Review of Pickup on South Street (1953) by Geonard Y — 21 May 2007
Directed by Samuel Fuller.
Starring Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritt, Murvyn Vye, Richard Kelly.
I love anti-heroes. When you rely on an anti-establishment character in a movie it means the story is working. But I just canÕt symphatize or empathize with WidmarkÕs brash, dame-hating, overly self-centered pickpocket. HeÕs too arrogant to be likable with a face that turns you off. To say it more aptly, he didnÕt picked-up with me. And I feel weird about the romance angle whether its helpful to the story or not. ÒPick-upÓ however, was big during the time of its release, the communist-fear era, with street lingos like ÒHappy Money,Ó ÒMuffin,Ó ÒCannon,Ó and ÒStoolieÓ thatÕs so interesting to hear today and for the first time. The most obvious great thing here was Thelma Ritter.
Best Scene: Moe talks about graves.
QUOTE: Skip: ÒEverybody likes everybody when theyÕre kissing.Ó.
This review of Pickup on South Street (1953) was written by Geonard Y on 21 May 2007.
Pickup on South Street has generally received very positive reviews.
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