Synopsis
The two most memorable characters the West can never forget!
Broke and in debt, an otherwise honest cowboy and his buddy get mixed up in some shady dealings with a crooked cattle dealer.
1972 Directed by Stuart Rosenberg
Broke and in debt, an otherwise honest cowboy and his buddy get mixed up in some shady dealings with a crooked cattle dealer.
Zwei glücklose Cowboys, Zwei glücklose Halunken, Pocket Money - Zwei Haudegen auf Achse, Los indeseables, Per una manciata di soldi, Les Indésirables, Джобни пари, Zwei Haudegen auf Achse, Meu Nome é Jim Kane, 포켓 머니, Карманные деньги, ჯიბის ფული, 两条牛仔龙, Lännen kovanaamat
Disillusionment In Sun-Drenched 1970s American New Wave Cinema: A Watching Brief
So I sat here at the end of Pocket Money thinking to myself, "I'm not sure how you could end up making a film with both Paul Newman AND Lee Marvin in it almost a bit boring and pointless".
Then I noticed something very telling in the end credits that I was unaware of.
"Written by Terry Malick"
Then everything made sense again.
1972 In Review - February
#4
Broke and in debt, an otherwise honest cowboy gets mixed up in some shady dealings with a crooked rancher.
How can a movie starring Paul Newman, Lee Marvin and Strother Martin be such a snooze fest?
Paul Newman stars as Jim Kane, a near-broke cowboy who is approached by a shady rancher (Strother Martin) to go into Mexico to buy him some cattle and bring it back. Though suspicious, Jim needs the money, so takes a chance and accepts the job. While there, he meets up with old friend Leonard (Lee Marvin) who is also in need of money, so they team up to collect the cattle, but their suspicions are confirmed when the…
'You just can't buy back a bad impression..' (Paul Newman as Jim Kane)
A quirky bare-bones contemporary Western, scripted by 'Terry' Malick, which has to do with bringing some cattle up from Mexico. The mechanics of the plot barely matter, though, as Stuart Rosenberg's film - the third of four he made with Newman - is really just a character study and an excuse for Paulie and his fellow wand'rin' star Lee Marvin to be lazy and amiable together, soaking up the sun, draining some liquor and chewing the cud.
Truth be told, not a lot happens and the pair are never as funny and clever as I would have liked but, still, this is a rather pleasing 'buddy-buddy' movie,…
Paul Newman-Lee Marvin buddy drifter comedy that is full of distinct 70s touches. Stuart Rosenberg direction is as calculated for effect but never moves much beyond hack work. The stars charm allows it to goes by. A reminder that New Hollywood was full of forgetable programmers like this one. Written by Terrence Malick.
The tag line for this film is
“The Two Most Memorable Characters The West Can Never Forget.”.
Well I’ve forgotten them already .
Considering this starred two of the most charismatic movie stars of all time it’s amazing how dull this film is .
Paul Newman plays Jim Kane , a man who is broke and in debt, an otherwise honest cowboy who gets mixed up in some shady dealings with a crooked rancher.
That might sound fun but it’s far from it .
It’s always great to watch Paul Newman and Lee Marvin but sadly they are just going through the motions and picking up their pay cheques .
The storyline is dull and because of that I found…
Years ago I spent the better part of a day in L.A. with Dwight Yoakam hanging out at his office inside the DGA building on Sunset. He loved this movie and talked about it at length. I don't love it as much as Dwight but his love made me love it more than I otherwise might. Considering the talent involved — two of the coolest actors ever, the director of Cool Hand Luke, writer "Terry" Malick — it's a disappointment. But there are worse ways to spend 100 minutes than hanging out with Paul and Lee in Mexico in 1972 as they try and fail to pull off a big time cattle deal or something like that.
Paul Newman made a choice to speak directly through his nose for this film and I do not respect it.
Laszlo Kovacs’ cinematography glows like a sunset onscreen, the photography throughout is beautifully illuminated. It’s actually the most positive characteristic that “Pocket Money” has to offer.
Sure, Newman and Marvin do there best to imbue their characters with some charisma, however, there’s nothing on the page to support their work. Nothing much to chew on. It's all an exercise in pure surface-level style.
Nothing like Paul Newman wearing only a towel around his waist to get you hot and flustered on an already hot Sunday evening! None of the jokes really worked for me but I appreciate Paul making a movie that isn't depressing as fuck for once in his life, and of course he was still really good even with nothing to work with. Also we can add this to the list of Paul Newman movies featuring homoerotic undertones so that's fun. It's honestly impossible for me to truly hate any movie that Paul is in but boy this one almost gave me a run for my money!
Egyszerre nagyon jó, hogy ennyi Paul Newman filmet láttam már, de közben ez azt is jelenti, hogy a legjobbakon már túl vagyok. Most valahogy mindig olyat találok, amiben valamilyen vicces akcentusa van, de a filmek sajnos annyira nem kötnek már le. A két Altmant pedig még nem láttam, de félek is tőlük picit.
Newman. Marvin. Malick. 70s. Soft Lighting. Country song with the title in the lyrics.
This was right up my street.
I think I understand what this movie was trying to accomplish. It hit just a few short years after "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," a film now legendary for its buddy chemistry between stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford. So hey, let's see if we can strike gold again.
Well, there's a reason why you've probably never heard of "Pocket Money." Newman is on board again here, this time paired with Lee Marvin. They're not outlaws on the run, but rather a couple of stumble-bums who have ventured down to (present-day) Mexico to buy some cattle. That's literally all that happens. Sure, they get ripped off, but everyone told Newman's character that's what would happen, so no surprises there.…