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Movies / On DVD / Pickup on South Street
Pickup on South Street

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Pickup on South Street (1953)

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Reviews Counted:25

Fresh:22

Rotten:3

Average Rating:7.6/10

Runtime: 81 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: This film noir classic plays on America's paranoia about a Communist takeover in the 1950s. Dwelling in a neon-lit nightscape are: a pickpocket, Skip McCoy; an abused dame, Candy; a... This film noir classic plays on America's paranoia about a Communist takeover in the 1950s. Dwelling in a neon-lit nightscape are: a pickpocket, Skip McCoy; an abused dame, Candy; a seen-it-all stoolie, Moe; Joey, Candy's violent boyfriend and Communist plotter; shifty G-Men; cynical cops; and a whole nest of vipers in fedoras and trenchcoats. Joey forces Candy to deliver a secret package for him. Then Skip snatches Candy's purse and inadvertently takes a cryptic film that some underground Reds have stolen. A pair of Feds tracking the film's whereabouts witness the pickpocket and close in on him. But Skip first considers cutting a deal with the Communists. Then he realizes that several parties are interested in the film -- and some are even willing to kill for it! [More]

Starring: Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter, Richard Kiley

Starring: Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter, Richard Kiley, Murvyn Vye, Willis Bouchey, Milburn Stone, Jerry O'Sullivan, Harry Carter

Director: Samuel Fuller

Director: Samuel Fuller
Screenwriter: Samuel Fuller
Producer: Jules Schermer
Composer: Leigh Harline

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Pickup on South Street

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Perhaps finally flawed by its overt political assumptions, but the film remains a desperate kind of masterpiece.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's probably been a while since you watched a film as tough as Pickup On South Street.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/24/03
Billy Mowbray
Billy Mowbray
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Almost perfect.

comment Comment
05/14/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Both Widmark and Peters are superb, but it is Ritter, as the seedy but much-loved Moe, who gives the film its emotional punch.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
03/27/09
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Pickup for the most part falls flat on its face and borders on presumably unintended, comedy.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
12/01/08
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Definitely one of the best film noir movies I've seen so far.

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
09/19/08
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

Sam Fuller, who wrote it and directed, appears to have been more concerned with firing a barrage of sensations than with telling a story to be believed.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
03/25/06
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
03/09/06
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

Great noir piece with Richard Widmark complementing Samuel Fuller's direction.

comment Comment
03/09/06
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Video-Reviewmaster.com

No review available.

comment Comment
01/07/06
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
06/18/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
05/08/05
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

80 minutes of breathless genre fun infused with pure, uninhibited passion.

Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | comment Comment
05/04/05
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness

Engagingly captures the hysteria over Reds and the underworld scene of the early 1950s.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
02/06/05
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
10/11/04
Matt Bailey
Matt Bailey
Not Coming to a Theater Near You

Along with Shock Corridor (1963), arguably [Fuller's] finest work.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
07/20/04
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

One of Fuller's most compelling films.

comment Comment
07/19/04
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

The 1953 picture does a nice job capturing the mentality of the Cold War United States.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
06/03/04
Forrest Hartman
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal

Fuller [took] genuine chances, [creating] moments of power unequaled by many more respectable directors.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
04/12/04
Phil Freeman
Phil Freeman
culturevulture.net

One of Fuller's few studio-financed pictures, this bruising, brutal movie still manages to emanate waves of B-movie street cred at every juncture.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
03/03/04
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
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