Pickup on South Street (DVD)

Pickup on South Street (1953) starring Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter. Pickpocket named Skip McCoy (Widmark) accidentally comes into possession of top-secret microfilm when he robs courier named Candy (Peters). Once he realizes the value of what he's got, he becomes greedy. Then, when an informer named Moe (Ritter) is killed, things get really serious. The movie has an odd strain of patriotism running through it, with people frequently referring to other characters as "Commies." In the end, loyalty to America wins out over criminal motives. One has to wonder what effect the hearings of the House Un-American Activities Committee had on the plot of this film. The subtitles are good, but hard to read. Grade: B