Pickup on South Street (1953)

Directed by

Samuel Fuller

Genre

film noir, heist film, spy film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 20m

Rated

NR

Rating

7.4 of 10 from 325 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A New York pickpocket steals a wallet that contains secret microfilm wanted by foreign spies. He gets caught between the police and the agents who want the film back.

tensegrittyfast-pacedparanoidstreetwisesuspensefulcrisp

What happens

Pickup on South Street is a 1953 American spy film noir written and directed by Samuel Fuller, and starring Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, and Thelma Ritter. Widmark plays a pickpocket who unwittingly steals a covert microfilm sought by foreign agents. The film combines elements of the traditional crime film noir with Cold War-era espionage drama. It was released by 20th Century-Fox. The film was screened at the 14th Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Bronze Lion. Thelma Ritter's performance earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. In 2018, Pickup on South Street was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• The Big Heat (1953)
• The System (1953)
• Panther's Moon (1950)
• No Escape (1953)
• Forbidden (1953)
• Roadblock (1951)
• The Flaming Urge (1953)
• Private Hell 36 (1954)