Pocket Money (1972)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Stuart Rosenberg

Writers:

Terrence Malick (screenplay)
J.P.S. Brown (novel)

Release Date:

1 February 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Western | Comedy

Tagline:

The two most memorable characters the West can never forget!

Plot:

Broke and in debt, an otherwise honest cowboy gets mixed up in some shady dealings with a crooked rancher. |

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel | Independent Film

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Jim Kane
Lee Marvin	...	Leonard
Strother Martin	...	Bill Garrett
Wayne Rogers	...	Stretch Russell
Hector Elizondo	...	Juan
Christine Belford	...	Adelita
Kelly Jean Peters	...	Ex-Wife
Gregory Sierra	...	Chavarin (as Gregg Sierra)
Fred Graham	...	Uncle Herb
Matt Clark	...	American Prisoner
Claudio Miranda	...	Ministerio Publico

Also Known As:

Jim Kane (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Canada:PG (video rating) | Finland:K-8 | Norway:12 (1972) | Sweden:Btl | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Chihuahua, Mexico

Company:

First Artists

Trivia:

Based on a novel called "Jim Kane", that was the working title of the film. The title was changed to take the emphasis off of one character and to stress the partnership of Paul Newman and Lee Marvin.

Quotes:

Leonard: It ain't easy down here, Jim. You got to fight tooth and nail.
Jim Kane: I'll fight
[fidgets]
Jim Kane: , I just don't wanna fight here.
[slaps the money into Leonard's hand]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Killing Floor (2007)

Soundtrack:

Pocket Money

Oddly benign...

Eccentric ambiance abounds, but this scruffy, mild modern-day western never builds much momentum. Down-on-his-luck Arizona cowboy takes job herding cattle through part of Mexico. Adaptation of J.P.S. Brown's novel "Jim Kane" isn't a strong vehicle for Paul Newman, likable but curiously dopey throughout (this is no "Hud"). Lee Marvin gives a friendly performance as Newman's equally half-witted cattle-broker pal. Director Stuart Rosenberg, who never does consistent work and therefore is a tough filmmaker to pin down, does a nice job at concocting a low-key, lightly rambling atmosphere, but the plot is too skimpy for these characters to truly come alive. As a character-study, it's a pleasant enough throwaway. Screenplay by future filmmaker--and cult icon--Terrence Malick, from an original treatment by John Gay. ** from ****