Pickup (Hugo Haas; Columbia] introduces Hollywood's most promising new moviemaker since Producer Stanley (Champion) Kramer. The film, a simple drama with a high entertainment return on the $83,000 it cost to make, was produced, directed and co-scripted by Czech-born Hugo Haas, 49, who also plays the leading role.
Sharp-sighted moviegoers may recognize Moviemaker Haas as a minor character actor who has specialized in heavies and buffoons (King Solomon's Mines, The Princess and the Pirate). In his U.S. debut as a cinematic Jack-of-all-trades, he uses a small cast of faces even less familiar than...