Harry in Your Pocket

A terrific Coburn vehicle. Great job by Walter Pidgeon showing why he lasted so long as a supporting player. The scenes in all of the various western cities are great.

Showing people who strive to learn an ancient "trade" rather than work for a living! I really enjoyed this. It adds so much to Coburns' legend.

How else do you live in fancy hotels and meet beautiful people unless you have a real secret of success.

Always remember, "Harry doesn't carry."

Coburn is certainly a guy I will miss.

Harry in your pocket is not a lost masterpiece but more of a lost movie of the decade that was famous for it's crime genre cinema. It's one of the better Coburn films of the 70's and pretty decent all around. All four principal characters take the equal burden of the story, which never becomes boring, predictable or tedious. There are some great scenes that show us the tricks of the trade, but every bit of it remains interesting to the end. Walter Pigeon and James Coburn lead the way in a story of life on a day to day basis, never looking beyond tomorrow, and doing a job that might just take you down in flames, so enjoy it while you can. And they do, best clothes, best hotels, best food and coke, but never in one place for more than a week. Michael Sarrazin and lovely Trish Van Devere are great as well as a no future lovers who immerse themselves in Harry's combustible world of fast money and quick pleasures. The job is risky and takes it's toll, that's how it goes and the ending serves the story. I don't know why this movie wasn't released on DVD but it surely deserves the attention of all fans of 70's cinema. Find and enjoy.

The only other film that I saw where a pickpocket is a hero is Pickup On South Street and the stylish James Coburn of Harry In Your Pocket would look down on Richard Widmark. Widmark worked alone and lived hand to mouth until he happened to dip on a Communist spy and got some atomic secrets in that film.

We're dealing with something totally different here. James Coburn in the title role will dip into your's and everyone else's pocket. After watching this film I'm glad I carry my wallet in my front pocket where a strange movement there will set off definite alarms. You watch Harry In Your Pocket and NO ONE will ever carry a wallet in a back pocket again.

Coburn and an old associate Walter Pidgeon take in a pair of young trainees, Michael Sarrazin and Trish Van Devere, and things work out for a bit. But soon Van Devere becomes an object of rivalry for the team. Coburn also is known far and wide by law enforcement, but they can never catch him with the goods.

Some nice scenic cinematography in Seattle, Salt Lake City, and Victoria, British Columbia is in this film as three of the places where the team plys it's trade. Coburn is a man getting on himself and jealous of young Sarrazin. His only real attachment is to the elderly Pidgeon who now just serves as a lookout for marks and a steerer. Pidgeon is rather touching as the old crook for whom there really is no retirement due to the life he's chosen to lead.

For a look at an elegant yet also seamy side of a crooked business you can't go wrong with Harry In Your Pocket.

How many of you movie fans actually REMEMBER Walter Pidgeon? This role is off beat for him but what a great time we have sharing it. "It is what I do!" is one of the great lines in filmdom. There are so few films made now that can get and keep one's attention. (Attention Deficit Disorder no doubt is caused by disjointed, bad editing in Hollywood.) This film allows us to enter a world unknown to most of us...and offers a good lesson too...i.e., know where your wallet is at all times! It's great fun! James Coburn was never better.

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 ****