Pickup On South Street

Directed by Samuel Fuller, Pickup On South Street follows slick pickpocket Skip McCoy (Richard Widmark) as he finds himself in a whole mess of trouble after he lifts the purse of a woman (Jean Peters’ Candy) working for a Russian spy. It’s a compelling premise that’s employed to watchable yet decidedly erratic effect by Fuller, as the filmmaker, working from his own screenplay, delivers a hit-and-miss narrative that benefits quite substantially from a smattering of engrossing sequences and the uniformly captivating performances – with, in terms of the latter, Widmark offering up a typically compelling and commanding turn that’s matched by a solid roster of periphery players. (Thelma Ritter is certainly a standout as a weary, pragmatic professional informant.) Fuller’s predictably tough-as-nails approach to the material goes a long way towards elevating the proceedings on a recurring basis, and it’s clear, too, that the engrossing climax ensures that the picture manages to end, despite an incongruously upbeat final shot, on a palpably positive note – which cements Pickup On South Street‘s place as an often irresistibly gritty bit of ’50s noir filmmaking.

**1/2 out of ****