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Pickup on South Street (1953) 7.8
A pickpocket unwittingly lifts a message destined for enemy agents and becomes a target for a Communist spy ring. Director:Samuel Fuller |
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Title: Pickup on South Street (1953)
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Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Richard Widmark | ... | ||
| Jean Peters | ... | ||
| Thelma Ritter | ... | ||
 |
Murvyn Vye | ... |
Captain Dan Tiger
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| Richard Kiley | ... | ||
| Willis Bouchey | ... |
Zara
(as Willis B. Bouchey)
|
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| Milburn Stone | ... |
Detective Winoki
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
On a crowded subway, Skip McCoy picks the purse of Candy. Among his take, although he does not know it at the time, is a piece of top-secret microfilm that was being passed by Candy's consort, a Communist agent. Candy discovers the whereabouts of the film through Moe Williams, a police informer. She attempts to seduce McCoy to recover the film. She fails to get back the film and falls in love with him. The desperate agent exterminates Moe and savagely beats Candy. McCoy, now goaded into action, confronts the agent in a particularly brutal fight in a subway. Written by alfiehitchie
Taglines:
How the law took a chance on a B-girl... and won!Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
1 August 1953 (Japan) See more »Also Known As:
Blaze of Glory See more »Company Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
| (DVD)Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Remade as The Cape Town Affair with James Brolin, Jacqueline Bisset and Claire Trevor. See more »Goofs
When Joey leaves the basement after assaulting the police officer, he walks out of the shot, then a cat is obviously thrown into the frame. See more »Quotes
Moe Williams: Listen, Mister. When I come in here tonight, you seen an old clock runnin' down. I'm tired. I'm through. Happens to everybody sometime. It'll happen to you too, someday. With me it's a little bit of everything. Backaches and headaches. I can't sleep nights. It's so hard to get up in the morning, and get dressed and walk the streets. Climb the stairs. I go right on doin' it! Well, what am I gonna do, knock it? I have to go on makin' a livin'... so I can die. But even a fancy funeral ain't worth ...See more »
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.