Pickup on South Street (20th Century Fox, 1953). Filmed during the early days of the Cold War, this film noir thriller tells the story of a pickpocket (Richard Widmark) who picks the wrong pocket, and inadvertently finds himself on the wrong side of a Communist spy ring. Deeply atmospheric and highly charged, this is a rare Cold War film, in that it never gives in to overblown hysteria, but keeps the suspense very acute and very real.
