It was screened at the venice film festival in 1953. The film is know for being a bruising, crackling, frenetic and brutal. The pickup on south street community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. Still image of jean peters and richard widmark in pickup on south street.
Pickup on south street is strictly fuller film noir lean and wicked straight to its core. He offers no superfluous subplots, back story, or hitchcockian macguffins. Like so many of the worthwhile products of the american 1950s, it is a work of reverberating complexity, wrapped up to look like a candy bar. Among his take, although he does not know it at the time, is a piece of topsecret microfilm that was being passed by candys consort, a communist agent. Pickup on south street is a 1953 film noir about a pickpocket who unwittingly lifts a message destined for enemy agents and becomes a target for a communist spy ring.
Pickup on south street is not only a classic noir film it is also one of the decades greatest. Films released in the early days of hollywood, specifically from the 40s, 50s and later give the audience a snapshot from the past. In 2018, pickup on south street was selected for preservation in the united states national film registry as being culturally. Pickup on south street is an unexpectedly dense thriller that commences with a pickpocketing theft and appears as though it will be little more than a standard film noir. Skip mccoy picks a pocket on the subway, and gets classified government documents for his troubles. Pickup on south street dvd, 2004 for sale online ebay. Filming locations 7 production dates 1 filming locations. The opening pickpocket scene on the train is a thing of beauty as fuller learned from actual new york city pickpockets how they would go about boosting a wallet from a purse.
The police convince a woman to help them find skip and the microfilm, and heavy drama ensues. With its dazzling cast and director samuel fullers signature raw energy and hardboiled repartee, pickup on south street is a true film noir classic by one of americas most passionate cinematic craftsmen. When candy jean peters starts going through her purse and notices her wallet is. I certainly wouldnt classify this as a mystery but a hardboiled just like i like my eggs thrillercaper populated by interesting characters caught up in a situations beyond their control. Criterions dvd of pickup on south street is the first older title in their new arrangement with fox, the deal thats already given us naked lunch and is promising dream titles like robert altmans exquisite 3 women. The other day, a netflix movie showed up in my mail that, for the life of me, i couldnt remember adding. Pickup on south street 1953 was a noir with a cold war theme. For instance, skips little shack down by the river is one of the great iconic locations in a film noir. Its an interesting dynamic and brief exploration of such between these two women, especially for the patriarchal and straightlaced era in which the film was made.
The bar, the ye olde market restaurant according to the sign, was located at the corner of south street and market slip. Pickup on south street by samuel fuller richard widmark. Pickup on south street 1953 crime movies full length 1080 hd old movies 1953. A few years ago, i recorded one of his films off of tcm, pick up on south street, and wow. With richard widmark, jean peters, thelma ritter, murvyn vye. Its an espionage film where a pickpocket, prostitute, and stoolie wind up caught in the middle of the fbis attempt to stop the communists from attaining a microfilm with. Pickup on south street 1953 richard widmark, jean peters. Skip has just gotten out of jail after his third arrest, and one more bust would mean going to the clink for life. Ma barkers killer brood gangster film, english language watch full length movies on. If film noir is a genre in which tinpot crimes are merely the outer manifestations of the churning unconscious, then pickup on south street is quintessential noir. The world of pickup on south street is familiar to admirers of fullers other films, abounding in a lurid cavalcade of unforgettable oddballs who collectively show america to be a place of cracked schemers and dreamers working for their own interests. The film does better on with 91 percent on the tomatometer and 89 percent audience approval. On the surface, pickup on south street appears to be more anticommunist propaganda.
By the same token, i think that if you dont like the films of sam fuller, then you just dont like cinema. The luridly gripping thriller pickup on south street is a leading exemplar of pulpfiction maestro sam fullers brutally kinetic cinema, filled with the directors signature raw energy and hardboiled repartee. Better than most film noir entries, samuel fullers pickup on south street explores the life of a pickpocket who gets in over his head. Pickup on south street 1953, directed by movie maverick samuel fuller, contains a stunning opening that establishes a double complication. The filming locations of the french connection, then and now. The filming locations of pickup on south street ny. The filming locations of pickup on south street ny, youve changed posted by. Metrograph is a new manhattan movie theater devoted to screening archivequality 35mm prints and new films in stateoftheart digital projection. It takes us back to the angstridden 1950s but retains an. Movie title from the film noir pickup on south street 1953, directed by samuel fuller, starring richard widmark and thelma ritter. But it is part of the film an important enough part that fuller. Pickup on south street 1953 is a cold war spy film noir written and directed by samuel fuller and released by the 20th century fox studio. The filming locations of the french connection, then and. Pickup on south street isnt about anticommunism, and its anticommunism certainly does not dominate the movie.
Posts about pick up on south street written by ricbretz. Pickup centers on skip mccoy, a new york city pickpocket played by richard widmark at his slimiest, antihero best. She fails to get back the film and falls in love with him. By the time it comes to a conclusion, you will realize that you have just witnessed an example of a red scare movie. A crime reporter turned filmmaker, writerdirector samuel fuller is famous for adhering to the who, what, when, where, and why of cinematic storytelling, an aggressive tendency that is fully realized in pickup. The most claustrophobic american film before psycho, and the finest distillation of fullers tabloid sensibility.
I saw that someone categorized this as a mystery, and after watching pickup on south street 1953 last night, and i wondered if we saw the same film. Richard widmark is way on top of his game as a smartalec hes really great but the highlight performance of the film was the first scene for moe, the street. Watch the trailer for pickup on south street fuller hooks us into a complex moral web that never lets up. Jean peters in pick up on south street 1953 daniellesdarrieux. The film stars richard widmark, jean peters, and thelma ritter. The quintessentially new york director samuel fuller made only one movie about the contemporary city, his 1953 film noir pickup on south street which i discuss in this clip. Among his take, although he does not know it at the time, is a piece of topsecret microfilm that was being passed by. Pickup on south street film by fuller 1953 britannica. Pickup on south street 1953 on a crowded subway, skip mccoy richard widmark picks the purse of candy jean peters. That film mesmerized me and after i had viewed it i was so impressed by all of it. Much of the film takes place on the waterfront, and one of the few onthestreet shots was shot right near the east river a fantastic look at kent ave heading south from north 6th street in williamsburg, brooklyn. But only one, pickup on south street 1953, is being revived this week at film forum, in new york.
Pickup on south street 1953 the criterion collection. Candy jean peters has her purse picked on the subway by smalltime thief and excon skip richard widmark, neither of them realizing that the purse contains microfilm bound for communist spies and that they are. Director sam fullers biggest success of its time and, superficially at least, his most conventional film is the 1953 noir effort pickup on south street. Candy on the street after getting off the subway at the beginning of the film is this interesting. The transfer is gorgeous, a mint element given additional digital cleanup. Richard widmark played a pennyante pickpocket who unknowingly lifts a roll of microfilm that both the russians and the fbi want, ultimately landing him on the side of the law. He has a gift for the grift and hes not hesitant to use it on easy and.
With its dazzling cast and director samuel fullers signature raw energy and hardboiled repartee, pickup on south street is a true film noir classic by one of. Candy discovers the whereabouts of the film through moe williams, a police informer. The film stars richard widmark, jean peters and thelma. Pickup on south street 1953 samuel fuller synopsis. Its been said that if you dont like the rolling stones, then you dont like rock n roll, martin scorsese says in his introduction to director sam fullers indispensable memoir a third face. Petty crook skip mccoy richard widmark has his eyes fixed on the big score. In 2018, pickup on south street was selected for preservation in the united states national film registry as being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. Subway rider candy susan peters collides with pickpocket skip mccoy richard widmark dipped in shades of sinatra cool.
Strong words, but if ever there was cause to draw such a line in the sand. This script is a transcript that was painstakingly transcribed using the screenplay andor viewings of pickup on south street. A fantastic look at kent ave heading south from north 6th street in williamsburg, brooklyn. When candy jean peters starts going through her purse and notices her wallet is missing, an.
The most claustrophobic american film before psycho, and the. Pickup on south street is a 1953 cold war spy film noir written and directed by samuel fuller, and released by the 20th century fox studio. Like many crime film directors, fuller regards his crooks fondly as the people whore. When the cocky threetime convict picks the pocketbook of. A pickpocket unwittingly lifts a message destined for enemy agents and becomes a target for a communist spy ring. Barely out of prison, loner and pickpocket skip mccoy richard widmark quietly helps himself to the contents of a womans.
Pickup on south street is a 1953 cold war spy film noir written and directed by samuel fuller. Pickup on south street is one of the most brilliant movies ever made. Pickup on south street is a 1953 cold war spy film noir written and directed by samuel fuller and released by the 20th century fox studio barely out of prison, loner and pickpocket skip mccoy richard widmark quietly helps himself to the contents of a womans purse. Finally, the pickup on south street script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the richard widmark film noir movie. Fullers film about a pickpocket widmark pressurised by the fbi to help them hunt down communist spies is characteristic in its blending of a pacy, punchy generic narrative, an unapologetically forthright approach to political issues, and vividly drawn characters driven by nonetoolofty motives. The filming locations of pickup on south street ny, youve changed november 19, 2012. Pickup on south street 1953 crime movies full length 1080. Samuel fuller scarcely used dwight taylors source material, a languid courtroom romance, in crafting this pugnacious potboiler. New york film locations from the movie pickup on south street starring richard widmark and jean peters. Pickup on south street is the crown jewel of his studio films, the perfect demonstration of what he was capable of when he had the tools of the system to work with.
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