The film revolves a recently-divorced woman who meets a mechanic who would introduce her to an aging cowboy where she falls for him where they all decide to capture wild horses for money. It is a film that has a simple premise though writer Arthur Miller has created something more complex with its characters as they all try to deal with the modern world around them as the days of the cowboys and horse wrangling waning. Miller’s screenplay is more of a study of people who all face uncertainty in the next stage of their lives with the stripper Roslyn (Marilyn Monroe) just getting her divorce as she laments over failure in her marriage as well as the idea of falling in love again. Helping her with her issues is her landlady Isabelle Steers (Thelma Ritter) as well as a mechanic/pilot in Guido (Eli Wallach) who is smitten by her as he would later meet her with his friend in the aging cowboy Gay Langland (Clark Gable). Roslyn and Gay hit it off as they both have dealt with a lot in their lives with the latter having been through relationships while is coping with changing times.
With an idea to capture wild horses as part of a business plan, Gay and Guido decide to get another cowboy in the rodeo rider Perce Howland (Montgomery Clift). Miller also explore the fragility of these characters with Perce being a man that has been in too many rodeos as he is struggling with his finances and takes Gay’s offer to do something. Even as he gets injured at the rodeo where he has a conversation with Roslyn about his own life as he is among the group of broken people that include Roslyn, Guido, and Gay as there is a scene where he calls out for his adult children who have left him after he told them he would be back. The film’s third act is about the capturing of wild horses including mustangs and stallions where Roslyn is taken aback by the cruelty of what the men must do as well as the aftermath yet what is more shocking is how many they find.
John Huston’s direction is exquisite in not just its setting of the American West but also this clash of the old ways and the modern world. Shot on location in and around Reno and Dayton, Nevada with locations in the deserts of the state, Huston uses a lot of wide and medium shots to capture the beauty of the deserts and small towns as it plays into a world that is changing though the traditions of the West such as rodeos and gatherings are still happening. Huston’s direction is often shown in certain places and locations where there is a sense of a modern world overshadowing the old world where Gay would first meet Roslyn at a diner with his dog while the unfinished house that Guido has where Gay would stay at times is set on the desert. Huston would also use close-ups for some scenes in the way characters would interact with one another while also knowing how to film a simple conversation in scenes such as Gay and Roslyn having breakfast or Perce and Roslyn conversing behind the bar. Huston also plays into the male gaze in how men look at Roslyn where there are moments where she does not seem to mind but during a scene where she is hitting a ball with a paddle tied to a string. A man slaps her ass causing some trouble where she is little troubled by it but still brushes it off.
Huston’s approach to shooting the desert and mountain landscapes of Nevada plays into the West that still has its magic but there is also a sense of loss in the land. Even as Guido uses his plane to find wild horses that include mustangs and stallions where he would find them running, Huston’s usage of aerial shots are gorgeous to play into the vastness of the West. For Roslyn, it is a world that she does not know about while learning about what they need to do to capture the horses, and the aftermath is upsetting. There is a great wide shot of her screaming in the desert over the way horses are treated while the men are more upset in how many they captured as it plays into the times and how the West is no longer what it used to be. It becomes something that Gay has trouble accepting where Huston creates a scene of Gay trying to assert his own power only to realize that the world is changing. Overall, Huston crafts a somber yet rapturous film about a former stripper, an aging cowboy, a pilot/mechanic, and a broken-down rodeo cowboy all trying to find the next phase in their lives in the modern world set in the West.
Cinematographer Russell Metty does brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white photography with its usage of natural and available lighting that captures the beauty of the landscape as well as the usage of low-key natural lighting for the scenes at night and in the morning. Editor George Tomasini does brilliant work with the editing as its usage of rhythmic cuts play into the elements of drama and suspense that occurs throughout the film as it is a major highlight of the film. Art directors Stephen B. Grimes and Bill Newberry, with set decorator Frank R. McKelvy, do excellent work with the look of Guido’s home that includes a section that has yet to be built as well as the saloon that all the characters go to during the rodeo. Costume supervisor Jean Louis does fantastic work with the dresses and clothes that Roslyn wears that includes jeans and a shirt when she is riding a horse in one scene as well as the dresses she wears in social engagements.
The special effects work of Cline Jones does terrific work with the scenes involving the rodeo and horse wrangling scenes to play into the sense of realism that happens in those moments. Sound recordists Charles Grenzbach, Philip Mitchell, and R.D. Cook do superb work with the sound as it plays into the way a location is presented whether it is in the quiet scenes in the deserts or the loud and raucous atmosphere of the rodeo. The film’s music by Alex North is incredible for its orchestral score with somber yet swelling string pieces for some of the dramatic moments and bombastic arrangements with its percussions and strings for the suspenseful scenes.
The film’s wonderful ensemble cast feature some notable small roles from Marietta Tree as a girlfriend of Gay he takes to the train station early in the film, Philip Mitchell as Isabelle’s ex-husband she sees at the rodeo, Rex Bell as an old cowboy staring at Roslyn’s ass, James Barton as an old cowboy hanging at the rodeo with his young grandson, Estelle Winwood as a church lady collecting money, and Kevin McCarthy as Roslyn’s ex-husband Raymond who only appears in one scene waiting for her at the courthouse. Thelma Ritter is excellent as Isabelle Steers as Roslyn’s landlady who had seen a lot in her life as she is also someone who does what she can to help Roslyn while often being the wisest person in the room as it an understated yet charming performance.
Eli Wallach is brilliant as Guido as a mechanic/pilot who is smitten by Roslyn as he hopes to give her a decent life as he must contend with Gay while also doing what he can to help Gay in capturing wild horses even though it is a job that is becoming more useless in these changing times. Montgomery Clift is brilliant as Perce Howland as a broken-down rodeo cowboy who is in financial dire straits as he agrees to help Gay and Guido in their job while lamenting over his own misfortunes and numerous injuries in the rodeo where he befriends Roslyn where he also deals with what he has to do in capturing wild horses where Clift shows a lot of conflict in his face as a man who had seen too much.
Finally, there is the duo of Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe in their final film performances in their respective roles as Gay Langland and Roslyn Taber. Gable’s performance is phenomenal as this aging cowboy is a man that is trying to find meaning in his old age while also being someone who seeks companionship in Roslyn as he also tries to assert his own masculinity in a world where his ideas of masculinity is becoming futile. Monroe’s performance as Roslyn is tremendous where Monroe displays a fragility and uncertainty of a woman who has been through too many bad relationships and a lack of a future as she is seeking meaning in her own life where she is fascinated by the men she meets while falling for Gay where Monroe has great chemistry with her co-stars as well as showcasing her own rage in a key dramatic moment as it is a career-defining performance from the actress.
The Misfits is an outstanding film by John Huston that features great performances from Eli Wallach, Thelma Ritter, and Montgomery Clift as well as spectacular final performances from Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe. Along with its gorgeous visuals, Alex North’s music score, and Arthur Miller’s gripping and somber screenplay. The film is a dramatic-western that is more about a world where people find themselves unable to adapt to changing times while trying to cope with what they do to live in that new world. In the end, The Misfits is a magnificent film by John Huston.
© thevoid99 2025
Based on the short story The Wisdom of Eve by Mary Orr, All About Eve is the story of an aging Broadway actress who takes in a fan only to become part of the woman’s life and her circle of friends. Written for the screen and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, the film is a study of ambition and fame where a young woman takes the place of her idol in every way only to create chaos around her. Starring Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlowe, Thelma Ritter, Gregory Ratoff, Marilyn Monroe, Barbara Bates, and Walter Hampden. All About Eve is a ravishing yet riveting film from Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
The film revolves around a young woman who is a fan of this revered Broadway actress as she would become her assistant and later her understudy who would later become a successful actress and usurp her idol. It’s a film that is a study of ambition and what a young woman would do to become successful where she becomes close to the woman she idolizes and then create chaos in that woman’s life. Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s screenplay explores the idea of ambition as it relates to the titular character of Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) and how she would become part of the life of the aging theatre actress Margo Channing (Bette Davis). Yet the story begins in an award ceremony for Harrington with Margo, her best friend Karen Richards (Celeste Holm), Richards’ husband/playwright Lloyd Richards (Hugh Marlowe), Margo’s lover/director Bill Sampson (Gary Merrill), and famed theatre critic Addison DeWitt (George Sanders).
Much of the film’s narrative is told from the perspective of Karen and Addison as they look back on the time they met Eve to her unexpected rise culminating with this award ceremony. Though Eve starts off as this innocent fan that Karen had seen almost every night during a theatre performance from Channing. It is through her first meeting with Channing that would play into this idea of who Eve is as she claims to have lost her husband in World War II and is from a poor background. Margo takes Eve as a second assistant which doesn’t sit well with her personal assistant Birdie (Thelma Ritter) who is suspicious about Eve as well as disliking her. Margo would also become annoyed by Eve’s presence as she asked producer Max Fabian (Gregory Ratoff) to hire her as his secretary only to end up being Eve’s understudy as a party at Margo’s home has Margo being overwhelmed with everyone else being entranced by Eve except for Birdie while Karen starts to feel bad for Eve.
The script’s narrative isn’t just this study of ambition as well as having elements of character study in Eve and Margo but also feature some dialogue that is fierce and biting. Even as it would play into the second act where Karen begins to realize the things that Eve is doing to Margo during a confrontation as there’s some language that is intense for its time along with connotations that is far more suggestive. It would play into a lot of the troubles and paranoia that Margo would endure upon Eve usurping her where Margo would choose to focus on something else. The film’s third act is about Eve and her rise but also the suspicions about who she is where DeWitt is someone that knows everything and has done a lot to play into Eve’s rise to stardom. Yet, the narrative would return to the film’s opening scene at the award ceremony with a more disturbing aftermath.
Mankiewicz’s direction is largely simple in terms of the compositions he creates where even though there aren’t a lot of wide shots for many of the film’s locations that is shot largely in various theatres and studios in San Francisco, New York City, Los Angeles, and New Haven, Connecticut. Mankiewicz does maintain that intimacy and theatricality into the performances and the usage of space inside the rooms. Even in how the atmosphere of the dressing room is whenever Margo just finished a performance as she is with Birdie, Karen, and Lloyd discussing the night’s performance where Mankiewicz presents all of them in a medium shot where even though Birdie is in the background at a bathroom. Mankiewicz does still put in the frame to play into her importance just as everyone else is talking to Eve. There are camera movements that would happen in the party although there are some close-ups that play into Margo’s own melancholia and growing jealousy towards Eve as she would be confused by Margo’s behavior in a conversation with other party goers.
Mankiewicz would also play into this drama that relates to a woman being aware that she is on her way out as she’s reaching her 40s and know she can’t stay young. Yet, she would eventually accept her fate despite feeling usurped and upstaged by Eve as the look of disdain she gives at the award ceremony in the film’s opening scene says a lot without doing much. The film’s third act that play into what DeWitt has discovered about Eve and what she is trying to do as it would lead to the image that DeWitt and Karen are narrating throughout the film where Eve is to receive this prestigious award. Yet, it would be followed by an aftermath about the realities of stardom where it is clear that it doesn’t last yet it’s about what one will do to survive and share the spotlight with someone else. Overall, Mankiewicz creates an evocative and majestic film about an aging actress dealing with a young fan who would become her understudy and later her rival.
Cinematographer Milton R. Krasner does brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white photography as it is largely straightforward for many of the interiors with its lighting as well as how the stage is lit for performances. Editor Barbara McLean does excellent work with the editing with its usage of freeze-frame to start the main narrative as well as some rhythmic cuts and a few transitional dissolves to structure the film. Art directors George W. Davis and Lyle R. Wheeler, with set decorators Thomas Little and Walter M. Scott, do amazing work with the look of the home that Margo lives in as well as the stage sets and some of the places the characters go to. Costume designers Edith Head and Charles LeMaire do incredible work with the clothes that the characters wearing including the gowns that Margo wears that is designed specifically by Head. The sound work of Thomas T. Moulton is terrific for its straightforward approach to sound including the restaurant sequence and scene set on the stage. The film’s music by Alfred Newman is superb for its soaring and bombastic orchestral score that play into the drama as well as moments that are melodramatic.
The film’s wonderful cast include some notable small roles from Barbara Bates as a fan of Eve in Phoebe, Walter Hampden as the award presenter, Gregory Ratoff as the somewhat gullible producer Max Fabian, and Marilyn Monroe as an aspiring actress named Miss Casswell. Thelma Ritter is superb as Birdie as Margo’s longtime assistant who is often honest about what needed to be said as she is one of the few early in the film that is suspicious about Eve as she is aware that her role in Margo’s life is about to be reduced.
Hugh Marlowe is terrific as Karen’s playwright husband Lloyd as a man who is trying to create great stories for Margo only to find himself attracted towards Eve much to the dismay of Karen as he becomes confused in his loyalty for Margo and his attraction for Eve. Gary Merrill is fantastic as Bill Sampson as a theatre director who is also being courted by Hollywood to make films as he is fascinated by Eve only to realize what Eve wants where he begins to think more about Margo whom he’s been in a relationship with. George Sanders is excellent as Addison DeWitt as a theatre critic who is someone that is close with Margo as he is interested in Eve only to do an interview that would further damage Eve and Margo’s relationship where it’s a low-key yet chilling performance of someone who has a lot of power to make or break someone.
Celeste Holm is brilliant as Lloyd’s wife Karen as Margo’s best friend who would introduce Eve to Margo where she is someone that meant well but notices the tension between the two where she later gets to know more about Eve that would eventually make her uneasy. Anne Baxter is amazing as Eve Harrington as a young woman who is a fan of Margo as she would become her assistant and later her understudy where she is someone that starts off as this innocent figure that is willing to learn yet there’s something about her that is far more intriguing and dark as it has the elements of someone being a total bitch. Finally, there’s Bette Davis in an incredible performance as Margo Channing as an aging theatre actress that is the embodiment of a star as she is a woman that is aware of getting older while dealing with Eve’s presence that would eventually annoy her as well as being someone that is accepting of her fate as she knows that she has a lot more to offer as it’s one of Davis’ finest performances.
All About Eve is a phenomenal film from Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Featuring a great cast led by Bette Davis and Anne Baxter, a compelling yet biting screenplay, amazing art direction, sumptuous music, and its study of ambition and stardom. It’s a film that is entertaining but also filled with characters who are fascinating but also flawed with some willing to accept their faults and others who aren’t aware of what is ahead for them. In the end, All About Eve is a spectacular film from Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
Joseph L. Mankiewicz Films: (Dragonwyck) - (Somewhere in the Night) - (The Late George Apley) - (The Ghost and Mrs. Muir) - (Escape (1948 film)) - (A Letter to Three Wives) - (House of Strangers) - (No Way Out (1950)) - (People Will Talk) - (5 Fingers) – Julius Caesar (1953 film) - (The Barefoot Contessa) - (Guys and Dolls) - (The Quiet American (1958)) - (Cleopatra (1963 film)) - (Carol for Another Christmas) - (The Honey Pot) - (There Was a Crooked Man…) - (Sleuth (1972 film))
© thevoid99 2019
Based on the short story It Had to Be Murder by Cornell Woolrich, Rear Window is the story of a man with a broken leg who sits in his apartment watching his neighbors from the building across from him where he sees a murder happening. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock and screenplay by John Michael Hayes, the film is a look into a man who observes everything around him while he is forced to watch from afar where something sinister is happening. Starring James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter, Wendell Corey, and Raymond Burr. Rear Window is an intoxicating and eerie film from Alfred Hitchcock.
Set in a New York City at an apartment complex in Greenwich Village, the film revolves around a photographer with a broken leg who observes the occupants at the apartment building from his rear window as he believes a murder has occurred. It’s a film that is about voyeurism but not in a creepy way as it’s more about a man’s curiosity of the world around him as he is stuck in a wheelchair with a broken leg that’s about to be fully healed in a week. Yet, he notices something is off as it relates to a neighbor living across the building from him as he turns to his girlfriend and a nurse for help as they realize that something isn’t right. John Michael Hayes’ screenplay is set mainly in this apartment area where the photographer L.B. “Jeff” Jeffries (James Stewart) is staying at where he would look out at his apartment window during a hot summer. There would be various individuals he would observe including a ballerina, a songwriter, a newlywed couple, a lonely woman, a couple with a dog, and a mysterious man with an ailing wife.
Jeffries would get frequent visits from his nurse Stella who works for an insurance company that pays for Jeffries’ work as a photographer as he had been injured on the job as she knows there’s trouble around. Also visiting Jeffries is his socialite girlfriend Lisa Fremont (Grace Kelly) who wants to marry him but he’s reluctant feeling she’s too perfect for him as she often arrives wearing fashionable and posh clothes as well as bring food that is expensive. The two women would eventually realize something isn’t right as well as notice a few things that are off including a flower bed as Jeffries even turn to his friend in the NYPD detective Tom Doyle (Wendell Corey) for help who isn’t sure that this man has done anything. Yet, a key event that other people from the building saw would force Jeffries to take matters into his own hands with help from Stella and Lisa.
Alfred Hitchcock’s direction is very stylish for the fact that it’s set entirely in this apartment complex in the middle of Greenwich Village where it never leaves that setting though it’s all mainly shot in a soundstage at Paramount Studios in Hollywood. Hitchcock’s usage of the wide shots have him capture what Jeffries is seeing from his window as there are some unique crane shots to capture ever occupant in the building and their activities. While Hitchcock would use some close-ups and medium shots in scenes at Jeffries’ apartment to play into his own life and the time he spends with Lisa. Hitchcock is more concerned with what Jeffries is seeing from his binoculars or his camera with a wide angle lens to get the scope of what is happening. Much of the film is shown from Jeffries’ point of view as there is never a close-up of the other residents except for the suspect in Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr) who is unaware that he’s being seen until the third act. The element of suspense of whether Thorwald is really a killer or doing something else just adds to the intrigue where Stella and Lisa would make plans to see what Thorwald is hiding as the latter would go into his apartment. It would then lead to the unveiling of what is happening with Jeffries being confronted for his voyeuristic tendencies. Overall, Hitchcock creates a thrilling and evocative film about a man possibly witnessing a murder from his window.
Cinematographer Robert Burks does brilliant work with the film’s gorgeous Technicolor cinematography from its approach to lighting some of the scenes at Jeffries’ home at night as well as the way the exteriors would look in day at night at the apartment courtyard. Editor George Tomasini does excellent work with the editing as it help play into the suspense with its approach to rhythmic cuts as well as other stylized cuts to help create that sense of intrigue and heightened drama. Art directors J. McMillan Johnson and Hal Pereira, along with set decorators Sam Comer and Ray Moyer, do incredible work with the design of the apartment buildings and backdrops behind the buildings as well as the room where Jeffries sees everything.
Costume designer Edith Head does fantastic work with the costumes from the gorgeous dresses that Lisa wears as well as the skimpy clothing of the ballerina. Sound recordists John Cope and Harry Lindgren do terrific work with the sound in creating that raucous atmosphere in the building as well as the screams and small noises that help play into the suspense. The film’s music by Franz Waxman is superb for its orchestral score that has moments that are serene as well as low-key moments to play into the suspense while the film also feature music that is played on location include a piece by Ross Bagdasarian who appears in the film as the lonely composer.
The film’s marvelous cast include some notable small roles from Ross Bagdasarian as the lonely composer, Judith Evelyn as a lonely middle-aged woman seeking companionship, Rand Harper and Havis Davenport as the newlywed couple who had moved in to the building, Frank Cady and Sara Berner as the couple with the dog, Irene Winston as Thorwald’s wife, and Georgine Darcy as the ballerina who is called Miss Torso. Wendell Corey is superb as Jeffries’ detective friend Tom Doyle as a man who would check on Jeffries' suspicions though he doesn’t think Thorwald has done anything without any real evidence. Raymond Burr is fantastic as Lars Thorwald as this mysterious man who is believed to be hiding something as he is also very secretive where he eventually realizes that Jeffries is watching him leading to a confrontation in the film’s climax.
Thelma Ritter is excellent as Stella as a nurse who watches over Jeffries in his recovery as she would notice little things from the window as she provides some of the best lines and commentary as well as be a comic relief of sorts for the film. Grace Kelly is amazing as Lisa Fremont as the socialite girlfriend of Jeffries who is trying to help him as well as deal with the fact that her life is too perfect for Jeffries as she would later prove to be a helpful ally for Jeffries when she also suspects Thorwald. Finally, there’s James Stewart in a brilliant performance as L.B. “Jeff” Jeffries as an injured photographer who looks out his apartment window to see his surroundings as he notices something is off as he believes a murdered has occurred where Stewart provides that sense of restraint and curiosity into his performance as it is one of finest performances of his career.
Rear Window is an outstanding film from Alfred Hitchcock that features great performances from James Stewart, Grace Kelly, and Thelma Ritter. Along with its dazzling production design, beautiful cinematography, and provocative ideas of voyeurism. It’s a film that explores the idea of a man seeing something he probably shouldn’t have seen and wonder if there’s something bad happening. In the end, Rear Window is a magnificent film from Alfred Hitchcock.
Alfred Hitchcock Films: (Number 13) - (The Pleasure Garden) - (The Blackguard) - (The Mountain Eagle) - (The Lodger) - (A Story of the London Fog) - (The Ring) - (Downhill) - (The Farmer’s Wife) - (Easy Virtue) - (Champagne) - (The Manxman) - (Blackmail) - (Juno and the Paycock) - (Murder!) - (The Skin Game) - (Mary) - (Lord Camber’s Ladies) - (Rich and Strange) - (Number Seventeen) - (Waltzes from Vienna) - (The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934 film)) - The 39 Steps - (Secret Agent) - (Sabotage) - (Young and Innocent) – The Lady Vanishes - (Jamaica Inn) – Rebecca – (Foreign Correspondent) – (Mr. & Mrs. Smith) – Suspicion - (Saboteur) – (Shadow of a Doubt) – Lifeboat - Bon Voyage - (Spellbound) – (Notorious) – (The Paradine Cage) – Rope - (Under Capricorn) – (Stage Fright) – Strangers on a Train - I Confess - Dial M for Murder - To Catch a Thief - (The Trouble with Harry) – The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 film) – (The Wrong Man) – Vertigo - North by Northwest - Psycho - The Birds - Marnie - (Torn Curtain) – (Topaz) – (Frenzy) – (Family Plot)
© thevoid99 2017
Written and directed by Samuel Fuller from a story by Dwight Taylor, Pickup on South Street is the story of a petty crook who steals a pocketbook from a woman that features secrets that are confidential by the U.S. government. The film is a noir-thriller set during the early years of the Cold War where a crook and a woman are caught in the middle of a chase involving Federal officers and Communist agents. Starring Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, and Thelma Ritter. Pickup on South Street is a riveting noir film from Samuel Fuller.
The film revolves around a pickpocket who steals a wallet from a woman’s purse unaware that it features an item that both the U.S. government and Communist spies want where he and the woman he stole from are in trouble. It’s a film that plays into the paranoia of Communism spreading into the U.S. yet writer/director Samuel Fuller would focus more on characters and their motivations rather than a lot of the political implications that occur. Especially as the pickpocket Skip McCoy (Richard Widmark) is just looking for money to steal as he wants nothing to do with Communism as he realizes that there is more at stake. While he is reluctant to trust Candy (Jean Peters) who wants the film back for her boyfriend, Skip wonders if Candy knew what she was carrying where she would eventually find out. The only person the two trust is an offbeat informer in Moe (Thelma Ritter) who works for little money but also is aware of what is right and wrong.
The film’s script is filled with some very stylish dialogue that plays into the world of film noir where there is a certain language in the way everyone talks. Even as it plays to everyone trying to outwit each other in order to get what they want. Yet, many of the characters in the film all want something but in the process realize that there’s a price to be paid where both Skip and Candy eventually decide to do what is right. One character that is key to the story is Moe as she is someone who knows about the ins and outs of the underworld but isn’t a total snitch as she would often steer people into the right path as she is also someone who is weary and has seen so much in her life.
Fuller’s direction is quite stylish not just in the way he plays into the visual language of film noir but also in the way he would subvert some of the expectations of the genre in favor of character study. Notably as Fuller would create some very intense yet intimate moments in the way Skip would do his pick pocketing where it’s all about timing and going for the move. It’s also a moment in the film where it is shown from different perspectives where there are men who are watching Skip as they’re tailing Candy. Fuller would take a break from the action where it is about speculation about whether Skip is a Communist while Candy who has very little clue about what she was supposed to do finds herself in a situation that makes her uncomfortable. The use of tight close-ups and medium shots would play into the drama that includes this chilling scene of a weary Moe facing a Communist agent. It would lead into Skip and Candy finding redemption as its climax does play to typical noir showdowns but one that manages to be fulfilling. Overall, Fuller creates a gripping yet very smart film about a pickpocket who uncovers a dark secret that could impact the world.
Cinematographer Joseph McDonald does brilliant work with the film‘s very stylized black-and-white photography with its noir-inspired interior shadings for scenes at night as well as some of the nighttime exterior lighting schemes. Editor Nick De Maggio does fantastic work with the editing with its rhythmic editing style to the pick pocketing scene as well as some of the dramatic moments where the editing is methodical to play into its suspense. Art directors Lyle Wheeler and George Patrick, with set decorator Al Orenbach, do excellent work with the look of the pier shack that Skip lives in to the quaint apartment of Moe.
Costume designer Travilla, with wardrobe supervisor Charles Le Maire, does nice work with the costumes from the stylish dresses that Candy wears to the suits the men wear. The sound work of Winston H. Leverett is superb for some of the sound effects that occur including some chilling moments inside the pier and in the locations the characters are in. The film’s music by Leigh Harline is wonderful for its thrilling orchestral score that features some elements of jazz as well as some somber pieces for the drama.
The film’s amazing cast includes some notable small roles from Willis Bouchey and Milburn Stone as a couple of government agents tailing Skip and Candy, Murvyn Vye as a police captain who doesn’t like Skip, and Richard Kiley in a very crucial and chilling performance as Candy’s boyfriend Joey. Thelma Ritter is phenomenal as Moe as this informant who doesn’t take shit from anyone while being the one person who is this unlikely conscious as she has this great monologue that is heartbreaking but also compelling about who she is. Jean Peters is superb as Candy as this woman who realizes what she has done as she tries to set things right while falling for Skip. Finally, there’s Richard Widmark in a marvelous performance as Skip McCoy as a pickpocket who deals with his discovery as he eventually realizes the trouble that is happening where he would try and do what is right.
Pickup on South Street is a phenomenal film from Samuel Fuller that features great performances from Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, and Thelma Ritter. The film is one of Fuller’s more seedy yet stylish films that showcase his dark take on film noir with a dose of captivating stories and characters. In the end, Pickup on South Street is a remarkable film from Samuel Fuller.
Samuel Fuller Films: I Shot Jesse James - The Baron of Arizona - The Steel Helmet - Fixed Bayonets! - Park Row - (Hell and High Water) - House of Bamboo - (China Gate) - Run of the Arrow - Forty Guns - Verboten! - The Crimson Kimono - Underworld U.S.A. - Merrill's Marauders - Shock Corridor - The Naked Kiss - (Shark!) - (Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street) - The Big Red One - White Dog - (Thieves After Dark) - (Street of No Return) - (The Madonna and the Dragon)
© thevoid99 2014
