Pickup on South Street (Fuller, 1953)

[madali]

Pickup on South Street (Samuel Fuller, 1953)

I admit that the damsel in distress can be fun to watch in film noirs, but the damsel here is so moronic and stereotypical female that it was even hard for a world-famous misogynist like me to watch. A man has a very important strip of film to deliver, and he hides it in a wallet, and asks his girlfriend to deliver it, without telling her that it contains a film or how important it is (it is very important, as we will come to realize, because it involves THE FUCKING COMMIES….USA! USA!!). The girl, obviously, has it pick pocketed from her. Doh!  And she tries to retrieve it, the trails lead her to the handsome thief, so instead of getting it back, she falls in love with him. Doh! Again.

For the rest of the movie it is the police vs the thief vs the government vs THE FUCKING COMMIES…USA! USA!! And everyone is stupid in this film. The cops suspect the thief has it, and they try to talk him into giving it to them, but this was the 50s and I’m pretty sure the government would have broken the fingers of the thief to get the film, which I think contained state technical secrets, rather than ask nicely. And the FUCKING COMMIES are also stupid for not being able to retrieve it. Watching this film, you’d think that the reason there was a COLD war was because both sides were too much of a busy to do anything about it. And that in the 50s, girls couldn’t get through the day without falling in love and changing their whole life around that love, even if it has been just five minutes.

2/5

[X.]

Fuller is more interested in tone and mood, and the exploration of the noir genre as a device for machismo and sex. Of course the story of PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET seems trite now, but Fuller -- a true independent filmmaker -- was having fun playing with the expectations of him to deliver a certain kind of film.

Ultimately, Fuller has never created a *consistent* film, but his works have such a raw, visceral power and great ideas that watching any film from him is a masterclass in filmmaking.

Check out WHITE DOG.

[madali]

I have it, it seems.

[kaytee]

Then watch his Shock Corridor, pretty mental stuff...

[X.]

Yeah, SHOCK CORRIDOR is pretty insane!

[madali]

I have that also it seems!