Pickup on South Street

artofescape — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 06:01:15 +0000

I guess it’s film noir week. When I returned Out of the Past to the library I found Sam Fuller’s Pickup on South Street waiting on the shelf. I hadn’t heard of this film before, but had seen a couple of Fuller’s later ones, Shock Corridor and The Naked Kiss. I loved both, having slotted them, and Fuller, into the over-the-top (not a bad thing) B category. Pickup on South Street, however, is a class A film noir. It’s unusual and fascinating to see the 1950s from a grittier angle in this film where “The Reds” take the part of the ultimate evil, leaving everybody else–cops, federal agents, petty criminals and stoolpigeons–on equal footing. The protagonists, a washed-up pickpocket and a girl who’s really been around, are damn sexy too. I’ll be looking out for more Sam Fuller movies in the future.

Out of the Past

artofescape — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:25:50 +0000

I watched Out of the Past again a couple of days ago on dvd; the first time I saw it was on the big screen at Pacific Cinematheque during a Film Noir retrospective last summer. This film is one of my favourite Noires. The multiple location switches remind me of what I like about Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (another favourite film) and James Bond films. Robert Mitchum is extremely cool (and hot) as the man with a past on the run. Like Mitchum, Jane Greer’s character is magnetic and mysterious. She’s in the same boat, but unlike Mitchum, her heart is pure evil–she can’t help her actions, or change her own fate. I noticed the similarity of David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence, in the overall story and some of the scenes, including the diner scene.

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Pickup on South Street

Out of the Past