AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

ThrillMessage There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

mark.waltz Taking the main theme from "Five Star Final" one step further, this expose on sleaze journalism covers the job of the photographer. Newly released from prison, James Cagney gets into working as a scandal sheet photographer and quickly gains a reputation as a ruthless intruder. He makes many enemies in the press when he takes a photo of a death row inmate just as the lights go out, creating friction with the cop father of his lady love (Patricia Ellis). Slutty Alice White keeps Cagney distracted, and it is very obvious that something is going on there. In fact, she makes it clear that she enjoys him knocking her around, and the more he does it, the more she wants it. Ralph Bellamy plays Cagney's journalist pal who gets him the job. Robert Emmett O'Connor is also very good as Ellis's temperamental Irish father who has a love/hate relationship with his potential son-in-law.Among the pre-code elements are Cagney's face as he listens to a very flamboyant male radio announcer hiss out an advertisement for a ladies cigarette then later pours a cocktail down a floozie's dress after she tries to swipe it. White takes a beating from him and begs for more. But nothing beats him sneaking a camera into prison for a ladies execution. In spite of the theme, the script plays for frequent laughs, giving me the impression that this was pretty shocking to the people fighting for the code.

Lone_Prospector How anyone can give this move less than 10 stars is beyond me. This movie has everything you could possibly ask for in a pre-code classic. Part gangster movie. Part prison movie. Part newspaper movie. Lots of great fast talking banter. An electric chair scene – the condemned a woman no less. Car chases. Car crashes. Machine guns. Children dodging bullets. Jealousy, rage, retribution. And dames-a-plenty (more on that later).Jimmy Cagney is at his absolute best as an ex-con who tries to go straight as a newspaper photographer at a less than reputable daily rag. Although he officially quit the old gang, Cagney uses his criminal instincts to get the shot (photo that is) that nobody else seems to be able to get. In the meantime, he falls for cute-as-a-button college girl, Patricia Ellis, whose father is a policeman – the same policeman that previously put Jimmy away for three years. No problem, Cagney gets Dad promoted to Captain and, temporarily at least, all is good.The women in this picture (except for good girl Ellis) throw themselves at Cagney with reckless abandon and with absolutely one thing on their mind. Nobody even tries to pretend otherwise. Alice White, who plays one of Cagney's colleagues at the paper, is incredible as one of Cagney's many seductresses. She has to be seen to be believed. Alice Jans, an old girlfriend from Cagney's mob days, is another beast. Cagney literally carries her into the bedroom (she practically orders him to do so), until Cagney finally beats it.To say this move was racy for 1933 is an understatement. Heck, it's racy for 2011! A must see.

Michael_Elliott 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.

bkoganbing 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.