cable on a hard case pola? do you mean a folding polaroid? if so, you can remove the little silver plate (three screws) behind the front of the camera and free the cable. you can actually fire the shutter by cocking and then pressing up on the switch under this plate.
also, with the cable free, you can push the red button and see if it extends or if it is sticking at the kinked area. i actually replaced the cable on my 195, big pain in the butt.