One thing I particularly like about film noir is the existence of long-forgotten obscure movies that only wait for you to be put in the spotlight. Although more and more lost movies are being restored thanks to the relentless efforts of dedicated associations such as The Film Noir Foundation (FNF), such gems are usually only available through copies of bad image and/or sound quality. However, I feel like this is not systematically problematic or at least it should not prevent you from watching them. Shakedown (1950) is one of them.
Shakedown was the first movie from American director Joseph Pevney (Undercover Girl (1950), Female on the Beach (1955)). It stars a young Howard Duff (The Naked City (1948), Johnny Stool Pigeon (1949), Illegal Entry (1949)) as leading actor.
This lesser-known film noir set in San Francisco focuses on journalism and corruption, telling the story of opportunistic and ambitious news media photographer Jack Early (Howard Duff) who ends up being entangled with the wrong people after he took some compromising pictures.
The photography by Irving Glassberg (The Web (1947), Larceny (1948), Undertow (1949)) is rather simple but remains quite effective with some nice shots depicting early 1950s San Francisco by night.
Shakedown will definitely please film noir lovers looking for under-the-radar noir gems, even though this one will not appeal to everyone. The cynical atmosphere and ruthless ending make it a genuine film noir. For this reason, do not let bad image quality deter you from watching Shakedown!
E.K.
FILM NOIR: Lost in the dark 