Picture Snatcher (1933)

Director:

Lloyd Bacon

Writers:

Daniel Ahern (story)
Allen Rivkin (adaptation) ...
(more)

Release Date:

6 May 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Crime

Tagline:

His camera takes 'em from love nests to Page One before they can bat an eye---or put on a negligee!

Plot:

Ex-convict Danny Kean decides to become honest as a photographer for a paper. He falls in love with Patricia...

Plot Keywords:

Photographer | Execution | Automobile Accident | Chase | New York City

Cast

James Cagney	...	Danny Kean
Ralph Bellamy	...	J.R. 'Al' McLean
Patricia Ellis	...	Patricia 'Pat' Nolan
Alice White	...	Allison
Ralf Harolde	...	Jerry the Mug
Robert Emmett O'Connor	...	Lieutenant Casey Nolan
Robert Barrat	...	Grover, Graphic News Owner
G. Pat Collins	...	Hennessy the Fireman (as George Pat Collins)
Arthur Vinton	...	John, the Head Keeper
Tom Wilson	...	Leo
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Maurice Black	...	Speakeasy Proprietor (uncredited)
Stanley Blystone	...	Prison Guard (uncredited)
Don Brodie	...	Hood (uncredited)
Hobart Cavanaugh	...	James 'Pete' Peters, Drunken Reporter (uncredited)
George Chandler	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Cora Sue Collins	...	Jerry's Little Girl (uncredited)
Gino Corrado	...	Barber (uncredited)
George Daly	...	Machine Gunner (uncredited)
Jill Dennett	...	Speakeasy Girl (uncredited)
Mike Donlin	...	Poolroom Proprietor (uncredited)
Dick Elliott	...	Editor (uncredited)
Jack Grey	...	Alec, Police Officer (uncredited)
Sterling Holloway	...	Journalism Student (uncredited)
John Ince	...	Police Captain (uncredited)
Selmer Jackson	...	Joe Chase, Record Editor (uncredited)
Alice Jans	...	Colleen (uncredited)
Donald Kerr	...	Mike, Man with Colleen (uncredited)
Milton Kibbee	...	Reporter Outside Prison (uncredited)
Charles King	...	Sick Reporter at Execution (uncredited)
Larry McGrath	...	Bookie (uncredited)
Matt McHugh	...	Sergeant Handing Out Guns (uncredited)
Bert Moorhouse	...	Reporter Witnessing Execution (uncredited)
Bob Perry	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Barbara Rogers	...	Olive, Jerry's Moll (uncredited)
Cliff Saum	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Charles Sherlock	...	Reporter Witnessing Execution (uncredited)
Philip Sleeman	...	Hood (uncredited)
William H. Strauss	...	Tailor (uncredited)
Vaughn Taylor	...	Editor (uncredited)
Phil Tead	...	Reporter F.L. Strange (uncredited)
Billy West	...	Reporter Stacy (uncredited)
Renee Whitney	...	Connie Rowland (uncredited)
William Worthington	...	Reporter Witnessing Execution (uncredited)

Directed by
Lloyd Bacon

Writing credits
Daniel Ahern		(story) (as Danny Ahern)
Allen Rivkin		(adaptation) &
P.J. Wolfson		(adaptation)
Ben Markson		(dialogue)
William Keighley		uncredited

Cinematography by
Sol Polito

Film Editing by
William Holmes

Art Direction by
Robert M. Haas

Costume Design by
Orry-Kelly		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gordon Hollingshead	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	conductor: Vitaphone Orchestra
Ray Heindorf	....	composer: music cues (uncredited)
Cliff Hess	....	composer: music cues (uncredited)

Other crew
William Keighley	....	dialogue director
Raymond Griffith	....	supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (as Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1933) (USA) (theatrical) (as Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

77 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The scene of Danny photographing an execution is based an actual incident in which Chicago-based crime photographer Tom Howard (who was the grandfather of 'George Wendt') surreptitiously snapped the famous photo of convicted murderess Ruth Snyder's January 12, 1928 execution in the electric chair at Sing Sing for the New York Daily News.

Goofs:

Continuity: Cagney's suit goes from dirty to clean to dirty again during the car chase from Sing Sing and the subsequent subway ride.

Quotes:

[Danny is giving a tour of his newspaper's printing room]
Journalism Student: Yes, here it is - white wood pulp, plain white... Why, today it's raw, but tonight it's cooked with printer's ink, photographic art, the sweat of creative effort. Tomorrow it goes out and hundreds of thousands of men and women feed their starving, mediocre souls on the indiscretions and adventures of others. And then, a little while later, what is it?
Danny Kean: Don't you know? They use it to wrap herring.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Female (1933)

Soundtrack:

I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles

Newsgal

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.