Tuesday's Overlooked Films: Pickup on South Street

This snappy 1953 film noir starring Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, and Thelma Ritter is an entertaining crime film with Widmark playing a pickpocket who's been arrested three times. Strike number four will send him to prison for life, so he's got to be extra careful. When he lifts Peters' wallet while riding on the subway, he gets more than he ever bargained for since she's a courier of microfilm for the Reds. The Commie angle is the different twist to this film noir, and the flag-waving parts aren't too heavy-handed or distracting. The always solid Ritter plays a washed up bag lady reduced to selling men's neckties and street information to make the rent. I read Ms. Peters was asked to dye her hair blonde for this role, but she refused to do so. Good for her. Because as a brunette she looks like a million bucks. Widmark does a good job playing the cocky pickpocket who proves he can take care of himself with the big city cops or the Commies. At one point in the NYC Public Library he uses a microfilm viewer to see what he's stolen. It looks almost like the relics I used to do my research a few decades later. Gotta love the old microfilm. Not! Look sharp for Milburn Stone who later played Doc on TV's long-running Western series Gunsmoke in a bit part. IMDb.com rates Pickup on South Street with a 7.8/10.0, and I'd go along with that mark.