The Criterion Collection

Petty crook Skip McCoy (Richard Widmark) has his eyes fixed on a big score. When the cocky three-time convict picks the pocketbook of unsuspecting Candy (Jean Peters), he finds a haul bigger than he could have imagined: a strip of microfilm bearing confidential U.S. secrets. Tailed by manipulative Feds and the unwitting courier's Communist puppeteers, Skip and Candy find themselves in a precarious gambit that pits greed against redemption, Right versus Red, and passion against self-preservation. With its dazzling cast and director Samuel Fuller's signature raw energy and hard-boiled repartee, Pickup On South Street is a true film noir by one of America’s most passionate cinematic craftsmen.