Pickup on South Street (1953)

 Samuel Fuller's "Pickup on South Street"


While watching Samuel Fuller's 1953 film "Pickup on South Street," I noticed it very of it's moment. The themes of the film fit in quite nicely with the Cold War mania happening in the 1950s, especially the 'Red Scare.' However, when the film was released, its reception was wildly varied. 

The film stars a young woman tasked with delivering a piece of film. Unbeknownst to her and the man who steals her wallet on the subway, the piece of film she's delivering contains Communist secrets. In an effort to track down the man who stole her wallet, both the police and the Communists she works for go on a mad scramble, with our unlucky young woman caught in the middle.

Fuller direction contains many noir-ish elements, which is probably why the film is billed as a 'noir' by its studio. However, the film falls more in to the category of spy thriller. However, I did enjoy the stark and crisp black and white lighting of the film. There is a certain texture to the film that is pleasant. I also really like Fuller's zoom ins to intense close-ups. It enhances the drama and creates a semi-psychological subjective element to the film. Overall, I enjoyed the film. I don't feel as though I got much out of it, but it is an enjoyable watch nonetheless.

However, there were many in 1953 who did not like the film, especially certain parties who disliked the Communist inclusions. For example, France completely changed this plot element all-together, making the dubbed version about drugs instead, and even called the film "Drug's Harbor." Included in this dislike for the film was FBI director J. Edgar Hoover who demanded that all references to the FBI be removed, to which 20th Century Fox studio executive Darryl F. Zanuck begrudgingly agreed. The Production Code even had problems with the film, as they deemed the film too excessively violent and had the filmmakers scale back.

Despite these criticism, the film has garnished quite a bit of critical praise. It has now become emblematic of 1950s Cold War aesthetics and is considered by many to be a fine 'noir' flick, despite not being a noir at all. I for one can say that, despite a lack of depth, the film is a great piece of entertainment.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rio Bravo (1959)

Image
  Howard Hawks' "Rio Bravo" To conclude the filmography of Howard Hawks, I watched his 1959 western film " Rio Bravo ." I've got to say that I was expecting a lot more out of this picture based on all the praise for the film. That is not to say that I didn't like it, it was a fine time at the cinema (I was not at the cinema, I was at home). I can't say that I should have expected more, as I'm not entirely that big of a fan of Howard Hawks. Even his best film (to me), " The Big Sleep " is arguably one of the weaker film noirs that I've seen. " Rio Bravo " is a film that apparently is a response to 1952's " High Noon ," which was an allegory about Hollywood's blacklisting and McCarthyism. Howard Hawks and John Wayne felt the film was anti-American and instead made " Rio Bravo " to broadcast an alternative perspective in which the hero of the story doesn't shy away from justice. I personally ha...
Read more

King Kong (1933)

Image
  Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack's "King Kong" There are many post-Depression American 'box office' films that I have seen in my film studies journey. Most of these post-Depression box office films don't typically sit right with me. The films I have in mind are the gangster and monster films that swept the nation in the early 1930s. These films typically were meant to placate an anxious American audience. However, the depth to their thematic intricacies leave something to be desired. Even without this depth, the 'entertainment' aspect of these films were not very entertaining to me. However, there is one film that utterly surprised me, 1933's adventure epic " King Kong ."   The story is well-known. A group of filmmakers travel to a remote island to take advantage of strange and interesting natural wildlife unknown to the outside world. There they meet an indigenous people, all terrified of a large, monstrous primate living on...
Read more

The Big Sleep (1946)

Image
  Howard Hawks' "The Big Sleep" After watching Howard Hawks' 1946 film noir " The Big Sleep ," I have to say that it is not one of my favorite film noirs. That being said, it was definitely the best Howard Hawks film I've seen thus far. It did not have the typical dark ending that permeates the whole film with bleak darkness, which probably made it a lesser noir for me. In fact, it felt more like a 'studio noir,' if that makes sense. I'm not going to go into the entire plot of the film, especially because the entire plot is incredibly convoluted. In fact, this was a major strike against the film at the time of its release. Many reported that they could not keep up with what was happening. I've got to say that, for myself, this was the case as well. I found myself having to rewind to figure out what exactly I missed or who was who. However, upon reflection, the convoluted plot may only add to the feverish intoxication of the film.  Because...
Read more