Forget the communist fervour and delve further.

Author: JohnRouseMerriottChard from United Kingdom
9 November 2008

Skip McCoy is a three time loser pick pocket, unable to curb his instincts back on the street, he picks the purse of Candy on a subway train. What he doesn't realise is that Candy is carrying top secret microfilm, microfilm that is of high interest to many many organisations.

Director Samuel Fuller has crafted an exceptional drama set amongst the seedy underworld of New York City. Communist spies and shady government operatives all blend together to make Pickup On South Street a riveting viewing from first minute to the last. Based around a Dwight Taylor story called Blaze Of Glory, Fuller enthused this adaptation with heavy set political agenda, something that many at the time felt was over done, but to only focus on its anti communist leanings is doing it a big disservice.

Digging a little deeper and you find characters as intriguing as any that Fuller has directed, the main protagonist for one is the hero of the piece, a crook and a shallow human being, his heroics are not born out of love for his country, they are born out of his sheer stubborn streak. It's quite an achievement that Fuller has crafted one of the best anti heroes of the 50s, and i'm sure he was most grateful to the performance of Richard Widmark as McCoy, all grin and icy cold heart, his interplay with the wonderful Jean Peters as Candy is excellent, and is the films heart.

However it is the Oscar nominated Thelma Ritter who takes the acting honours, her Moe is strong and as seedy as the surrounding characters, but there is a tired warmth to her that Ritter conveys majestically.It's a B movie in texture but an A film in execution, Pickup On South Street is a real classy and entertaining film that is the best of its most intriguing director. 9/10

This is quite the special little gem!

Author: Boba_Fett1138 from Groningen, The Netherlands
6 January 2010

Every now and then there gets released this movie no one has ever heard of and got shot in a very short time with very little money and resource but everybody goes crazy bout and turns out to be a surprisingly great one. This also happened in the '50's with quite a few little movies, that not a lot of people have ever heard of. There are really some unknown great surprising little jewels from the '50's that are worth digging out. "Panic in the Streets" is another movie like that that springs to the mind. Both are movies that aren't really like the usual genre flicks from their time and are also made with limited resources.

I was really surprised at how much I ended up liking this movie. It was truly a movie that got better and better as it progressed. Like all 'old' movies it tends to begin sort of slow but once you get into the story and it's characters you're in for a real treat with this movie.It has a really great story that involves espionage, though it doesn't start of like that. It begins as this typical crime-thriller with a touch of film-noir to it. But "Pickup on South Street" just isn't really a film by the numbers so it starts to take its own directions pretty soon on. It ensures that the movie remains a surprising but above all also really refreshing one to watch.

I also really liked the characters within  None of them are really good guys and they all of their flaws and weaknesses. Really human. It also especially features a great performance from Thelma Ritter, who even received a well deserved Oscar nomination for. It has really got to be one of the greatest female roles I have ever seen.Despite its somewhat obvious low budget this is simply one great, original, special little movie that deserves to be seen by more! 10/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

One of the best American films of Noir cinema.

Author: psagray from Spain
7 February 2013

"Skip McCoy" (Richard Widmark), is a common pickpocket who robs a woman named "Candy" (Jean Peters) and seizes a valuable microfilm containing state secrets. But "Candy" was under surveillance by government agents, so that "Skip" will become suspicious."Pickup on South Street" was one of the few films of Fuller financed by a studio (Fox). Written and directed by the author, was shot in NYC in 20 days with a low budget. He earned two nominations: Oscar for Best Supporting Actress (Thelma Ritter) and the Golden Lion at Venice.

The film moves in dark environments and underground metro, wooden house suspended over the sea, apartment of Joel .... Speaking of murders, thieves, spies, FBI agents and, especially, of the Cold War that pitted the U.S. and the USSR. The action takes place in the context of this war, whose greatest exponents were the conventional and nuclear arms race and the actions of espionage and counterespionage. The theft of the portfolio "Candy" who takes one last favor to her former boyfriend who is a spy for the Soviet Union, a fact that "Candy" ignored, causing an incident involving Soviet spies and FBI agents against a thief driven by financial claims and indifferent to appeals to patriotism. The film speaks eloquently of criminal violence as an integral part of society and sincere love, inspiring generous actions.

Its excellent music makes a decisive contribution to the creation of the climate of tension in which the action takes place. The photography is superb. Includes long sequences, a constant movement of the camera, limited space scenarios, and close-ups very expressive of the feelings of the protagonists. The opening scene of the robbery in the subway, is told in an extraordinary way. Interpretations of Widmark, Thelma Ritter and Peters are splendid. The script is made with a keen sense of synthesis and is based on a story by Dwight Taylor. The direction creates a work exciting, vibrant and intense, that once achieved great success of pubic and criticism.

Classic Noir Film, located in a historic moment passed. It is the most accessible and most commercial film of the author and, at the same time, one of the best films of Noir American cinema of the 50s of the last century.

Trivia

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-The French title for the movie is "Le Port de la Drogue"("The Drugs Port").The film is clearly about espionage, but in the French version the title was changed to refer to drugs, and even the dialogue referring to the spying was completely replaced by dialogue about drug dealing.
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-The German title for the movie is "Polizei greift ein" ("Police takes over"). The film is clearly about espionage, but in the German version the title was changed and even the dialog referring to the spying was completely replaced by dialog about drug dealing. (! Eux aussi !?...VOIR LES FILMS EN V.O/ st!)
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-Shot in 20 days.
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-In the opening scene on the subway, a soldier who leaves the train is shown wearing the "Big Red One" 1st Infantry Division shoulder patch. Director Samuel Fuller fought with the 1st Infantry Division during World War II, and later made a film about it - Au-delà de la gloire (1980).
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-After Shelley Winters, the first choice as star had to drop out, Betty Grable was assigned the role. Betty Grable, not wanting to take on a downcast role, declined to play Candy. Twentieth Century-Fox then put Miss Grable on suspension. Other versions claim that Grable turned down the role because she was pregnant.
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-Remade as The Cape Town Affair (1967) with James Brolin, Jacqueline Bisset and Claire Trevor.
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-"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on April 5, 1954 with Thelma Ritter reprising her film role.
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-When Candy lights a cigarette in an early scene, the matchbook cover reads "Park Row"--which was the title of Fuller's previous film.
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-According to Sam Fuller's book "A Third Face," Betty Grable had wanted the role of Candy, and she demanded that there be a dance number in the film with it. Fuller refused to have a dance number in the film. Grable then said she would do the film without the dance number, but by that point Fuller had been rehearsing with Jean Peters and didn't want to lose her for the role.
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-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.
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-Sam Fuller was working on the set of 'Hell and High Water (1954)' when Tyrone Power came on the set with a copy of the Los Angeles Times announcing that Pickup On South Street had won the Bronze Lion at the Venice Film Festival.