Pickup on South Street in some ways feels like the polar opposite to the previous two films we've watched in class, Bicycle Thieves and Best Years of Our Lives. Both of those films were patient, character-driven stories where we grow to understand the challenges and lives of specific characters. Here, the film explicitly tells us that we are being thrown into the middle of a tangled web of events. Joey tells us (through Candy) early on that she owes him and that she is well-connected. It is clear that Joey's scheme with the film has been a long time in the works, though we don't know exactly what the scheme is until at least halfway through the movie. This is a film that is clearly a product of its time period, as the fear towards communists and intense patriotism of the time is readily apparent. The film is intentional in setting the atmosphere; from the opening scene in the subway, the bustle and chaos of New York feels like another character in the movie. I did feel like the dialogue and plot was much more misdirection than substance, and the lack of fully fleshed out characters contributed to it. We spend lots of time with Candy, but she didn't feel like a consistent character I could empathize with, because she is constantly oscillating between helpless and slyly playing Joey and Skip against each other. Skip was very interesting but could've been much more clearly characterized. I think the intention was to show him early on as a smooth operator pickpocket and later his willingness to put himself in danger to make things right and stop Joey show he's more than a selfish pickpocket, but we never get to understand his inner dialogue or emotions, so it's hard to relate to him either. The fast paced old school noir dialogue, especially with Tiger and Moe, was a lot of fun, and Moe was a great character. Ritter did a phenomenal job playing her, and her character was the only convincing balance between hustling and humanity. The big reveal that Joey is a communist could've hit harder had we known much about him, but as it was the plot felt like a straightforward crime movie that tried to throw a bunch of extraneous bits at you. I do find the choice to clearly put us into the middle of this plot rather than attempt to give us the full story from start to finish. I like the idea, but the way it was executed left me too removed from the characters. I like the way the city was used, the music in the film added tension and felt well ahead of its time, and the performances are good, but a fine plot and few convincing characters detracted for me.