Reviews of Pickup on South Street
Displaying all 2 reviews
Howard Fritzson
11Sep09
The main reason I watch this film is for Thelma Ritter. I am not really a Sam Fuller fan, but this film works for me. In part because it has a craftsmanship and control that you don’t find in all of his films. Mainly, it has to do with Ritter. She was probably the greatest character actress of her day. When she had the right material (All About Eve, Rear Window, The Model And The Marriage Broker, The Mating Game) she was a fresh breath of real life. I never saw the original TV version of The Catered Affair, but I can imagine that she was light years better and truer than (the great) Bette Davis in the mother’s role.
Maicol Andrés Ordoñez
24May09
Sam Fuller’s intensity and craftsmanship expose the very principles of storytelling – story is as he says it is, “pure emotion.” The plot is as useful as the cops, they’re there to provide boundaries. It’s the uncontrolled love, violence, and emotions that punch up Fuller’s admiration for his gang of petty criminals that capture our minds. This is why hardboiled stories done the right way are so effective – we know the genre backwards and forwards so we follow it along the way we do a road in our own neighborhood and the surprises are in life’s details.
Fuller’s raw style of storytelling and emotions are a revelation to me. I understand why so many of my favorite artists were inspired by his work. From the interviews I’ve seen there is an intensity in Fuller that comes through in his work. He is a craftsman and an artist, but a craftsman first.
- Currently 4.0/5 Stars.