PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET

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I've been watching quite a few classic film noirs on TCM lately, some of which I've seen before, while others I've experienced for the first time. I hope to cover as many of these films as possible in the days to come but yesterday, I had the pleasure of viewing PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET (1953) for the first time.

Wow. 

Richard Widmark stars as Skip McCoy, a New York City pick pocket, just out of prison and already practicing the art of the "cannon" on the NYC subway system. His pigeon of choice is the luscious prostitute Candy (Jean Peters). Skip skillfully lifts an item out of her purse while on a speeding subway train, an item that will launch a desperate manhunt through the Manhattan underworld.

Turns out the item stolen by Skip is a strip of micro-film containing top secret chemical formulae. Peters was supposed to deliver the film to Joey (Richard Kiley), a communist stooge who would then pass the information on to his superiors (one of which is played by Parley (THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW) Baer). Government agents who were trailing Candy know the film strip has been stolen and it's a race against time between the Feds and the Reds, to track down Skip and recover the film. 

Caught in the middle of this growing crisis is Moe Williams (Thelma Ritter), a street grifter who sells information about "cannons" to the law in order to bolster her meager living from selling men's ties out of a suitcase. 

Candy attempts to seduce Skip to get the film but of course, ends up falling in love with him. Skip, knowing what he has is extremely valuable to both parties, ups his asking price. When Candy ultimately steals the film from Skip, she doesn't know that he's kept a single frame for himself. 

Candy is savagely beaten and shot by Joey (he's already killed Moe), before Skip confronts him in a violent subway battle. 

Tough and unflinching from start to finish, with dialogue you could strike a match on , PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET is a double barreled winner for Samuel Fulller who wrote and directed the film for 20th Century Fox. It was his first assignment for a big studio and he used the larger budget, longer shooting schedule and big name stars to great advantage. Even though shot in Los Angeles and back lot locations, Fuller imbues PICKUP with a gritty sense of the New York City streets and the lower rung criminals and hustlers who populate them. 

Fox contract player Betty Grable was originally considered for the part of Candy but when Grable read the script and realized she'd be playing a prostitute, she turned it down. Star-in-the-making Marilyn Monroe was also briefly up for the part but when Fuller spotted Peters in the studio commissary one day, he hired her on the spot. And what a great decision that turned out to be. Peters brings a smoldering sexuality to the part of a streetwise operator who knows how the many underworld games are played. 

The entire cast is perfect. Look close and you'll spot Milburn (GUNSMOKE) Stone in one scene as a police detective. The standout performance goes to Ritter, who's simply terrific as the world weary Moe, a battered and bone tired woman just trying to survive on the mean streets. Ritter received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her work. 

With PICKUP UP ON SOUTH STREET, Samuel Fuller fully realized the dazzling potential he had previously displayed in such low budget classics as THE BARON OF ARIZONA (1950) and STEEL HELMET (1951). Fuller went on to enjoy a long and illustrious career, continuing to make films in his own uncompromising way, which led to him becoming one of the most important directors in the post war American cinema. 

PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET is one of the great film noirs. It's absolutely essential viewing for fans of the genre and movie buffs in general.

Highly recommended.