

Pickup on South Street
How the law took a chance on a B-girl … and won!
In New York City, an insolent pickpocket, Skip McCoy, inadvertently sets off a chain of events when he targets ex-prostitute Candy and steals her wallet. Unaware that she has been making deliveries of highly classified information to the communists, Candy, who has been trailed by FBI agents for months in hopes of nabbing the spy ringleader, is sent by her ex-boyfriend, Joey, to find Skip and retrieve the valuable microfilm he now holds.
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7.4/10
335 votes
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- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $780K
- Box office
- —
- Language
- English
- pickpocket
- cold war
- film noir
- black and white
Top billed cast

















Behind the camera
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Release dates
United StatesUS
- Theatrical (limited)NR27 May 1953
- TheatricalNew York City, New York17 Jun 1953
CanadaCA
- TheatricalPG27 May 1953
FranceFR
- TheatricalU7 Apr 1961
NetherlandsNL
- Physical12DVD30 Aug 2005
Frequently asked questions
Pickup on South Street was released on 27 May 1953.
Audience reviews
2- J9/10
John Chard
6/25/2019
Forget the communist fervour and delve deeper. Skip McCoy is a three time loser pick pocket, unable to curb his instincts back on the street, he picks the purse of Candy on a subway train. What he doesn't realise is that Candy is carrying top secret microfilm, microfilm that is of high interest to many many organisations. Director Samuel Fuller has crafted an exceptional drama set amongst the seedy underworld …
- C7/10
CinemaSerf
6/21/2023
Richard Widmark is quite effective in this quickly paced espionage thriller. He's a petty thief whom we see lifting something from a woman's purse on a busy subway train. He's not the only one watching her, though, and as he makes his exit he narrowly avoids capture the police. Why are others watching this woman? Well it turns out that she is suspected of passing secrets to the communists and that the police reckon t…
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