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Pickup on South Street (1953)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
17 June 1953 (USA) moreTagline:
How the law took a chance on a B-girl... and won!Plot:
A pickpocket unwittingly lifts a message destined for enemy agents and becomes a target for a Communist spy ring. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination moreUser Comments:
Maybe Fuller's best film moreCast
(Complete credited cast)| Richard Widmark | ... | Skip McCoy | |
| Jean Peters | ... | Candy | |
| Thelma Ritter | ... | Moe Williams | |
| Murvyn Vye | ... | Captain Dan Tiger | |
| Richard Kiley | ... | Joey | |
| Willis Bouchey | ... | Zara (as Willis B. Bouchey) | |
| Milburn Stone | ... | Detective Winoki |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
80 min | Spain:75 min (DVD)Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)Certification:
Germany:16 (DVD rating) (2004) | Australia:PG | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG | West Germany:12 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #16197)Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Shot in 20 days. moreGoofs:
Continuity: When Skip and Joey fight in the subway station, they are fighting in a cleared area near the ticket office and then the next two shots show them confined by exit railings near the newspaper stand and then the next shot cuts back to the open area. moreQuotes:
Capt. Dan Tiger: You'll always be a two-bit cannon. And when they pick you up in the gutter dead, you're hand'll be in a drunk's pocket. moreSoundtrack:
Again moreFAQ
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The best of the seven Sam Fuller movies that I've seen (including Park Row, Run of the Arrow, Verboten!, Shock Corridor, The Naked Kiss, The Big Red One, and this film), Pickup on South Street counts as one of the best film noirs. It represents Fuller at his most controlled. I like him when he's out of control, of course, but nearly everything in Pickup is perfect. The film is absolutely beautiful. Richard Widmark stars as a pickpocket who steals some microfilm that was meant to go to communist spies. Jean Peters plays the woman who was carrying the film for her boyfriend, played by Richard Kiley. Peters is forced to find Widmark and get it back. She finds him through a stool pigeon played by Thelma Ritter. Widmark and Peters are attracted to each other, which changes Peters loyalties (that, and the fact that she learns she's working for communists; the Cold War stuff is really interesting). The love story is done a little quickly and not entirely believable, but it's not so bad that it harms the film (unlike Fuller's previous film, Park Row). Richard Widmark is great. This must be one of his best roles, but I'm not so familiar with his career that I can say that for sure. Thelma Ritter gives the most memorable performance. Her role gives the film an unexpected emotional resonance, and her final scene in this film is as touching as any you will find in the cinema. I will never forget that. 10/10.