wife's political campaign if he goes to the police, Harry pretends that he will pay the men, but does not follow through.

Movie details

52 Pick-Up

“His Wife... His Mistress... His Career... A Deadly Trap”

1986 Crime · Thriller 1h 50m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.4 / 10

8K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

58 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

55 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

6.1 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

Harry Mitchell is a successful Los Angeles manufacturer whose wife is running for city council. His life is turned upside down when three blackmailers confront him with a videotape of him with his young mistress and demand $100,000. Fearing that the story will hurt his wife's political campaign if he goes to the police, Harry pretends that he will pay the men, but does not follow through.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over 52 Pick-Up?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Palmetto

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After being released from prison on a bum charge, Harry Barber is out for payback to regain his lost two years. He's hired by Mrs. Malroux to fake the kidnapping of her stepdaughter (the daughter of a dying millionaire). He discovers that he is being set up on multiple levels and will soon face a longer sentence if he doesn't prove the truth.

Sudden Fear

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The Big Sleep

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Mystery · 1946

Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the complex case is over, Marlowe sees murder, blackmail, deception, and what might be love.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Frankenheimer

Written by

Elmore Leonard · John Steppling

Roy Scheider

Roy Scheider

Harry Mitchell

Ann-Margret

Ann-Margret

Barbara Mitchell

Vanity

Vanity

Doreen

John Glover

John Glover

Alan Raimy

Robert Trebor

Robert Trebor

Leo Franks

Lonny Chapman

Lonny Chapman

Jim O'Boyle

Kelly Preston

Kelly Preston

Cini

Court is in session

Put 52 Pick-Up on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Restraint trusts the audience.”

It leaves emotional space unlabelled, trusting viewers to notice what the characters cannot say aloud.

The prosecution The Sentimental Softie

“Distance mistaken for discipline.”

The chill may look elegant, but withholding a heartbeat is not the same as having complicated feelings.