Pocket Money

I was surprised to see a movie with Lee Marvin and Paul Newman on the shelf. I'd never heard of it. Cool, let's try it. What a waste of time. The only 2 movies with stars in it that i imagine would be worse are "Pluto Nash"and "Leonard Part 6". Heck, the supporting cast included Gregory Sierra, Wayne Rogers, Hector Elizondo and Strother Martin. I like Rogers, but I didn't buy into his performance for even one second. The cast was not enough to save this Turkey in any manner. The dialog was horrible. The story just never seemed to develop,nor finish. There were 3 scenes with women. Only the scene with the ex wife did anything to advance the story, and that scene was lame. Cinematography? Mostly too washed out. There was one scene in the moonlight that was hilarious. We see him in what appears to be moonlit moment. Cut away, then right back to him and the lighting looks like midday. Carole King did the opening song. I suppose her singing would have fit with what they "wanted" this movie to be. The rest of the score was interesting, but incongruent. Sometimes sounding like Mike Post, sometimes western, some times folk or Mexican. I gave this 2 stars. Thinking back, I'm not sure why i was so generous.

Trailer—Pocket Money

I wouldn't call it a complete waste of time. I mean it's not as bad as "Hello Dolly" or "The Tree Of Life". It's just that there's no story or narrative thrust to launch you into a story so you're out there in the blue with Terry ('fore he became Terence) Mallick's dialogue and, although there are some interesting moments, it is simply not enough to hang on to so as to avoid falling into a chasm of boredom, so you pull the plug. C minus.

I love Newman and Marvin,but this was a stinker. Funny? Nope. Serious? Nope. Bad acting? Yes. No chemistry between the two stars at all. Newman gives one of his worst performances as he basically sleepwalks through the whole thing. A stinking bore.

I could hardly believe, when I saw this movie in 1972, that these two great stars made such an awful film. By far the absolute worst movie I've ever seen, and I've seen some losers.

Seems like a lot of wasted potential. Paul Newman and Lee Marvin have some decent chemistry between their characters, and Strother Martin and Wayne Rogers are OK. A young Hector Elizondo is a long way from the manager of the Beverly Wilshire Regency. Carole King does nice work on the theme song. The cinematography looks very nice, and the direction is unobtrusive. But there is simply no there there. The film has a plot that seems to be heading somewhere, but just sort of fizzles out with no closure, no climax, and no denouement. I wonder if the source novel was this unsatisfying. It would be really hard to recommend anyone to watch this film.

Caught this one on American Movie Classics, thinking that a Lee Marvin / Paul Newman pairing couldn't be all bad. Indeed, it wasn't all bad, but it was no great success either. A premise with possibilities for interesting developments never seems to play out in a fruitful manner. The Marvin / Newman interaction is indeed the main redeeming factor of the film, along with evocative cinematography, but ultimately the movie never seems to go anywhere in particular, and indeed it does not end - it just all of a sudden stops. I have rarely seen such an abrupt and unsatisfying conclusion - all of a sudden we are seeing the closing credits and wondering "what happened?" Unfortunately, this can only be recommended to diehard fans of Lee Marvin &/or Paul Newman. (Incidentally, "Maltin's" remark that Marvin's car is "the damnedest thing you'll ever see" indicates he was not alive in 1960, the model year this particular Buick was a common sight on the roads of America)

Down-on-his-luck Arizona cowboy takes a job herding cattle through part of Mexico. Adaptation of J.P.S. Brown's novel "Jim Kane" is oddly benign, certainly not a strong acting vehicle for Paul Newman, who is likable but curiously dopey throughout, nor Lee Marvin as Newman's equally half-witted cattle-broker pal. Eccentric ambiance abounds (this is no "Hud"), yet director Stuart Rosenberg gives the picture a scruffy charm in a light lower key. The plot is too skimpy for these characters to truly come alive, but it's a pleasant enough throwaway. Screenplay by future filmmaker Terrence Malick, from an original treatment by John Gay. ** from ****

Paul Newman and Lee Marvin listlessly drift through a thin story about two down-and-out guys who get hired by a well-known swindler to buy cattle in Mexico and bring them back. The men are surprised when the known-swindler swindles them. Occasionally, Carole King sings. There is no clever dialog, no interesting character development, no love interest or sex scene, and no resolution. In the end the movie simply drops dead with the story unresolved. Watching these two screen giants stumbling through Mexico trying to buy and round up scrubby underfed cattle simply doesn't add up to a movie; yet top talent was employed for art direction, etc.. If you like Paul Newman or Lee Marvin, skip this awful mess. What could they have been thinking.

Stuart Rosenberg directed this meandering film that stars Paul Newman as Jim Kane, a near-broke cowboy who is approached by a shady rancher(played by 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(played by Lee Marvin) who is also in need of money, so they team up to collect the cattle, but their suspicions are confirmed when the deal goes awry, placing them in a tough situation... Thoroughly blah film coasts along on its star power, which is considerable, though film never amounts to much and is largely unmemorable.