samuel fuller be hardly one of america great director . i be not sure he qualify a one of hollywood great craftsman . but he certainly rank up there with the best of hollywood true professional who be willing to march to their own music . during the time he work for hollywood studio and he know how to take an assignment and shape the middling material hand to him and then turn it quickly and efficiently into something usually good than it part . on time and on budget . pickup on south street be a case in point . on the surface it one more of hollywood early fifty anti commie movie and complete with appeal to patriotism and a hard boil hero and a slimy ( and copiously perspire ) bad guy . fuller turn this bag of hollywood clichés into a taut and exciting drama with any number of off kilter twist . the hero and skip mccoy and be a three time loser and a petty crook with soft finger who doesn not change his stripe until the very end . the girl in the caper and candy and have a level of virtue that would be easy to step over if youre so inclined . one of the most appealing character and moe williams and be a stoolie . and in an unusual approach to hollywood battle against commie and the appeal to patriotism fall on deaf ear while the hero isn not motivate by anything so ennoble . he just want payback for a personal reason and and wind up become . at least for now . a good guy . plus and all the actor be mostly assign to fuller by the studio . he have to make do . richard widmark by now have establish his presence a an actor and star and but jean peter be a surprise . she give a fine portrait of a woman sexy and dumb and and no good than her boy friend . or her client . want her to be . and richard kiley and who later would become a two time tony award win star on broadway and be convincingly slippery and cowardly . it hard to remember that he be the actor who inflict on u and i mean introduce to u and the impossible dream from man of la mancha and more than anything else and this tale of a pickpocket who pick a purse in a subway car and find himself with microfilm secret instead of cash and pursue by the fed and the commie and move straight ahead with great economy . the whole enterprise and with a classic noir look and only take 80 minute to tell . the dialogue and with fuller a screenwriter and have that party corny and partly pungent hard boil pulp fiction style . that muffin you grifted . she okay and one character say to skip about candy . fuller move u just fast enough from scene to scene to keep u hang on what will come next . then fuller throw in the character of moe williams . all of a sudden the story ratchet up to a whole new level of interest and part comedy relief and part sad inevitability . the thing i like best about the movie be how the opening exemplify fuller talent and strength . in 2 minute and 15 second and start right after the credit and fuller be able to instantly power up the movie and to establish for u what the story be about and and to show u what kind of character skip and candy be go to be involve with . and he do this with so much entice curiosity in that hot and packed subway car that we can just about feel fuller set the hook to catch u . say glenn erickson and in my opinion one of the best of movie critic and in what should be an inconsequential story and sam fuller define his peculiar view of americanism from the bottom up represent stiff neck and aggressive self interest that when fully express recognize what wrong and what right and isn not afraid to fight for it . a always in his work and the individual who fight the hard for their country be the one least likely to benefit from the effort . he right and and it make for a movie still vivid after 55 year .