Review for Pick Up on South Street

Just about every film over a decade old gets referred to as a ‘classic’ these days. But in my book, very few deserve the accolade. ‘Pick Up on South Street’, on the other hand, is a most worthy contender. It’s not only Samuel Fuller’s finest hour (and don’t forget, he wrote and directed ‘The Naked Kiss’) but it’s one of the finest examples of Film Noir you’re ever likely to see. It’s got it all. Stunning black and white cinematography, wise-cracking dialogue, a femme-fatale (of sorts), a brooding lead, a plot that twists and turns and enough sassy attitude to wow (and influence) directors like Scorsese and Tarantino. In short – a classic. Though I think I said that already.

The good news is that this Masters of Cinema edition from Eureka! could well be the definitive version; certainly the best you’ll have seen this film outside of a cinema. Coming in a dual-format pack, the Blu-Ray is the only way you’re going to fully appreciate the fine restoration that been done on the film.

The film’s real stars are Richard Widmark in the lead role as hard-boiled pickpocket Skip McCoy, and Thelma Ritter who is a stool pigeon, but one with heart. (Ritter was deservedly nominated for an Academy Award in 1954 for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance).

Little does Skip know that when he rather expertly lifts the purse of a dame (Candy – Jean Peters) on a subway train, it contains some micro-film which she is tasked to pass on to another man. As she’s being observed by some federal agents, they pick up Skip who’s on his last strike, having emerged from prison just a week before. Which in layman’s terms means, if he’s charged, it’ll be for life.


 
Whilst at least one police officer would like to see him go down, the party line at HQ is to see if he can lead them to Mr. Big – the intended recipient of the film. Full of cold-war intrigue, and ‘commies’ aplenty, it take a while for Skip to realise that Candy is for real, having been duped by her ex (Joey -Richard Kiley) who claims it’s ‘industrial espionage’.

And then there’s Moe (Ritter – Rear Window) a stool pigeon who is able to lead the police to Skip based on his modus operandi, despite having known him since he was a kid. When he finds out he’s sanguine enough – ‘she’s gotta eat don’t she?’

Once Skip is pulled he naturally denies everything. After all, he’s got nothing to lose. Meanwhile, realising that Candy has lost the micro-film, he persuades her to chase down the thief, promising her in return that if she does this one last favour, he’ll leave her alone for the rest of her life. Reluctantly she agrees and before long she too is paying Moe for the low-down.


 When she arrives at the address, she finds a dilapidated waterfront shack which, as there is no sign of life, she sets about searching. Skip comes home, sees her torch-light and knocks her out. She wakes up and tried to get him to part with the film but she realises that he’s in no mood to hand it over. So she returns the next night, this time confused to hear his talk of commies and a demand for $25,000. Despite his rough manner, it’ sclear she’s falling in love, but street-wise Skip doesn’t believe the feelings are real.

Then things hot up. When Candy next visits Joey he’s with some senior members of the party who hand Joey a gun and make it clear that failure to retrieve the film is not an option. Realising the truth, and wanting to save Skip’s bacon, she goes back to find Moe to see if she can persuade Skip to take the film to the police. After she leaves Moe, Joey turns up. Moe refuses to give him Skip’s address so he shoots her dead.

The next morning, Skip returns home to find Candy there trying to warn him about Joey. But Skip doesn’t care, he just wants Joey’s money so Candy knocks him out (for his own good) and takes the film to the police. Zara asks her to give the film to Joey so that they can follow him to see who he is trying to give it to. She passes it back to Joey who notices that a critical frame is missing – a precaution taken by Skip. Joey beats Candy senseless but she won’t give up Skip’s address. He then shoots her and leaves her for dead, finding Skip’s address in her purse.

So the scene is set for the finale. Will Joey kill Skip? Will Skip ever understand that Candy’s love for him was the real-deal? You’ll have to watch to see. I don’t want to spoil it all for you!

Apparently Fuller turned down many actresses for the lead role including Marilyn Monroe; Ava Gardner, Shelley Winters and Betty Grable. But he gave the role to Jean Peters who had a rough swagger which he liked.


 
The film is full of sassy dialogue too which is just fantastic, delivered convincingly by its leads. Stuff like Moe’s last speech as she looks down the barrel of Joey’s gun: ‘Listen, Mister. When I come in here tonight, you seen an old clock runnin' down. I'm tired. I'm through. Happens to everybody sometime. It'll happen to you too, someday. With me it's a little bit of everything. Backaches and headaches. I can't sleep nights. It's so hard to get up in the morning, and get dressed and walk the streets. Climb the stairs. I go right on doin' it! Well, what am I gonna do, knock it? I have to go on makin' a livin'... so I can die. But even a fancy funeral ain't worth waitin' fer if I gotta do bus'ness with crumbs like you.’ Powerful stuff!

The disc ships with some fun features, not least a lengthy interview with film critic Kent Jones, filmed exclusively for this release albeit in a busy ‘film festival’ environment. He’s clearly a huge fan of the film and could recall every scene with incredible accuracy.

There’s also an archival interview with French critic François Guérif who uses the film as an example of Film Noir, a genre pretty much defined by the French ‘Cahiers du Cinema’.

Also included is a trailer and an insightful featurette which includes a lengthy Sam Fuller interview which throws some light on this charismatic writer / director. You also get a 36 page booklet featuring a new essay on the film by critic Murielle Joudet; remarks by Fuller; and rare imagery.

If you’re a fan of film, this is one film you need to have in your collection – and this is the best release to date.