christopher-underwood Good solid and impressive noir with fabulous central performance from Richard Widmark. Perhaps not surprising because Widmark is always good but the real surprise is Jean Peters. Wish she had done more films, because here she is a revelation in a complicated role as gangster's moll cum prostitute with a heart of gold and then some. She is also believably tough. Big bad boyfriend sends her out with the gun, her only trouble is that she is up against Widmark. The wisest wise guy going. Apparently in Germany and France the communist theme was replaced with drug dealing and for me I reckon that would be a better idea - the 'better dead than red' US flag waving element being the weakest part of the film BUT seeing an excerpt in the extras with big bad Sam Fuller talking about the film, it is clear this was very much to his heart. So, hard for us Brits to ever quite understand the American position here but I guess it resounds even today. Very entertaining film with great location shots and impressive studio sets for the waterfront. Thelma Ritter is also great!

Maddyclassicfilms Pickup on South Street is directed by Samuel Fuller, is written by Fuller and Dwight Taylor and is based on Taylor's novel. The film stars Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Richard Kiley and Thelma Ritter.This is one of my favourite Noir films. Widmark and Peters sizzle together and deliver superb performances as two tough characters realising they're falling for one another.On a crowded train, skilled pickpocket Skip McCoy(Richard Widmark)rummages through the handbag of Candy(Jean Peters), he steals some microfilm. Unbeknown to Skip the film contains top secret US government documents that Candy is delivering to a communist agent. Skip also doesn't know that he was seen taking the film by two agents who were following Candy.Skip hides the film but then finds himself questioned by the Police. He's soon wanted by Candy's boyfriend Joey(Richard Kiley), who wants the film back so he can deliver it to his fellow communists. Candy is sent to get the film back, she tries to charm him but Skip sees right through her, her admires her courage though and as time goes on the pair begin to fall for one another. Candy's association with Skip puts her in danger when Joey no longer trusts her.Widmark gives one of his best performances, he makes Skip clever, tough, cynical and a real survivor. You know this is a man you don't want to cross and although he's a thief he's not a bad man, he'll do the right thing in the end. Skip has seen and done plenty of bad things but he is still a good man, he hasn't crossed a moral line and become a bad guy.Jean Peters is an actress who I think should have become a much bigger star. She is at her best here as the tough, streetwise woman who falls for Skip and tries to do the right thing, even if that means risking her own life.Thelma Ritter is superb as stoolpigeon Moe. This lady is smart and doesn't miss anything. Moe's greatest fear is being buried in an unmarked grave. Throughout the film she is shown trying to collect money to put aside to ensure she can have a decent funeral, that is incredibly sad and Ritter makes your heart break for this woman and her situation.The three main characters in this are all down on their luck and all deserve to be happy. They all do things that they might not be proud of in order to survive, far from making us hate them this only humanises them, they aren't perfect and their characters are more developed than in some films like this and that all helps make the film as good as it is.In my opinion this is one of the best Noir films ever made.

Dalbert Pringle Due to its excessive brutality and sadistic beatings (especially the rough slapping around of pretty Candy), this rough'n'tough Crime/Thriller from 1953 ran into a lot of serious flak from the censors prior to its initial release.In order to appease the picky censor board's pointless grumblings, several violent scenes were quickly re-shot and even a "cutesy-pie", little happy ending was tacked onto the story for good measure.And because this film's theme dealt directly with Communist espionage on American turf, FBI agent, J. Edgar Hoover, even got into the act and complained to Darryl F. Zanuck (then head of 20th Century Fox) about the unpatriotic attitude of Richard Widmark's lippy character and his "Are you waving the flag at me?" line.Of course (as you can well-imagine), the whole controversy that all of this silly attention stirred up prior to "Pickup's" initial release did absolute wonders as a means of advertising and, thus, selling it to the curious movie-going public, and generating big box-office bucks.Pickup's story deals with the serious events that are set into motion after the brazen pickpocket, Skip McCoy, steals a wallet being carried by pretty, little Candy.Unknown to both Skip and Candy, this innocent-looking wallet actually contains a strip of microfilm of top-secret information that was being delivered to a group of ruthless Communist spies operating within the seedy underworld of NYC.Filmed in stark b&w, this hard-edged Crime/Drama had a running time of only 80 minutes. It was directed by Samuel Fuller whose other films from the 1950s included Forty Guns, Hell and High Water, and Underworld USA.

mark.waltz Stealing a girl's wallet can get you into a lot of trouble, especially when it has micro-film the commies want. That's what newly released jail bird Richard Widmark finds out when he's called in for questioning after being fingered by your friendly neighborhood stoolie (Thelma Ritter), a Tugboat Annie/Apple Annie type character who only prays for a clean death and enough money left behind to pay for a proper headstone, not being lymed away in Potter's Field on Ward's Island.Jean Peters is the dame, doing one last favor for her ex, and ironically falls for the man who pick pocketed her but a game with him results in a lot of trouble. While they are excellent in this film, it will be Ritter whom you remember, the best role she ever got and the one most deserving of praise. Five Oscar Nominations, mostly for scene-stealing walk-ons, but this is a true acting challenge (along with her nasty mother in "Bird Man of Alcatraz") that gives her a real character who will break your heart when she's confronted by her destiny. That scene alone was worthy of an Academy Award.Directed by the magnificent Sam Fuller, this is a "street" film where the rawness of the naked city is covered in slime through organized crime, espionage and cheap crooks. Even the cops are a bit shady, one admitting he lost six months of pay for beating up Widmark on previous encounters. Made during the height of the cold war and McCarthy era, this is a film that doesn't take sides except to show that the spy game is an ugly sport.