Monday, January 4, 2010

Review: Pick-up on South Street


This film took me completely by surprise. I expected your typical film noir. And it is, but it isn't. The elements are still mostly the same, but there is a little twist.
Starring Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, and Thelma Ritter. Basically, you start out with a pickpocket (Widmark) who picked a little more than he wanted. Of all the luck, he picks from a girl (Peters) who is carrying something bigger than she thinks. She is working one last carry job for her no-good ex-boyfriend. Who, as we find out, has less than desirable political standing. It turns out that the girl was being followed by the FBI. Now, everyone is looking for the film. Again, I will leave it there so as not to blow too much.
But, this film is amazing. Widmark is pretty amazing. Peters (although in a less than desirable role) is perfectly adequate, but the person who steals this movie is Thelma Ritter. I won't get into how she is mixed into the plot, but she is a hard-working woman who does just about anything she can to make enough money so she can be buried in a nice plot of land when she dies. Again, she is not a desirable party, but she's good as you can be in a scrappy world. I can't tell you how amazing she is in this movie because in order to do that, I would give a lot of it away. Suffice it to say that she is amazing. So touching. I wish I could tell you more, but you have to take my word for it.
SEE THIS MOVIE!! 4 and 1/2 out of 5 stars

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