Pickup on South Street

1953

1h 20m

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

312

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2 Videos

41 Images

Thriller

Crime

In New York City, an insolent pickpocket, Skip McCoy, inadvertently sets off a chain of events when he targets ex-prostitute Candy and steals her wallet. Unaware that she has been making deliveries of highly classified information to the communists, Candy, who has been trailed by FBI agents for months in hopes of nabbing the spy ringleader, is sent by her ex-boyfriend, Joey, to find Skip and retrieve the valuable microfilm he now holds.

Directors

Samuel Fuller

Writers

Samuel Fuller(screenplay by)

Dwight Taylor(story by)

Stars

Richard Widmark

Jean Peters

Thelma Ritter

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Videos2

Trailer
Watch Pickup On South Street (1953) trailer
Featurette
Watch Sam Hamm on PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET

Photos41

Top cast

Skip McCoy

Candy

Moe Williams

Captain Dan Tiger

Joey

Zara

Detective Winoki

Headquarters Communist in Chair (uncredited)

Chet Brandenburg

Fight Spectator (uncredited)

Frank Kumagai

Lum (uncredited)

Virginia Carroll

Nurse (uncredited)

Harry Carter

Detective Dietrich (uncredited)

Clancy Cooper

Detective Eddie (uncredited)

Henry Slate

Detective MacGregor (uncredited)

Heinie Conklin

Subway Passenger (uncredited)

George Eldredge

Fenton (uncredited)

John Gallaudet

Detective Lieutenant Campion (uncredited)

Alan Reed

Detective (uncredited)

Directors

Samuel Fuller

Writers

Samuel Fuller(screenplay by)

Dwight Taylor(story by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews2

Review

Featured review

7/10

Richard Widmark is quite effective in this quickly paced espionage thriller. He's a petty thief whom we see lifting something from a woman's purse on a busy subway train. He's not the only one watching her, though, and as he makes his exit he narrowly avoids capture the police. Why are others watching this woman? Well it turns out that she is suspected of passing secrets to the communists and that the police reckon the purse purse contains evidence. Of course, "Skip" (Widmark) knows nothing of this but is soon working with the authorities to find "Candy" (Jean Peters), trace her compatriots and thwart the deceit. Thelma Ritter always adds value - if perhaps not versatility - and it features a tightly knit supporting cast as Samuel Fuller keeps the dialogue focussed and the pace deft before quite an exciting ending. It does play a little to cold war politics and paranoia, but it's still a superior cat and mouse thriller well worth a watch.

Geronimo196721 Jun, 2023