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Pocket Money
Pocket Money
	Theatrical poster
Directed by	Stuart Rosenberg
Screenplay by	Terrence Malick
Adaptation by	John Gay
Based on	Jim Kane; 1970 novel; by J.P.S. Brown
Produced by	John Foreman
Starring	Paul Newman; Lee Marvin; Strother Martin; Hector Elizondo
Cinematography	László Kovács
Edited by	Bob Wyman
Music by	Alex North
Production; company	First Artists
Distributed by	National General Pictures
Release date	February 14, 1972 (U.S.);
Running time	102 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$2,444,000

Pocket Money is a 1972 American buddy-comedy film directed by Stuart Rosenberg, from a screenplay written by Terrence Malick and based on the 1970 novel Jim Kane by J. P. S. Brown. The film stars Paul Newman and Lee Marvin and takes place in 1970s Arizona and northern Mexico.

It was filmed mostly in the small town of Ajo, Arizona. Portions of the film were shot at Southwestern Studios in Carefree, Arizona, a facility built by cast member Fred Graham.

According to co-star Wayne Rogers, in an episode of Pop Goes the Culture, Newman and Marvin did not get along especially well during production.^[2] This movie was one of three films that Newman, Rogers, and Rosenberg made together; the others being Cool Hand Luke (1967) and WUSA (1970).

The song "Pocket Money" is composed and performed by Carole King.

Plot

Broke and in debt, an otherwise honest cowboy known as Jim Kane gets mixed up in some shady dealings with Stretch Russell and Bill Garrett, a crooked rancher. Russell tells Kane to escort 250 head of cattle from Mexico to the United States for a good sum of money. Kane agrees and brings along his friend Leonard to aid him. Unfortunately, the two come upon many unexpected events that often deter them from completing their job.

Cast

Paul Newman as Jim Kane
Lee Marvin as Leonard
Strother Martin as Bill Garrett
Wayne Rogers as Stretch Russell
Hector Elizondo as Juan
Christine Belford as Adelita
Kelly Jean Peters as Sharon (Kane's ex-wife)
Gregg Sierra as Guerro Chavarin
Fred Graham as Uncle Herb
Matt Clark as American prisoner
Claudio Miranda as Ministerio Publico
Terrence Malick as Worksman

Reception

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two stars out of four and wrote, "The movie seems to be going for a highly mannered, elliptical, enigmatic style, and it gets there. We don't."^[3] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film zero stars out of four and called the performances by the two leads "completely self-indulgent," suggesting that "Maybe Newman and Marvin made it because they wanted to go slumming in Mexico for two weeks. On that basis, 'Pocket Money' can be considered a 35-millimeter home movie of what Paul Newman and Lee Marvin did last summer."^[4] Vincent Canby of The New York Times called it "a fragmented, far-from-great movie, and it won't change cinema history, but in its own odd fashion it celebrates humdrum lives without ever resorting to patronizing artifice."^[5] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote that Newman and Marvin had "found precisely the right material to enable them not only to play off each other but also to shine individually. This delightful contemporary comedy-western in fact is that most precious of commodities these days: a movie that actually cheers you up and leaves you feeling better when you come out than when you went in."^[6]

TV Guide wrote in a retrospective review, "Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier, Barbra Streisand, Steve McQueen, and Dustin Hoffman formed First Artists, and this was their premier offering. It wasn't as terrible a movie as the first reviews of it indicated, but since so much was expected, anything less than brilliance was a letdown."^[7] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 50% rating based on reviews from 8 critics.^[8]

References

^ Murphy, A.D. (October 11, 1972). "Hoffman Tie With First Artists Prod. Unveils Four Stars' Internal Setup; Ali McGraw Got 300G For 'Getaway'". Variety. p. 3.
^ "Mash's Wayne Rogers- Pop Goes The Culture – Part 4 of 5". Alphabet Inc. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2018 – via YouTube.
^ Ebert, Roger (February 15, 1972). "Pocket Money". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011 – via RogerEbert.com.
^ Siskel, Gene (February 15, 1972). "Murmur of the ...". Chicago Tribune. p. 5.
^ Canby, Vincent (April 20, 1972). "Paul Newman and Lee Marvin in 'Pocket Money'". The New York Times. p. 50. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
^ Thomas, Kevin (February 10, 1972). "Newman, Marvin Team Up". Los Angeles Times. p. 19.
^ "Pocket Money". TV Guide. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
^ "Pocket Money". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 2, 2022.