Pickup on South Street (1953)

Director:

Samuel Fuller

Writers:

Samuel Fuller (screenplay)
Dwight Taylor (story)

Release Date:

1 August 1953 (Japan)

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 win & 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 (uncredited)
Ralph Moody	...	Coffin Boat Captain (uncredited)
Roger Moore	...	Mr. Victor (uncredited)
Jerry O'Sullivan	...	FBI Agent Enyart (uncredited)
Vic 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		(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)
Bernard Mayers	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

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)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1954) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Rank (1961) (France) (theatrical)

Also Known As:

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:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #16197) | Germany:16 (DVD rating) (2004) | Australia:PG | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG | West Germany:12 (nf)

Company:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Marilyn Monroe sat in on a rehearsal and actually read for the role of Candy. While Fuller liked her very much, he said she was wrong for the part, telling her that her "overwhelming sensuality" was wrong for the story.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After Joey shoots Candy and she's lying unconscious with her foot against the door, you can see that she moves the foot forward before he opens it.

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'...

Movie Connections:

Featured in American Gun (2005)

Soundtrack:

Mam'selle

Tough and compelling

This is yet another gritty and compelling film directed by Sam Fuller in the early 1950s. This minimalist and fast-working director has something unusual for his earlier films--a cast with some stars. Richard Widmark, Jean Peters and Richard Kiley star in this film about a group of Communist agents who are trying to sneak secrets out of America--and they'll stop at nothing to succeed.

The film starts with Peters on a subway car being watched by federal agents. They know she is a link in a long espionage chain. Unknown to everyone is the wild card in the equation--a small-time pickpocket (Widmark) is also on the train and he manages to steal the secrets that Peters is carrying. Widmark thinks it's just another purse he's ransacked--only later does he realize the seriousness of what he's stolen. Now it's Widmark on his own--with Commies and the FBI hot on his trail.

Widmark and the rest are exceptional and the film is gripping from start to finish. Although she didn't get top billing, a special mention should be made of Thelma Ritter. This supporting actress had perhaps the performance of her lifetime as a stool pigeon. Seldom was she given this much of a chance to act and I was impressed by her ability to play a broken down and sad old lady.

As far as the script and directing go, they are very good--but with one small exception. At first, I loved the way Widmark and Peters interacted. It's one of the few times on film you'll see a woman punched square in the mouth! Now THAT'S tough. Later, inexplicably, they become amazingly close--too close to be believable. Still, with so much great drama and such an effective Noir-like film, this can be overlooked. See this film.