Review of Pickup on South Street (1953) by Daryl C — 11 Aug 2008
What a mix-up! PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET was released by 20th Century Fox in 1953; PICKPOCKET is Bresson's movie that was released in 1959. The picture shown is a poster from PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET, which remains one of the great Sam Fuller movies.
What's amazing about the movie is how funny it is: the idea that this is supposed to be a serious anti-Communist melodrama pretty much gets shot down in the first few minutes. "What do you think I am, a Commie?" is one of the lines often repeated, and it's hilarious because the people saying these things are a stoolie and a hooker: they may be lowlifes, but there's something lower than they are, and that's "Commies"!
In terms of the visual style, this is a very instructive movie, because it shows how to utilize low-budget restraints: Fuller keeps a lot of the action in almost suffocating close-up, and uses shadows to suggest space. This is the kind of movie that seems to sucker-punch the viewer, but it's hard to resist.
This review of Pickup on South Street (1953) was written by Daryl C on 11 Aug 2008.
Pickup on South Street has generally received very positive reviews.
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