Pickup on South Street (1953)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Samuel Fuller

Writers:

Samuel Fuller (screenplay)
Dwight Taylor (story)

Release Date:

17 June 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Film-Noir | Thriller

Tagline:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Communist | Purse | Subway | Microfilm | Pickpocket

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Parley Baer	...	Headquarters Communist in chair (uncredited)
George Berkeley	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Virginia Carroll	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Harry Carter	...	Detective Dietrich (uncredited)
Heinie Conklin	...	Subway Passenger (uncredited)
Clancy Cooper	...	Detective Eddie (uncredited)
George Eldredge	...	Fenton (uncredited)
John Gallaudet	...	Detective Lt. Campion (uncredited)
Frank Kumagai	...	Lum (uncredited)
Jay Loft-Lyn	...	Microfilm Library Clerk (uncredited)
Ray Montgomery	...	FBI Agent Ray (in Candy's apartment) (uncredited)
Ralph Moody	...	Coffin Boat Captain (uncredited)
Roger Moore	...	Mr. Victor (uncredited)
Jerry O'Sullivan	...	FBI Agent Enyart (uncredited)
Victor Perry	...	Lightning Louie aka Godkin (uncredited)
Stuart Randall	...	Police Commissioner (uncredited)
Maurice Samuels	...	Peddler (uncredited)
Henry Slate	...	Detective MacGregor (uncredited)
Ray Stevens	...	FBI agent (uncredited)
George E. Stone	...	Willie - Police Desk Clerk (uncredited)
Harry Tenbrook	...	Elevator Passenger (uncredited)
Wilson Wood	...	Police Driver (uncredited)

Directed by
Samuel Fuller

Writing credits
Samuel Fuller		(screenplay)
Dwight Taylor		(story)

Produced by
Jules Schermer	....	producer

Original Music by
Leigh Harline

Cinematography by
Joseph MacDonald		(director of photography) (as Joe MacDonald)

Film Editing by
Nick DeMaggio		(as Nick De Maggio)

Art Direction by
George Patrick
Lyle R. Wheeler		(as Lyle Wheeler)

Set Decoration by
Al Orenbach

Costume Design by
Travilla

Makeup Department
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ad Schaumer	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Harry M. Leonard	....	sound
Winston H. Leverett	....	sound

Special Effects by
Ray Kellogg	....	special photographic effects

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Charles Le Maire	....	wardrobe director
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)

Music Department
Lionel Newman	....	musical director
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestrator (as Edward Powell)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (presents) (as Twentieth Century - Fox)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1953) (USA) (theatrical) (released by)
• CBS/Fox (1991) (worldwide) (VHS)
• Fox Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Koch Media (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• Video Film Express (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Filmax (2006) (Spain) (DVD)
• Centfox (1953) (West Germany) (theatrical)

Also Known As:

Blaze of Glory (USA) (working title)
Pickpocket (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

80 min | Spain:75 min (DVD)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound 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)

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Shot in 20 days.

Goofs:

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.

Quotes:

Moe Williams: You got any Happy Money?
Candy: Happy Money?
Moe Williams: Yeah, money that's gonna make me happy.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Edge of Outside (2006)

Soundtrack:

Mam'selle

Grifters, B-girls, secret microfilm: great ingredients for film noir...

Director Samuel Fuller concocts a brilliant visual set-up: cocky pickpocket unwittingly lifts some microfilm from a woman's purse; it turns out she's a courier for the Communists, and now she and the grifter are being watched by the police. The Film Noir Formula is all its glory--before the ingredients became clichés--including waterfront locales, floozies, saxophones on the soundtrack, and one hell of a climactic fistfight. Performances by Richard Widmark and Jean Peters are right on target, and the smart, sharp script is quite colorful. Fabulous Thelma Ritter received an Oscar nomination for knockout supporting role as a "professional stoolie". Exciting, atmospheric, tough as nails. *** from ****