| Pick-Up | |
|---|---|
 Sylvia Sidney and George Raft | |
| Directed by | Marion Gering |
| Written by | Viña Delmar |
| Based on | magazine serial by Vina Delmar |
| Produced by | B. P. Schulberg |
| Starring | Sylvia Sidney George Raft |
| Cinematography | David Abel |
| Music by | W. Franke Harling |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 76 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Pick-Up is a 1933 American pre-Code crime film directed by Marion Gering and starring Sylvia Sidney and George Raft.
Mary Richards gets out of prison after two years. She had been convicted with her husband, Jim, who created a badger game that she unwittingly participated in, and after their victim committed suicide. When she's let out (Jim remains) she has no resources, and she ducks into a cab driven by Harry Glynn to get out of the rain. They form a loving relationship, although they can't get married since Mary is still married to Jim. Harry creates a business fixing cars and it's a success. Harry, then, becomes attracted to Muriel- who takes advantage of the fact that Mary and Harry aren't married, and pursues Harry for fun. Harry who reciprocates. Mary is able to get the marriage to Jim annulled since he is a felon in prison and when Mary tells Harry she is finally free—he tells Mary about his interest in Muriel and that he'll always help Mary if she ever needs anything. Mary packs her things and prepares to leave Harry's house. Before she can leave, her ex-husband Jim turns up, having been paroled. He is unaware of the annulment. In the meantime, Harry has proposed marriage to Muriel who laughs at him, insinuating he isn't good enough for her and she was just playing around. Back at Harry and Mary's house, Jim indicates he is going to kill Harry, so Mary, to protect Harry, plays up to Jim, telling he is the only one for her. Jim takes Mary to a hideout and there discovers the annulment papers, He lets Mary know he actually broke out of prison and killed a cop while doing it. When Mary tries to get away, he threatens to tell the police that Mary orchestrated the prison break in order to control her. She calls the police anyway and soon the two are arrested and prosecuted. Harry sees the news in the papers, and hires an attorney to help her out. Believing she wouldn't accept his help, he makes the lawyer promise not to tell Mary that Harry is paying his fees. The prosecutor makes a big deal out of the fact that Harry "picked her up" at the time they met. Mary is acquitted and Harry meets her outside the courtroom in a cab- replaying the "pick-up" scene of their first meeting. But this time they plan to go make their relationship official.
The film was based on a short story by Vina Delmar which was voted one of the best short stories of 1928–29. [1]
Film rights were bought by Paramount who announced in May 1932 the film would star Carole Lombard and George Raft. [2] Then Raft was replaced by Gary Cooper. Eventually in October 1932 Sylvia Sidney and George Raft were cast, Raft replacing Cooper, who had been held up making a movie at MGM. [3] [4] Raft and Sidney would reteam several times. [5]
In September Courtney Terret was working on the script. [6]
Marion Gering was assigned to direct in November 1932. [7]
Filming took place in early 1933. [8]
The posters' Pre-Code tagline was "Pick-Up will make Bad Girl look like Sweet Sue from Keokuk!"
The film was a box office hit. [9] The New York Times called it "a good example of a mediocre story which derives a measure of effectiveness from the engaging personalities of its stars." [10]
George Raft was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is remembered for his gangster roles in Quick Millions (1931) with Spencer Tracy, Scarface (1932) with Paul Muni, Each Dawn I Die (1939) with James Cagney, Invisible Stripes (1939) with Humphrey Bogart, and Billy Wilder's comedy Some Like It Hot (1959) with Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon; and as a dancer in Bolero (1934) with Carole Lombard and a truck driver in They Drive by Night (1940) with Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino and Bogart.
Sylvia Sidney was an American stage, screen, and film actress whose career spanned 70 years. She rose to prominence in dozens of leading roles in the 1930s. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams in 1973. She later gained attention for her role as Juno, a case worker in the afterlife, in Tim Burton's 1988 film Beetlejuice, for which she won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress.
The Bowery is a 1933 American pre-Code historical comedy-drama film set in the Lower East Side of Manhattan around the start of the 20th century directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Wallace Beery and George Raft. The supporting cast features Jackie Cooper, Fay Wray, and Pert Kelton.
If I Had a Million is a 1932 American pre-Code Paramount Studios anthology film starring Gary Cooper, George Raft, Charles Laughton, W. C. Fields, Jack Oakie, Frances Dee and Charlie Ruggles, among others. There were seven directors: Ernst Lubitsch, Norman Taurog, Stephen Roberts, Norman Z. McLeod, James Cruze, William A. Seiter, and H. Bruce Humberstone. Lubitsch, Cruze, Seiter, and Humberstone were each responsible for a single vignette, Roberts and McLeod directed two each, and Taurog was in charge of the prologue and epilogue. The screenplays were scripted by many different writers, with Joseph L. Mankiewicz making a large contribution. The film is based on the 1931 novel Windfall by Robert Hardy Andrews.
Norman Krasna was an American screenwriter, playwright, producer, and film director who penned screwball comedies centered on a case of mistaken identity. Krasna directed three films during a forty-year career in Hollywood. He garnered four Academy Award screenwriting nominations, winning once for 1943's Princess O'Rourke, which he also directed.
Manpower is a 1941 American crime melodrama directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Edward G. Robinson, Marlene Dietrich, and George Raft. The picture was written by Richard Macaulay and Jerry Wald, and the supporting cast features Alan Hale, Frank McHugh, Eve Arden, Barton MacLane, Ward Bond and Walter Catlett.
The House Across the Bay is a 1940 film directed by Archie Mayo, starring George Raft and Joan Bennett, produced by Walter Wanger, written by Myles Connolly and Kathryn Scola, and released by United Artists. The supporting cast features Lloyd Nolan, Walter Pidgeon and Gladys George.
Mr. Ace is a 1946 American film noir starring George Raft and Sylvia Sidney involving a society woman who taps a gangster for his political support as she runs for Congress. The movie was written by Fred F. Finkelhoffe, directed by Edwin L. Marin, and photographed by legendary cinematographer Karl Struss.
You and Me is a 1938 American crime drama/comedy/romance film directed by Fritz Lang. It stars Sylvia Sidney and George Raft as a pair of ex-convicts on parole, working in a department store whose owner, played by Harry Carey, routinely hires former criminals to give them a second chance. It was written by Norman Krasna and Virginia Van Upp.
All of Me is a 1934 American pre-Code drama film directed by James Flood and starring Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, and George Raft. The film was written by actor Thomas Mitchell and Sidney Buchman from Rose Porter's play Chrysalis.
Rumba is a 1935 American musical drama film starring George Raft as a Cuban dancer and Carole Lombard as a Manhattan socialite. The movie was directed by Marion Gering and is considered an unsuccessful follow-up to Raft and Lombard's smash hit Bolero the previous year.
Dorothy Layton was an American film actress of the early 1930s.
Merrily We Go to Hell is a 1932 pre-Code film directed by Dorothy Arzner, and starring Fredric March and Sylvia Sidney. The supporting cast features a prominent early appearance by Cary Grant, billed ninth in the cast but with a larger part than this would suggest. The picture's title is an example of the sensationalistic titles that were common in the pre-Code era. Many newspapers refused to publicize the film because of its racy title. The title is a line March's character says while making a toast.
Mary Burns, Fugitive is a 1935 American drama film directed by William K. Howard.
Parole Girl is a 1933 American pre-Code romantic drama film directed by Edward Cline. The film stars Mae Clarke and Ralph Bellamy.
Marion Gering was a Russian-born American stage producer and director. He moved to the United States in 1923 as an artist. He became involved in the theatrical community in Chicago, founding the Chicago Play Producing Company.
Jennie Gerhardt is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by Marion Gering for Paramount Pictures. It stars Sylvia Sidney, Mary Astor, and Edward Arnold. The film is based on the 1911 novel Jennie Gerhardt by Theodore Dreiser.
Ladies of the Big House is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by Marion Gering and written by Ernest Booth, William Slavens McNutt and Grover Jones. The film stars Sylvia Sidney, Gene Raymond, Wynne Gibson, Earle Foxe, Rockliffe Fellowes, Purnell Pratt and Frank Sheridan. The film was released on December 26, 1931, by Paramount Pictures.
...One Third of a Nation... is a 1939 American drama film directed by Dudley Murphy and written by Oliver H.P. Garrett and Dudley Murphy. The film stars Sylvia Sidney, Leif Erickson, Myron McCormick, Hiram Sherman, the future director Sidney Lumet and Muriel Hutchison. The film was released on February 10, 1939, by Paramount Pictures.
"Helen Morgan" is an American television play broadcast on May 16, 1957, as part of the CBS television series, Playhouse 90. It was the 33rd episode of the first season of Playhouse 90.