02/03/06 Pickup On South Street

Pickup On South Street (1953), directed by Samuel Fuller

watched solo; theater (NC Museum Of Art, Raleigh, NC); Winter Film Series

Fuller has seemed to always be an underappreciated filmmaker. This is a great slice of pulp from the 50's crime noir era, complete with all the perfect slang of the times..."dame, bird, clink, pinch, stoolie, two-bit cannon." It has some great one-liners in it, as an example the first kiss between the pickpocket & the broad. He leans in to plant a big one on her as she's on the verge of tears, & says "Sometimes you look for oil, you hit a gusher." What does that mean? Anyway, the story is based on a foiled plot to deliver top secret info to the Communists in Cold War America, with the lead role as a pickpocket who stumbles upon the priceless "lift," and catches the sweet "dame" in the process. Like my use of jargon, eh? It was also very interesting to see this screening at the Museum of Art, with an introduction by an NC State Film Studies professor on Fuller's career & scope of influence.

4 out of 5 stars