Pickup on South Street - Criterion Collection
starring: Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter, Murvyn Vye, Richard Kiley
directed by: Samuel Fuller
directed by: Samuel Fuller
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Product Description:
Studio: Image EntertainmentRelease Date: 02/17/2004Run time: 80 minutes
Amazon.com:
Director Sam Fuller's biggest success of its time (and, superficially at least, his most conventional film) is the 1953 noir effort Pickup on South Street. Candy (Jean Peters) has her purse picked on the subway by small-time thief and ex-con Skip (Richard Widmark), neither of them realizing that the purse contains microfilm bound for Communist spies and that they are being watched the whole time by Federal agents. The New York police and the Feds catch up with Skip and try to cajole him into turning over the microfilm, but as he's one of Fuller's "outsider" antihero protagonists, the patriotic angle cuts no ice with him. He plays both sides against the middle when he finds out that the Communists are involved, hoping to make a big score off the deal, but eventually he comes around when he realizes that he's smitten with Candy. Finally Skip plays ball with the authorities, but is it out of his love for both his friend Moe and Candy, or is he swayed by the patriotic urgings of the FBI, or does it just come from some inner core of decency? You decide. When Skip is asked, "Do you know what treason is?" he smirks, "Who cares?"; when the Feds try to appeal to his patriotism, he sneers through several layers of Sinatra cool, "Are you waving the flag at me?" Pickup is set almost entirely in the garbage-strewn alleys, grimy subways, seedy waterfront dives, and gloomy streets of New York City; it's marked by extremely lengthy takes and fluid, mobile camera work. The closing scene when Skip tracks down another character in the subway and administers a brutal beating to him is one of the more violent scenes you'll find in '50s film noir. --Jerry Renshaw
Studio: Image EntertainmentRelease Date: 02/17/2004Run time: 80 minutes
Amazon.com:
Director Sam Fuller's biggest success of its time (and, superficially at least, his most conventional film) is the 1953 noir effort Pickup on South Street. Candy (Jean Peters) has her purse picked on the subway by small-time thief and ex-con Skip (Richard Widmark), neither of them realizing that the purse contains microfilm bound for Communist spies and that they are being watched the whole time by Federal agents. The New York police and the Feds catch up with Skip and try to cajole him into turning over the microfilm, but as he's one of Fuller's "outsider" antihero protagonists, the patriotic angle cuts no ice with him. He plays both sides against the middle when he finds out that the Communists are involved, hoping to make a big score off the deal, but eventually he comes around when he realizes that he's smitten with Candy. Finally Skip plays ball with the authorities, but is it out of his love for both his friend Moe and Candy, or is he swayed by the patriotic urgings of the FBI, or does it just come from some inner core of decency? You decide. When Skip is asked, "Do you know what treason is?" he smirks, "Who cares?"; when the Feds try to appeal to his patriotism, he sneers through several layers of Sinatra cool, "Are you waving the flag at me?" Pickup is set almost entirely in the garbage-strewn alleys, grimy subways, seedy waterfront dives, and gloomy streets of New York City; it's marked by extremely lengthy takes and fluid, mobile camera work. The closing scene when Skip tracks down another character in the subway and administers a brutal beating to him is one of the more violent scenes you'll find in '50s film noir. --Jerry Renshaw
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Good Film, But A Little Pricey
The only thing about this film that bums me out is that the Criterion DVD is so expensive. It's too much for my budget at the moment, or I would purchase it, because the film is a good example of film noir...and I enjoy watching Richard Widmark, Jean Peters and Thelma Ritter.
Criterion produces great DVDs but sometimes the asking price is just a bit muchfor an 80-minute mono sound film that is good but nothing extraordinary, cinematography-wise.
The best part of the disc ... Read More
Rating: 
- 2.5 stars out of 4
The Bottom Line:
Though the premise is intriguing and Widmark is effective, this short (80 minutes) noir is too insubstantial to be worth recommending; long on atmosphere and short on plot, it's worth a look if you're a noir-hound but there are many better options out there.
Rating: 
- SAMUEL FULLER, OPUS 6
***** 1953. Written and directed by Samuel Fuller. One nomination for the Academy awards (Thelma Ritter). A pickpocket steals a microfilm without knowing it. Cops, F.B.I. and communists are soon after him. Criterion released a perfect copy of this movie that should be in any movie lover's library. Two rare interviews of Samuel Fuller complete this DVD. Masterpiece.
Rating: - Au Revoir, Richard...thanks for this great one among many!
Great job...great actor...he will be missed!Seeing this one, plus Kiss of Death, and then The Bedford Incident will give you a good overview of R.W.'s talent and his contribution to acting over the years.
Rating: - More Anti-Commie than Noir
SPOILERS: As a noir, the movie is a little disappointing. It has an agenda to satisfy a McCarthyite anti-communist litmus test above the demands of narrative. The main communist character, for example, is too nervous cowardly to meet with Widmark in the first reel and then shifts into homicidal mania to kill the sick, older lady in her bed. It looks good, though, and Widmark is great the role. Great dialog, too.
- Good Film, But A Little PriceyThe only thing about this film that bums me out is that the Criterion DVD is so expensive. It's too much for my budget at the moment, or I would purchase it, because the film is a good example of film noir...and I enjoy watching Richard Widmark, Jean Peters and Thelma Ritter.
Criterion produces great DVDs but sometimes the asking price is just a bit muchfor an 80-minute mono sound film that is good but nothing extraordinary, cinematography-wise.
The best part of the disc ... Read More
- 2.5 stars out of 4The Bottom Line:
Though the premise is intriguing and Widmark is effective, this short (80 minutes) noir is too insubstantial to be worth recommending; long on atmosphere and short on plot, it's worth a look if you're a noir-hound but there are many better options out there.
- SAMUEL FULLER, OPUS 6***** 1953. Written and directed by Samuel Fuller. One nomination for the Academy awards (Thelma Ritter). A pickpocket steals a microfilm without knowing it. Cops, F.B.I. and communists are soon after him. Criterion released a perfect copy of this movie that should be in any movie lover's library. Two rare interviews of Samuel Fuller complete this DVD. Masterpiece.
- Au Revoir, Richard...thanks for this great one among many!Great job...great actor...he will be missed!Seeing this one, plus Kiss of Death, and then The Bedford Incident will give you a good overview of R.W.'s talent and his contribution to acting over the years.
- More Anti-Commie than NoirSPOILERS: As a noir, the movie is a little disappointing. It has an agenda to satisfy a McCarthyite anti-communist litmus test above the demands of narrative. The main communist character, for example, is too nervous cowardly to meet with Widmark in the first reel and then shifts into homicidal mania to kill the sick, older lady in her bed. It looks good, though, and Widmark is great the role. Great dialog, too.
