Pocket Money **** (1972, Paul Newman, Lee Marvin, Strother Martin) – Classic Movie Review 2951

Director Stuart Rosenberg’s quirky, relaxed and appealing 1972 modern Western is one heck of a cult item. It is so rare a gem that it’s more or less totally forgotten. Why is that, exactly?

Forgotten it may be, but it memorably teams Paul Newman and Lee Marvin as a broke but honest cowboy and a crooked old friend who join up together to buy rustled cattle for a crooked rancher (Strother Martin) in Mexico.

Despite lethargic writing by future director Terrence Malick and some languid playing down the cast, it’s still extremely watchable and impressive thanks to Laszlo Kovacs’s stunningly stylish cinematography, Alex North’s score, the locations, and the sleek, iconic turns from Newman and Marvin, who look great.

All in all, Pocket Money is quite the style icon.

It is Newman’s third movie with director Rosenberg after Cool Hand Luke and WUSA; and they went on to do a fourth together, The Drowning Pool.

It also stars Kelly Jean Peters, Wayne Rogers, Christine Belford and Hector Elizondo. Malick’s screenplay is based on J P S Brown’s novel, Jim Kane.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2951

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