User reviews

The reviewer who said "Citizen Kane it ain't" got it right. This is lowbrow stuff to be sure, but for what it is, Haas demonstrates a surprisingly keen eye for both dialogue and characterization, two things supremely lacking in the cheaper and lesser BAIT produced a few years later. Best of all, this is a highly entertaining ride, with a solid and credible performance by Haas as the pigeon who all but begs for a plucking until he sees the light (or rather hears the dark) when he overhears the plotting and venomous bile directed at him by his conniving and venal wife, who believes him to be deaf.

Trumping all however is the bravura dominatrixesque performance of Ms. Michaels as the throaty pointy-bra'ed femme fatale. Here's one of the few broads I've ever come across who might be able to actually compete with Ann Savage's mouthy and devouring DETOUR chippie for supremacy over a castrated male race. And leave the male species begging for more.

Also in the movie's favor is a reasonably tight storyline which features some nice twists and reveals with great gusto the true depths of treachery to which Michaels gleefully stoops to get her $7300 out of Haas. Again, this isn't DOUBLE INDEMNITY and it certainly isn't Shakespeare but it's charmingly pulpy and has an agreeably creamy evil nougat centre.

Czechoslovakia-born Hugo Haas does a fantastic job of directing, writing the screenplay and enacting the main part in PICKUP. He certainly deserves top marks for that tripartite effort.

He is helped by excellent cinematography from Paul Ivano, sharp editing from WL Bagier, and a convincingly dissolute performance from beautiful, lanky, brooding Beverley Michaels. Howland Chamberlain also does well as the down and out intellectual who steals books from the town library and keeps quoting from them. He is the Jiminy Cricket, the conscience everyone finds irrelevant - even Jan Horak, who fails to listen to the intellectual's advice to get a dog at the beginning of the fim.

Instead, Horak (Haas) gets himself a beautiful wife who is clearly a gold digger, sleeps in different quarters - you get the feeling that there is no sex in that relation - and starts cheating the moment handsome Allan Nixon turns up.

Jan Horak's temporary deafness is exceedingly well exploited. Haas' acting is sublime throughout, the highest point being when he hears wife and lover plotting against him, and he laughs with tears streaming down.

This B pic borrows a little bit from Germany's DER BLAUE ENGEL (1931), in which an older man falls for a much younger and uncaring Marlene Dietrich, and from THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE (US 1944), but it diversifies the story lines completely and it holds its own without ever coming into plagiarism territory. PICKUP should earn Hugo Haas a far better reputation than it did while he was alive. In the late 50s, early 60s some rated him the foreign Ed Wood in Hollywood, which was unfair and insulting in the extreme.

I enjoyed it very much and wholeheartedly recommend it. 8/10.

Citizen Kane it ain't, but Pickup isn't nearly as bad as one might think. Actor-director Hugo Haas deserves better, and I hope I can help the poor man (long departed) out. Haas,--no, I won't go into his career and background--let's just say the man had the reputation for being an okay actor, but as a director he was considered a sort of Central European version of Ed Wood. Pickup is about an older man, played by Haas, whose life is made a wreck of and nearly ruined by a toothy, gum-checking but withal irresistible blonde, portrayed by the unforgettable Beverly Michaels. The girl is, to be as genteel as possible, a worthless tramp, and nasty and stupid in the bargain. She plays with her adoring and naive lover like a cat with a mouse, and has an affair with a much younger man on the side. Amazingly, no one is murdered in the course of this film, which is actually at times quite sweet. Look, every novelist cannot write The Brothers Karamazov and every composer cannot write the Eroica, so why put down poor Mr. Haas whose only sin as an artist that I can tell is that is that he isn't Orson Welles. The man had a heart and soul, and this comes through in many scenes. He understands cruelty, too, and the woman in this film is, for all the melodrama, a not innacurate portrait of a certain kind of low-down broad who, if one were to show her videotapes of her inflicting her standard dose of pain on whoever the poor dope fool enough to get involved with her at the moment is, would shrug, light a cigarette and say, "Well, he was asking for it, wasn't he?". I'm not too sure about the character Mr. Haas plays in this film, but there is a kernel of truth in the mean little tale he tells; tacky though it may be, there's life in it nonetheless, which is good enough for me.

"Pickup" is the best kind of film noir. Cheap, tawdry, lurid, and funny, all at the same time.

This film has obtained cult status for being such a good bad movie, but I didn't think it was even bad. It's quite good actually, not least because it knows just how seriously to take itself, which isn't much. Hugo Haas is a very winning presence as the film's beleaguered protagonist, a kind of poor man's Frank Morgan. But the film's best asset is undeniably Beverly Michaels as the towering, glowering femme fatale. Wait till you get a load of this broad and her way of disdainfully tossing off a one liner. I still can't decide whether or not Michaels was a terribly bad actress in a phenomenally entertaining way, or whether she plays this role brilliantly. All I know is that she had me rolling with practically every line she delivered, and the film's final line perfectly sums up the audience's feelings about her by the time this film wraps up.

I saw "Pickup" as part of a noir festival, and it probably made a huge difference to see it with a live audience who was totally into it.

Grade: A

Hugo Haas had a fascinating life - a top actor in his native Czech Republic, he lost everything when the Nazis took over. He escaped just in time but he lost many relatives in the concentration camps. Coming to America, he established himself as a working character actor throughout the 1940s but in the early 50s Haas started making films himself - they usually were looked down upon by the critics of the day but a few did very good box office - like PICK UP. The film is now regarded as a terrific little noir and Haas is good as well as the femme fatale Beverly Michaels. If you enjoyed PICK UP, check out some of Haas' other films THE GIRL ON THE BRIDGE, BAIT, THE OTHER WOMAN, HIT & RUN, HOLD BACK TOMORROW, etc. Yes, they are low budget but they are always interesting and filled with good performances.

Hugo Haas is in charge of a tank stop on the railroad. When he brings Beverly Michaels home, she gets a look at his bank book and decides to marry him. It's tough, out in the middle of nowhere, but there's young Allan Nixon whom she captivates. Meanwhile she urges Haas to claim some disability so he can retire with the cash and a pension and they can get away. Then Haas has an accident while surveying the tracks, and loses his hearing. Miss Michaels grows wilder; when another accident restores his hearing, before he can tell her, he hears her slanging him and pretends to still be deaf, while Miss Michaels urges Nixon to kill him.

Haas' first American movie as writer/director/producer was done on a tiny budget, and then sold to Columbia for distribution at a handsome profit. Although it looks like it was based on THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE Twice with a Tobacco Road air, it's actually based on a Czech novel. It's film noir at its cheapest and most tawdry, and glories in its filth, with Miss Michaels giving a fine performance. Haas would do the same thing almost a score of times through 1962. He would die in 1968 at the age of 67.

It's pretty difficult to dismiss Haas as an 'sleazy, murky old guy' or 'The Bad Director' in his exile days (read US, later). He's trying hard and the pictures do have some bright moments, when you feel like as if it was a serious drama, or when you laugh hard. The problem is -- for some people -- that you get both in one package and that you might laugh at places where it wasn't intended. But I enjoyed this picture -- and I am not saying this only because of my hurt national pride or something.

(1951) Pickup DRAMA

Adapted from the novel "Watchman 47" by Josef Kopta produced, written, directed and starring Hugo Haas. He plays somewhat overweight and older train track maintenance man, Jan "Hunky" Horak. His workplace also happens to be his place of residence as well as he lets in a familiar friend nickname the "Professor" (Howland Chamberlain) to serve himself some coffee. The Professor then informs Hunky that puppies are for sale at the state fair, after learning Hunky has just lost his dog. A new employee, Steve Kowalski (Allan Nixon) then shows up to take his place for awhile, while Husky visits the county fair to possibly fetch himself a new puppy. While there, we find out Husky is tight with his money, arguing over the price with the person selling it to him, and it is not long before he is taken in by a young gold digger, Betty (Beverly Michaels) after seeing her riding on a carousal with her best friend. Betty assumes he has money despite him not her type and she bets her friend, she can get Hunky to pay for her meal. It was not long before Hunky pays for everything. By the time Hunky drives her to his place of residence, while he goes out to get something for the coffee, she then takes the opportunity to snoop around and take a look at his bank account. By the time she is driven back into town with Steve, she then finds out her and her friend are being evicted with three month back rent owing. The next scene then showcases both older Husky and young gold digger, Betty married, sleeping in separate beds with Husky attempting to show Betty what he does for a living. It was at this point is when Husky loses his hearing. As the doctor could not figure out how to regain his hearing back, it was as soon as he was heading back to town and was almost hit by another vehicle is when his hearing came back. The intended crime is when Betty professes Husky her actual reason why she was with him in the first place, and tries to manipulate Steve involve into murder.

What I liked about "Pickup" is the fact that just when you think something terrible was going to happen, which would have made the entire experience routine and expected- it doesn't. Making the entire theatrical experience much more humanly easy to identify.

Liked it a lot better than the previous Hugo Haas offering on Noir Alley, "Hit And Run". I agree with Eddie Muller that the light hearted, but not syrupy, ending to a fairly dark film is most welcome. It is also not easy to pull off without becoming jarringly discordant, but Haas manages it quite well. I also agree with Eddie that it is good, for a change, to see the femme fatale get away with her misdeeds... and flip Howland Chamberlain the raspberry in the process. Don't know how Haas managed to slip this by the censors. Maybe they did not deign to view such poverty row, B picture stuff all that acutely. In any case, it's refreshing. Give it a B minus and it would have been higher if Beverly Michaels weren't such a mediocre actress. Her range goes from sneering to snarling and back again to sneering. Or maybe that's just how Haas and his co scenarist, Arnold Phillips, wrote her character. And her paramour, Alan Nixon, is not a whole lot better! All of which shows to go you that in el cheapo productions like this the first casualty is usually the acting.

PS...An exception to the general "meh-ness" of the performers is Chamberlain who is sadly likable as a vag who steals books to read them. A most eccentric concept. This guy probably would have been one of Hollywood's best character actors had it not been for old man Blacklist.

The set-up is the same as in "The postman always calls twice", but Beverly Michaels is no Lana Turner. She is much worse, much cheaper and much more vulgar but at the same enticingly prettier and more taunting. You will hate her but at the same time adore her splendid vulgarity. Hugo Haas is the poor old service man who is stupid enough to marry her without suspecting the consequences. Allan Nixon is the young man who becomes her second prey, but as he cannot fulfil her desires he is actually saved. The most interesting part is Hugo Haas' spells of losing his hearing, which forms a vital part of the drama. It is not a very remarkable film but very good of its kind, having had no ambitions for any masterpiece, but it should go along well together with "Detour".

Jan "Hunky" Horak (Hugo Haas) is a lonely railroad dispatcher who lives in a remote post. He is paired with much younger co-worker Steve (Allan Nixon). Local flirt Betty (Beverly Michaels) tries to con a free lunch from him, but he's not interested initially. She finds his bank balance with $7300. She performs her magic on him and marries him. She is also starting something else with Steve. Out of the blue, he loses his hearing. After getting hit by a car, his hearing returns and he is shocked by what he hears at home.

This has a really good premise. If this movie has more daring, it would keep the affair a secret and turn the sound off during the section with Jan losing his hearing. I would also keep him from talking after going deaf. Deaf people have trouble speaking normally. Jan cannot speak with his normal voice. After awhile, it becomes unlikely that anybody wouldn't notice the flirtations and the illicit couple cannot still believe in his deafness.

A film noir from 1951 coming from the lurid hands of Hugo Haas who co-wrote, directed as well as gave himself the plum lead. Haas works at a train depot living on site at a small cozy shack w/his only companions a co-worker, played by Allan Nixon, & a learned hobo, Howland Chamberlain. When Haas' dog passes he decides to go into town & get a new pup where a carnival is in full swing. Meanwhile a femme fatale on the make, played by Beverly Michaels, crosses paths w/Haas where she plies her feminine wiles which he is more than receptive to. When Michaels & her best bud are kicked out from their apartment (since they owe back rent), Michaels makes up her mind to marry Haas, which she does, hoping to ride the rails (sorry!) into an easy life. An opportunity arises however when Haas loses his hearing (something his doctor feels is psycho-somatic) so Michaels, who has been hooking up w/Nixon, concocts a plan to off Haas to collect on a promised pension which doesn't go as smoothly as they want when Haas' hearing comes back & he's on to them. Taking many pages from James M. Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice Haas has wisely inverted the tale to focus on the patsy rather than the players who prey on him (seen in the original 1946 version as well as the remake from 1981) w/Haas putting out something that could've been more salacious, since his output was generally B movie drive-in fare made on the cheap, but ends up being more honorable then one is led to believe.

This Hugo Haas vehicle about a middle-aged railroad worker and a young woman who is attractive on the outside, but pure lowlife on the inside has elements of several better films, like The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity, and even Blue Angel. But this film never achieves anywhere near the status of those classics. I loved Beverly Michaels as the heavy, and it is a shame she did not make more significant films. But Hugo Haas was never more than a minor B actor, although he does a good job in this role. The film is intriguing in some spots and lifeless in others, so it gets the rating that can't make up its mind; a five.

Writer-Actor-Director Hugo Haas, Another Euro-Emigre that Found Opportunities in "The Land of the Free", and with Hard-Work and Talented Determination Discovered a Niche in 30's Hollywood.

As a Frequent Supporting-Comedian in Many Movies.

But Haas, had an Innate Creative Force to do More with HIs Gifts.

He Started a Long Up-Hill Climb in the "Hollywood System", to Make Films of His Own Choosing.

It Could be Analogized, and has, that His "Battle" in the Brutal Cut-Throat, Meat-Grinding "War" with the Studio-System to Get Successfully and Artistically Respected Film to the Public.

Was Similar, to 2 other Iconic Film-Makers, From the Bottom-to-the-Top.

Edward D. Wood Jr......and......Orson Welles

In Fact, Before and After HIs Struggles, He was Often Put-Down and Criticized as "The "Foreign Ed Wood".

Dismissed by Almost Everyone as a "Poverty Row" Dispenser of Low-Brow, Lurid, and Tasteless Exploitation. A Smut-Peddler.

The Cleansing of Time, as More Accurate "Truths" Surface, with Hind-Sight and Objectivity. Hass has Gained a Cult-Following for His Trashy but "Bottom-Life", Entertaining Movies.

"Pickup" is a Prime Example of What Hugo Hass was able to Accomplish. It Falls, Firmly and Solidly in the Film-Noir Lexicon. No Easy Feat.

Despite the Film-Noir Genre, Sometimes being an Open-Door Pretension for Anyone Wanting to Add a Phony "Prestige", or just to Make-Money off the Movie Marketing Magnet ("Film-Noir").

The Pushy Link and Inclusion into the Unique and Glorious Genre.

It's Become so Bad that Almost any Black & White Movie Made in the 40's and 50's, that isn't a Comedy or a Musical, has the Label "Brazened" Next to the Title.

This is the "Raw-Deal", in the B-Sub-Category, with the Only Beat that is Slightly Non-Pure-Noir is the Last 1 Minute of Happiness by way of "Man's Best Friend"

Hugo Haas had "Help" with Regards to "Pickup" and its New Respect and Discovery as a "Hidden-Gem" within Film-Noir Circles, and its Massive Movie Consuming Fan-Base.

That would be the 5'9", Blonde Bombshell with ATTITUDE, Beverly Michaels.

A "Fellow Traveler", with Haas, in the World of B-Movie-Making. That's where She Lurked and Made Her "Mark".

So it was Like a Synchronicity. Each Using Their "Gifts" to Infuse this No-Budget, Nasty Little Film into the Consciousness of Connoisseurs of Off-Beat-Bottom-of-the- Bill, Drive-In, Grind-House "Respectability".

She, along with the Writer-Director Haas, who also Stars with Beverly and Bring Their Characters to the Screen with Undeniable Attraction.

Playing the Stock Noir Antagonist-Protagonist with a Classic Fit into this Tawdry Tale of Life on the Dark-Fringes.

Beverly Michaels was Not a Gifted Actress, but She Made Up for it with Her Model Good-Looks,Unbridled Sex-Appeal and an Unstoppable Femme-Fatale Formula.

That of a Dominating Dame, Unscrupulous, and Willing to Stop at Nothing, Including Sex-for Favors and Manipulation, and, Yes, even Murder.

This is a Must-See for Anyone with the Slightest Interest in Low-Budget Movies, Film-Noir, or Pop-Culture and its Primitive-Side.

Note...Since its spontaneous and simply unpredictable explosion of a new-art-form in the early to mid-40's, film-noir has had a difficult history in terms of "Definitive" Definitions and just what is and what is NOT..."Film-Noir". If you are at all interested in diving into the "Rabbit-Hole" of this fascinating film genre...go without hesitation to the works of "Eddie Muller" who is so informative and active in studying Film-Noir that fans have Crowned Eddie Muller..."The Czar of Noir"...just do a search and the "Rabbit Hole" will open like a "Black puddle forming at your feet, and you can just like "Marlowe" after being drugged... "Dive right In".