Shakedown

If there was a poll for the most villainous character in film noir, one of the hot candidates to win would be journalist Jack Early from Shakedown. Played by Howard Duff, he’s a man with no scruples and no morals, who will stop at nothing in his quest to become a leading reportage photographer. In order to achieve his professional goal and get a good picture, he literally goes over dead bodies – he lets people pose in front of the camera lens in imminent danger of their lives and cold-bloodedly watches a murder. This remarkable contribution to the journalistic noir cycle, set like many noirs in San Francisco, was directed by actor Joseph Pevney in his directorial debut. Rather than a condemnation of media sensationalism, Shakedown can be read as an indictment of materialism and consumerism – for it reads like an anamnesis of a man who has been bound by his desire to fulfill the American Dream. (Noir Film Festival)