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8 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Astonishingly Ballsy Yet Anonymous B-movie! Grab It!, 7 May 2003 Author: secragt from United States
There's something rewarding about discovering a solid but unknown film from the past... like finding $50 in the pocket of a suit you haven't worn since last summer. This British gangster exploitation flick is such a film. THE SHAKEDOWN is so much better than it ought to be that it's kind of amazing. It's hardly even listed in any major movie review books. Still, I'm not ashamed to say this is without question a minor low budget UK noir gem and absolutely worthy of any crime drama (or 50s British cinema) fan's time. I saw it last year at the American Cinematheque Film Noir festival in Los Angeles and it was the wrong print! They meant to screen the American noir called SHAKEDOWN, but the audience and myself are forever grateful for the error as this movie is edgier, pulpier and just plain better.The plot concerns a con returning after a stretch in the pokey and finding his turf has been taken over. He adapts and finds some new angles with a photography / blackmail shoppe only to get embroiled in police intrigue and a bad gangwar. As plots go, this one hangs together well despite some seemingly calculated titillatory edges. There are some unexpected and enjoyable twists thrown in as well for good measure.The best aspect of this movie is the tough guy lingo and no-nonsense characterization. There's something particularly enjoyable about the straight ahead narrative. No smoke and mirrors or flashcut editing or deep focus trickery here; just simple, reliable point-the-camera-and- shoot storytelling. But forget any deep analysis; this is at its heart a compelling man-against-the-system tale and finally a very enjoyable moviegoing experience. Seek it out... this one is great English fun!
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: 60s sleaze, 17 December 2001 Author: lucy-66 from London
Clunkily made, but score and acting are good. And the set is decorated by a bevy of would-be models. Augie comes out of prison and finds his old vice racket has been taken over by the sinister Harry H Corbett (Gollar). So he dreams up a new scam, thanks to Donald Pleasance's out of work photographer he meets down the pub. Pleasance (Jessel) provides the business front by taking snaps and running a model school. Meanwhile Augie uses the premises for blackmail. Little does he know that the most beauticious of the girls is an undercover cop. Aaaaah, Britain could really do gangster movies in those days.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful: seedy racketeer falls foul of police, 5 February 2006 Author: rogerjillings from United Kingdom
Fascinating & slightly risqué B-pic with a good edge to it,Augie Cortona(Terrace Morgan) is release from prison & sets about reclaiming his underworld business from his former henchmen & colleague Gollar(Harry H Corbett) who's taken control of his protection & prostitution racket & left Augie out in the cold until he bumps into out of work photographer Jessup Brown(Donald Pleasance).The two of them Set up in business as a high class agency which is a front for Augie's blackmailing activities in which Jessup get caught up in the corruption which leads him to drink,one is not what she appears to be & Augie soon becomes attractive to her & along with Augie's sidekick Spettigue, Gollar is sorted out with beatings being dispatched & life's fine for Augie. With nightclubs & small racketeers the police are hot on his heels, this film hit the spot well,with pretty Hazel Court.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful: A good example of the B thriller genre, 15 December 2001 Author: Michael Hicklin (michaelhicklin@aol.com)
This film should be studied by all who seek info on a type of film popular for a while in 50's and 60's Britain. Although obviously of limited budget, it fielded an unusually fine cast including several stalwarts and many actors and actresses - Hazel Court, Donald Pleasance, Harry H Corbett who went on to greater things and starred the extremely underrated Terence Morgan,three years before he became known as TV's "Sir Francis Drake". The film is also something of an historical document, bringing back a time when nightclubs were uncommon, close and intimate and hoping to cater for a select clientelle instead of loud and bleary as they are now. The plot has holes in it but the acting is of a high standard which more than redeems the film.
2 out of 3 people found the following review useful: Polite English gangster movie."Goodfellas " it ain't., 5 November 2005 Author: ianlouisiana from United Kingdom
I went to the world premier of this film.It was held at the Regent Cinema,Brighton around 1960.I remember I was wearing a pair of winklepickers that became more uncomfortable as the film progressed. Some of the principal members of the cast lived in the Brighton area which must have saved on cab fare. "The shakedown" to my mind was indistinguishable from a long line of British second feature black and white crime films that preceded it. It was crisply shot,peopled by actors who should have known better but managed to keep a straight face and it disappeared off the radar shortly after it's release. It was like a tarted-up Edgar Lustgarten short. Of course compared to most TV crime shows nowadays it was great art. It only needed Peter Bull(well,he lived local),Eric Pohlman and Francis Wolff to make it complete. Suspending all critical faculties I can enjoy it because it evokes an age when people would still watch gangster films without coming out drenched in blood shouting"Die,mother******".
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