Pocket Money (1972)

Director Stuart Rosenberg's Pocket Money (1972) has a lot going for it: a stellar cast, acclaimed director and vibrant photography, but the one key ingredient it's missing is a good script. The premise and performances are solid but they unfortunately can't overcome the weak screenplay and the story just never really seems to go anywhere.The opening credits and intro to Pocket Money along with its beautifully sung title track by Carole King is promising but it loses steam quickly and one can't help but be dissappointed when it doesn't pan out and all but falls apart toward the end.The iconic Paul Newman stars Jim Kane, a Texas cowboy/horse-broker who earns his living buy selling horses to prestigious buyers and auctioneers. Coming off the heels of his latest horse transport trip from Arizona, his latest shipment of Appaloosa horses have been deemed as temporarily too sick for sale upon bloodwork inspection and are slapped into quarantine. This puts Jim in a bind seeing as how he's behind in payments of both his bank loan and alimony to his ex-wife. It will be six weeks before his horses are eligible to be removed from quarantine, during which he must quickly come up with some ----- you guessed it ----- 'pocket money'. We can all relate to this concept since it's something we can never have too much of.While staying at a motel out of town coming off his business trip, Jim is accosted and propositioned by a shady businessman (Strother Martin) who offers Jim $250 a head to deliver a large herd of cattle up from Mexico. Jim see's this as the chance he's been looking for and accepts the unscrupulous cattle baron's offer. From there, he's quickly off to Mexico where he elists the help of his good buddy Leonard (the equally iconic Lee Marvin in fine form) who's already there. Together they scheme and come up with all sorts of money-making ventures while attempting to get and deliver the herd, all the while encountering stumbling blocks of all kinds every step of the way.Paul Newman and Lee Marvin are both in top form and make for a great on-screen duo together, so it's only just too bad that they weren't given more of a story to showcase their good chemistry. The story just wanders a little too much, lacks direction and occasionally loses focus, although to be fair, the plot is less about the two main characters' exploits and endeavours than it is their friendship.The film's best scene arguably comes toward the end where Jim and Leonard discontentedly accost Strother Martin's character at his posh hotel feeling that they've been scheisted out of their cut. There's a funny exchange of dialogue and Jim ends up non-chalantly dropping a tv off of the balcony just to make a point. 'No Dignity' as the scene is titled on the disc's chapter selection. The rest of the film isn't terrible, just mediocre. The film finally meanders to a clumsy, inconclusive ending that just sort of peters out.The end result isn't an awful movie, but it has serious problems with focus and direction and in establishing a personality beyond Jim and Leonard. If nothing else, Pocket Money will be remembered for its one-time cinematic pairing of two dynamic actors (Newman and Marvin) in their prime and should provide a few chuckles here and there on a languid, Sunday afternoon. The real treat of the film for me is the self-titled number by Carole King ------ that song is so pretty and catchy!

I returned this DVD several weeks ago!!!

I rarely, and I mean rarely rate things about three stars but I don't what it is about Lee Marvin...maybe I have a man chrush on him or something but I just think is was one of our best actors and you fix him up with that other guy..what's his name and the result is electric. Even though Newman's accent is about as accurate as Fox News it still didn't deter the movie from being that bad. Yeah, I know the critics hated it but really, I bought it because Lee Marvin was in it and I remember seeing it when it first came out (the mists of time are slowly parting and I see...I see....) An enjoyable hour and a half and you really can't go wrong with Lee Marvin now, can you? Worth the money just to see Newman's atrocious accent. Come on, it was supposed to be a comedy!

Maybe I like this because it seems so dated in the 70's. Maybe I like it because of the awkward dialog that sometimes is painful to watch. Despite being filled with stars and featuring a really good song by Carole King, it comes off as low-budget. The characters are great - Newman plays an honest simpleton and Marvin's character seems suspiously like Kramer from Seinfeld (seriously, watch this and tell me Kramer didn't steal his act from him!) If nothing else, I like it because it reminds me of a simpler time.

This movie took a long time to make it out of the archives into the public probably because Lee Marvin steals the show. This is great acting by two veterans who play well against each other. After they've both made a complete mess out of everthing, Marvin's character turns to Newman's and says "Well you've always got me.". Priceless.

It was years since I saw this old movie. It was everything I remembered it to be, wonderful. Newman and Marvin are at their best in this dry humor romp about down and out cowboy entrepreneurs in Mexico. The story takes a while to get started but is well worth sticking with. Carol King provides the nostalgic Chiwa-wa-wa ("Pocket Money") theme for the entire movie. This is not a block-buster film, but a subtle understated, and all too human, adventure. If you're looking for shoot-em-up excitement go elsewhere. Pocket Money will put a lazy smile on your face.

Paul Newman reunited with the director of Cool Hand Luke, Stuart Rosenberg, and the results were nowhere near those of Cool Hand Luke. I am a fan of Paul Newman and paid a low price so it was well worth the purchase. While not one of Newman's great films it has its moments. All in all, for me it is a film I wanted to revisit.

This is a great movie starring some of the best in film industry. Paul Newman plays a great rancher in the modern times selling cattle with Lee Marvin with some good comedy along the way. This movie is presented in Widescreen format and is in great quality. The only problem I had with this was with the cover artwork, which didn't fit the standard case, but was too big for a slim case; other than that, this is a must have. I would and I did recommend this.

It is strange that a film starring those two great American actors Paul Newman and Lee Marvin should have disappeared off the cinematic radar. On its release it got a panning from the critics which didn't help its cause. It is a slow moving film which fickle audiences are often more prone to shun. You could never call the film a classic, but it certainly dares to be a bit different and has a certain charm about it. It is now very hard to track down in any format. That is an injustice because many western fans would enjoy watching this one.This contemporary western film stars Marvin and Newman as two cowboys who agree to transport cattle from Mexico for a very devious businessman, played with relish by Strother Martin that old Peckinpah stalwart. We then follow their progress through Mexico as they attempt to do business unsuccessfully with the wily Mexicans. They battle through financial difficulties exacerbated by Newman's complete lack of business acumen. Eventually they catch up with Martin who, surprise, surprise, refuses to pay them.The film gives a very accurate portrayal of cowboy life, and even of life itself and its mostly mundane character. It is nice to hear the western vernacular used so freely with no concessions to the audience. Many expressions are used which only someone with a good understanding of the cowboy life would understand. There are also some good scenes that hit the nail on the head with authenticity. There is a scene where Lee Marvin punches an unbroken horse over the head to slow it down a little before Newman rides it. This was not uncommon, but a scene that would probably not be used in today's PC age. Cowboys would also twist a horse's ears for the same reason.Newman is excellent in his role as Jim Kane one of life's losers. His wife has left him and he has no idea how to do business, which the Mexicans take full advantage of. He is short tempered and prone to kicking things, but this soon blows over and he quickly forgets what made him angry. He will no doubt remind you of someone! He reminded me of my father who thought himself a good man at haggling. On one occasion he went off to barter with Croatian gypsies and came back with a watch that worked for two days and an empty wallet. At least he still had his tasteless shirt on! Sorry I digress yet again!Stuart Rosenberg directs well enough but it is the future lauded film director Terence Malick's screenplay that is so enchanting. The screenplay was based on the excellent book "Jim Kane"(70) by Joseph P Brown. There is some splendid banter between Newman and Marvin, as we hear Marvin explaining how he does business or wondering about the possibilities of coloured salt. These are the films best moments and what make it so worth watching. The film was the first to be produced by the short lived company set up by Newman, Barbara Streisand, Sidney Poitier and Steve McQueen. I personally enjoyed this shaggy-dog story and the way it ambles aimlessly along. A bit like life! I liked the characters and the gentle nature of the film. Apart from one minor scuffle where nobody gets hurt, the film is refreshingly free of violence. I cannot speak for the quality of this Spanish import only the quality of the film. The only DVD formats available of this film are very expensive Spanish imports, so these VHS may be a better alternative if finances are an issue.

Cool. The film of the Famous Terry O Neill Photo

Very poor quality DVD. Poor sound and picture quality which made the DVD unwatchable.

Mitici Paul Newman e Lee Marvin in un film dove si divertono a raccontare le peripezie di due amici che vivono alla giornata, simpatiche canaglie e scansafatiche. Commedia western moderna con quello spirito leggiadro e scanzonato che aveva la nuova Hollywood negli anni '70.

L'histoire, adaptée du roman "Jim Kane" de J.P.S. Brown, se déroule au cours de la seconde moitié du XXe siècle, dans l'Ouest américain qui a subi de grandes transformations.Tourné dans les Etats de l'Arizona et du Nouveau Mexique, ainsi que dans la ville mexicaine de Chihuahua, ce western contemporain et crépusculaire à la fois relate avec une histoire de transfert de chevaux, de troupeaux de bovins, avec des cow-boys moderne, un univers toujours difficile et hostile où l'héroïsme ne va pas sans drame.Le tandem de choc, que forment nos "deux monstres sacrés" du cinéma hollywoodien que sont à l'époque Paul Newman et Lee Marvin, est ici un peu décevant et nous laisse un peu sur notre faim. J'espérais mieux de leur confrontation. Le scénario de Terrence Malick (Badlands/ La Balade Sauvage (1974) peut sembler manquer d'un peu de consistance pour soutenir pleinement l'attention du spectateur. C'est l'aventure du cow-boy Jim Kane (Paul Newman), endetté par un prêt bancaire qu'il ne peut plus rembourser à cause de ses déboires successifs : son cheptel rendu malade, invendable est mis en quarantaine. Un riche propriétaire terrien, (Stother Martin) lui propose alors un deal : convoyer depuis le Mexique du bétail pour les rodéos. Pris à la gorge il n'a pas d'autre choix que celui d'accepter ce rude travail. La malchance poursuit Jim Kane, et ce malgré l'aide de son ami Léonard (Lee Marvin) qui fait tout son possible pour sortir Jim de l'ornière dans laquelle il se trouve.La mise en scène de Stuart Rosenberg (Cool Hand Luke/ Luke la main froide - déjà avec Paul Newman) offre ici un film énigmatique et elliptique à la fois. L'image pour un DVD est relativement soignée.Cependant, les purs amateurs de westerns classiques risquent d'être sérieusement désorientés, voire même très déçus par ce néo-western. Sans être un pur chef-d'oeuvre, ce western moderne assez méconnu en France n'est pas totalement dénué d'intérêt même si j'ai perçu quelques lenteurs et très peu d'action. Un long métrage à voir si l'on est fan de ce duo d'acteurs et de cinéma. Un DVD qui ne me paraît pas totalement "Indésirable".Langues : Français et Anglais avec sous-titres français. Aucun bonus relatif au film ne figure dans cette édition Seven 7, en dehors de quelques Bandes-annonces.Je recommande ce film pour l'interprétation et la rare confrontation de ces 2 grands acteurs !