Forgot this old movie was black and white. Ejected after 15 minutes, just could not hold my interest. Good to see Richard Widmark.

Strong performances. Effective long takes; rapid editing spoils most modern films. See the film BEFORE reading other comments.

Though this film noir is a little dated, lacking narrative depth and polish, it's still an intriguing watch with an ominous microfilm macguffin. Richard Widmark shows up with another solid character performance.

i think the film is excellent its got everything a films needs to keep you watching it

I don't think this is really film noir, but it is excellent Sam Fuller which means it is an excellent film. Fuller was always pushing at boundaries and it can be a little artificial, BUT that also helps make it art when it's done as well as Fuller does it. One of the extras on the disc is an interview with Fuller that is not to be missed, and a good segment of Fuller on French tv.

I've seen two of director Samuel Fuller's early '60s films; "The Shock Corridor", and "The Naked Kiss". Both are pretty heavy films, and somewhat bizarre. *Definitely* worth the time, though. The man pushed the envelope, as is the case here. This is a top shelf '50s film noir, with some sizzling romance, intense suspense, brutal beatings, and quality talent in the lineup. I love Thelma Ritter; more so every time I see her. She was a tough little broad from Brooklyn, and a damn fine actress. It felt like the part of 'Moe' was written just for her. Jean Peters, as 'Candy' here (appropriate) was on fire -- an extremely sexy woman. And Richard Widmark was just spot-on as the wise@ss sneak-thief 'Skip'. An outstanding finale involving he and Richard Kiley. I'll be sure to return to this one in the future. FIVE STARS.

Due to its excessive brutality and sadistic beatings (especially the rough slapping around of pretty Candy), this somewhat dull-edged and disappointing Crime/Thriller from 1953 ran into a lot of serious flak from the censors prior to its initial release._____ And, because this film's theme dealt directly with Communist espionage on American turf, FBI agent J. Edgar Hoover even got into the act and complained directly to Darryl F. Zanuck (then head of 20th Century Fox) about the unpatriotic attitude of Richard Widmark's lippy character and his "Are you waving the flag at me?" line._____ Of course (as you can well-imagine), all of this silly attention that was stirred up prior to "Pickup's" release did absolute wonders as a marketing ploy and, thus, sold it, big time, to the curious movie-going public._____ Filmed in b&w, this somewhat entertaining Crime/Drama about a pickpocket who inadvertantly acquires top secret microfilm, and becomes a target for espionage agents, has a running time of only 80 minutes. Directed by Samuel Fuller, its cast includes Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, and Richard Kiley.

An antidote to 1950s Red Scare films. A smart-mouth, low rent (he lives in a bait shack, in New York!) pickpocket takes on the feds and commie agents, and wins. Pickup has two of the hottest scenes in Production Code cinema. Let's say the man knows his way around a lady's purse.