Intriguing look at the politics of the day. The creme of "B" movies.

Pickpockets vs. Commies. Really? REALLY?

Being a pickpocket is okay as long as you're not a commie. Widmark is a let down, playing a devious thief who gets redemption and our sympathy for not being a Red and finding love in an unnecessary subplot.

A very cool film about a bunch of lowlifes, made crazier by its rabid anti-Communism. It makes pickpocketing as exciting as sex, and give Thelma Ritter the most memorable and moving screen exit of her career.

This is a stupid stupid movie.

717

Mostly great.

Speedy, entertaining noir with some great camera work.

Hammy acting and terrible character development (Oh, I've just met you, and now I love you!!! Love you enough to take a bullet for you.....after one day) Sheesh

#686

needs a rewatch

Very good - brief, well-shot, entertaining, great acting. Not sure it met my high expectations, but a fun time.

An entertaining, quick noir movie that boils a nice simmering tension. It really picks up once the violence starts and the final fight scene is the tits. Thelma Ritter is fantastic. I had to dock a couple of points for the unnecessary romantic subplot, but it's good stuff all the rest of the way.

# 759

Wonderful picture of some dodgy characters. Widmark, Peters and Ritter are none of them horrible, but none of them middle-class honest. The picture tells us their stories. Sure, there's a story about communist spies, but it's unimportant. None of them really cares much about reds; Thelma Ritter's Mo says she doesn't like them, but that's all. And, after all, she gets the most sentimental scene, her death, which is all about not getting the burial she wants, but accepting that.

Not a brilliant story, but an excellent director's effort.

Engaging and exciting from beginning to end with surprisingly wellrounded charactors for a B-movie noir. Better than a lot of the more prestigious movies in this genre.

A good crime movie. But it lacks something to be a great movie.

The hard-boiled dialogue, the grittiness, the beautiful cinematography, the memorable performances by Widmark, Ritter, Peters, Kiley... heck, everyone. There's a lot of wonderful moments and touches. Ritter's final scene is absolutely brilliant, one of the poignant and touching scenes I've ever seen in a noir. I also love the structure of the bookending the film with pickpockets... it takes one to spin everything into chaos and another to set everything right again. A true classic.

For a movie that's less than 80 minutes, this moves pretty slowly. I was expecting something much more frenzied and energetic, so my score might reflect a bias, but I wasn't drawn into this.

Over-looked in style, substance and class; Pickup is as much about reds as it is about red-herrings, and the only one who seems to get it is a jump, hop and a Skip away from the big time.

Amazing! How Fuller's invigoration of the studio picture was overlooked until the French New Wave is a persistent mystery.

I love Richard Widmark, but I hated the heavy-handed fear-mongering about Communism and the completely unsatisfying ending.

Tight, tense and very stylish, this essential noir maintains a brisk pace throughout its short running time. Fuller intersperses the coldness of the usual dark themes with well-handled emotional moments and treats the interesting characters to many great close-ups. Between this and 'Shock Corridor', he is an exciting discovery and might just become one of my favorite directors. I can't wait to check out more of his films.