Pickup on South Street
1953 · Movie · NR · 80 min · ★ 7.4 · 87% critics
A streetwise pickpocket in New York swipes a woman’s wallet on the subway and unknowingly grabs something far more dangerous than cash. As police and shadowy operatives close in, he’s pulled into a tense chase through the city’s underworld, where survival, loyalty, and a quick payday collide.
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Details
- Years
- 1953
- Release date
- 1953-05-27
- Language
- English
- Rated
- NR
- Runtime
- 80 min
- Max quality
- HD
- Critic score
- 87/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.4/10 (322 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a gritty, brisk noir that mixes street crime with spy intrigue and morally messy characters; Not for you if you dislike dated politics, rough violence, or old-fashioned melodrama like Touch of Evil.
Pros: fast-paced cat-and-mouse; sharp dialogue; standout supporting turns | Cons: dated Cold War politics; abrupt romance beats; harsh violence
Themes
- pickpocket
- cold war
- film noir
- black and white
Awards & recognition
- Academy Award — Best Supporting Actress · 1954 · nominated
Cast & crew
Richard Widmark
as Skip McCoy
Jean Peters
as Candy
Thelma Ritter
as Moe Williams
Murvyn Vye
as Captain Dan Tiger
Richard Kiley
as Joey
Willis Bouchey
as Zara
Milburn Stone
as Detective Winoki
Parley Baer
as Headquarters Communist in Chair (uncredited)
Chet Brandenburg
as Fight Spectator (uncredited)
- FK
Frank Kumagai
as Lum (uncredited)
Directed by Samuel Fuller