Harry in Your Pocket (1973)

Before "The Sting", "House of Games" or "The Grifters", there was "Harry in Your Pocket".When amateur thief, Ray Haulihan (Michael Sarrazin) teams up with Sandy Coletto (Trish Van Devere), they get the chance to work in a 'wire mob' with a couple of pickpocket pros: Harry (James Coburn) and Casey (Walter Pidgeon). At first, Harry, who has many rules, only wants the attractive Sandy to provide distraction while he picks the pockets of his marks, but soon Ray learns the trade and their lives become entwined, leading to big changes for them all.This is an absorbing movie with a moral dilemma at its core. As the movie plays out, both Ray and we, the audience, learn the art of pickpocketing, and we end up on the side of the likable, but disconcerting set of criminals. As the team plies their trade, there does not seem to be the slightest degree of remorse over their victims. Although they only target wealthy-looking marks, our moral judgement is also suspended; when one of the team is caught through an accident, we feel that he is the victim.Sandy and Casey are the warm heart of the film while Ray and Harry test each other for alpha male status – and Sandy. Ray is the novice who does not seem entirely suited to a life of crime. Harry is beyond cool. Steve McQueen was the 'King of Cool' at the time, but Coburn, wearing Ray Bans as though he was born with them on, gave him a run for his money with this film.Interesting locations along the West Coast of the U.S. and Canada open the film out. Lalo Schifrin contributed a breezy score that accompanies the well-choreographed stings on the streets – the lightness of the score also seems to give us permission to identify with the crew.This may have been the first film to feature this kind of con to such a degree. A similar wire mob sequence was one of the best things in 2015's "Focus" with Will Smith and Margot Robbie. In that film, the veteran con artist also teaches the novice how to be successful in a life of crime – it's a formula that worked well for both films."Harry in your Pocket" is over 40 years old now – credit cards were just beginning to replace cash – but it doesn't seem particularly dated. It's a movie that still won't disappoint too many people.

Original, offbeat character study with bracing dramatic moments stars Michael Sarrazin as an unskilled young thief in Seattle who gets himself and his new girlfriend (the appealing Trish Van Devere) hired on by a wily old pickpocket and his partner, a no-nonsense type with a big ego and a calculating manner. After some training, the foursome move on to Salt Lake City, where they become a finely-tuned team of cons. The smooth direction by Bruce Geller, the occasionally clever script from writers James David Buchanan and Ron Austin, and a superb cast including James Coburn and Walter Pidgeon promise a sure-fire movie. Unfortunately, the disappointing third act doesn't so much unravel as it does dry up, with the writing smacking of moralistic pandering ("Don't let this happen to you!"). Still, two-thirds of a great picture, one with a jazzy look, some amusing interplay and memorable characters. **1/2 from ****

I caught "Harry in your Pocket" on an on-demand cable channel, and I hadn't seen it since its original theatrical release. I have to say that I enjoyed it, partly because it is a great example of the early '70s antihero type of film, and because as a kid who grew up in Seattle where the beginning of the movie is filmed, it was cool to see the old buildings (long since replaced by skyscrapers) and the old restaurants like the Brasserie Pittsbourg and Rosellini's 410.Much of the film is dated, particularly the hairstyles and the clothes, but not so much that ruins the overall enjoyment of the film.Most people will enjoy the dissection of the act of pickpocketing, and the entire culture of the pickpockets, which is painstakingly explained. While amoral, the characters are likable, and the scene never gets too heavy, even though there is conflict.The ending is typically downbeat, which like "Butch Cassidy" and others was a hallmark of these antihero type of films. Strangely, the movie was marketed as a comedy, but it really wasn't, particularly by today's standards. Not hugely important or groundbreaking, just a great example of Coburn's work and similar films of that era.

The upper class of the low-life, pickpockets, work Vancouver and then go on to Salt Lake City, two pretty locales that provide for some great shots. James Coburn and Walter Pidgeon play the two experienced pros, who teach rookies Trish Van Devere and Michael Sarrazin the ropes. Made in 1973, this fits in with other explorations into the long-hair hippie criminal confidence stories that arose from the ashes of the counter-culture. As such, it's an interesting analysis of two generations and a great and perhaps one of the only films about the inherently non-violent but dangerous crime, where in some societies they would chop off a hand. But in any case, it's quite embarrassing and dramatic to get caught.