Pickup on South Street

Pickup on South Street
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySamuel Fuller
Screenplay bySamuel Fuller
Story byDwight Taylor
Produced byJules Schermer
StarringRichard Widmark
Jean Peters
Thelma Ritter
CinematographyJoseph MacDonald
Edited byNick DeMaggio
Music byLeigh Harline
Distributed by20th Century-Fox
Release date
  • May 27, 1953 (1953-05-27)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$780,000[1][2]
Box office$1,900,000[3][4][2]

Pickup on South Street is a 1953 American spy film noir written and directed by Samuel Fuller, and starring Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, and Thelma Ritter.[5] Widmark plays a pickpocket who unwittingly steals a covert microfilm sought by foreign agents. The film combines elements of the traditional crime film noir with Cold War-era espionage drama.[5] It was released by 20th Century-Fox.

The film was screened at the 14th Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Bronze Lion. Thelma Ritter’s performance earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. In 2018, Pickup on South Street was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

  1. ^ Aubrey Solomon, Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History, Scarecrow Press, 1989 p248
  2. ^ a b "With 20th's Widescreen Jump". Variety. December 1, 1954. p. 4. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  3. ^ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p225.
  4. ^ 'The Top Box Office Hits of 1953', Variety, January 13, 1954.
  5. ^ a b Pickup on South Street at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films.