Pickup On South Street on DVD (1953)

Pick Up on South Street

Craig Methven from Kent , 15/10/2004

A great looking claustrophobic b-movie with the gaunt Widmark compressing layers of, at turns, aggression, passion and menace in this tale of stolen film. Thelma Ritter almost steals the show in a supporting role, but the plot sometimes stutters and eventually tails off so abruptly that you feel it could have had another half hour to go.

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Who Cares?

Leon Collins from London , 18/04/2005

A well-structured noir with fine lead performances, notably Thelma Ritter as the *professional stool pigeon* Moe. The *red menance* is just a Mcguffin as Widmark brushes aside appeals by the police to his patriotism with a larconic *Who cares?*.

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Dated Commie-bashing Propaganda from the McCarthy Era

johnny_friendly from London, England , 10/04/2005

There are two ways of approaching this film - on an aesthetic level and on a political one. Aesthetically, it's a fine film, full of dark expressionism and no-good dames who turn out to have proverbial hearts-of-gold. But it's the politics of this film that I felt uncomfortable with. The basic premise is that there are these 'evil commies' who are out to subvert the wholesome American way of life without ever at any point attempting to analyse the complexities of Cold War imperatives or the nature of American fear and paranoia. Back then it was 'commies', today its 'terrorists' but the hysteria was the same.

In view of the political events of the past four years, I just find it hard if not outright distasteful to see Americans as 'the good guys' and everyone else as 'bad' which is the undercurrent that pervades this film throughout. For me, it disqualified much of the aesthetic considerations of this film. The love scenes are clumsy too.

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Film noir at it's very best

A customer from Sheffield, England , 28/03/2005

Excellent film noir from cult director Samuel Fuller. Good script, well acted and infused with a claustrophobic intensity that seeps into every frame. Highly recommended.

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Pick Up on South Street

Craig Methven from Kent , 15/10/2004

A great looking claustrophobic b-movie with the gaunt Widmark compressing layers of, at turns, aggression, passion and menace in this tale of stolen film. Thelma Ritter almost steals the show in a supporting role, but the plot sometimes stutters and eventually tails off so abruptly that you feel it could have had another half hour to go.

Read all highest rated reviews

Dated Commie-bashing Propaganda from the McCarthy Era

johnny_friendly from London, England , 10/04/2005

There are two ways of approaching this film - on an aesthetic level and on a political one. Aesthetically, it's a fine film, full of dark expressionism and no-good dames who turn out to have proverbial hearts-of-gold. But it's the politics of this film that I felt uncomfortable with. The basic premise is that there are these 'evil commies' who are out to subvert the wholesome American way of life without ever at any point attempting to analyse the complexities of Cold War imperatives or the nature of American fear and paranoia. Back then it was 'commies', today its 'terrorists' but the hysteria was the same.

In view of the political events of the past four years, I just find it hard if not outright distasteful to see Americans as 'the good guys' and everyone else as 'bad' which is the undercurrent that pervades this film throughout. For me, it disqualified much of the aesthetic considerations of this film. The love scenes are clumsy too.

Read all highest rated reviews