Thriller

Crime

Pickup on South Street

20th Century Fox

United States of America

English

Richard Widmark

Jean Peters

Thelma Ritter

Murvyn Vye

Richard Kiley

Willis Bouchey

Milburn Stone

Parley Baer

Chet Brandenburg

Frank Kumagai

Virginia Carroll

Harry Carter

Clancy Cooper

Henry Slate

Heinie Conklin

George Eldredge

John Gallaudet

Alan Reed

Robert Haines

Jay Loft-Lyn

Ray Montgomery

Jerry O'Sullivan

Ray Stevens

Ralph Moody

Roger Moore

Vic Perry

George E. Stone

King Mojave

Harry Tenbrook

Stuart Randall

Wilson Wood

Maurice Samuels

George Berkeley

Samuel Fuller

Jules Schermer

Joseph MacDonald

Nick DeMaggio

George Patrick

Lyle R. Wheeler

Al Orenbach

Travilla

Ben Nye

Ad Schaumer

Leigh Harline

Harry M. Leonard

Winston H. Leverett

Urban Thielmann

Paul Shure

John Hudkins

Dwight Taylor

Ray Kellogg

Charles LeMaire

Sam Benson

Lionel Newman

Edward B. Powell

Bernard Mayers

Forget the communist fervour and delve deeper. 

Skip McCoy is a three time loser pick pocket, unable to curb his instincts back on the street, he picks the purse of Candy on a subway train. What he doesn't realise is that Candy is carrying top secret microfilm, microfilm that is of high interest to many many organisations.

Director Samuel Fuller has crafted an exceptional drama set amongst the seedy underworld of New York City. Communist spies and shady government operatives all blend together to make Pickup On South Street a riveting viewing from first minute to the last. Based around a Dwight Taylor story called "Blaze Of Glory", Fuller infused this adaptation with a heavy set political agenda, something that many at the time felt was over done, but to only focus on the anti communist leanings is doing it a big disservice.

Digging a little deeper and you find characters as intriguing as any that Fuller has directed. The main protagonist for one is the hero of the piece, a crook and a shallow human being, his heroics are not born out of love for his country, they are born out of his sheer stubborn streak. It's quite an achievement that Fuller has crafted one of the best anti heroes of the 1950s, and I'm sure he was most grateful to the performance of Richard Widmark as McCoy. Widmark is all grin and icy cold heart, his interplay with the wonderful Jean Peters as Candy is excellent and is the film's heart. However, it is the Oscar nominated Thelma Ritter who takes the acting honours, her Moe is strong and as seedy as the surrounding characters, but there is a tired warmth to her that Ritter conveys majestically.

It's a "B" movie in texture but an "A" film in execution, Pickup On South Street is a real classy and entertaining film that is one of the best from its most intriguing director. 9/10

CinemaSerf

Richard Widmark is quite effective in this quickly paced espionage thriller. He's a petty thief whom we see lifting something from a woman's purse on a busy subway train. He's not the only one watching her, though, and as he makes his exit he narrowly avoids capture the police. Why are others watching this woman? Well it turns out that she is suspected of passing secrets to the communists and that the police reckon the purse purse contains evidence. Of course, "Skip" (Widmark) knows nothing of this but is soon working with the authorities to find "Candy" (Jean Peters), trace her compatriots and thwart the deceit. Thelma Ritter always adds value - if perhaps not versatility - and it features a tightly knit supporting cast as Samuel Fuller keeps the dialogue focussed and the pace deft before quite an exciting ending. It does play a little to cold war politics and paranoia, but it's still a superior cat and mouse thriller well worth a watch.

Pickup On South Street (1953) trailer

Sam Hamm on PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET

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Pickup on South Street

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Cast

Richard Widmark

Jean Peters

Thelma Ritter

Murvyn Vye

Richard Kiley

Willis Bouchey

Milburn Stone

Parley Baer

Chet Brandenburg

Frank Kumagai

Box office

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