Harry In Your Pocket

A pretty girl and a newspaper are the props, or of course someone bumps into you, your attention is occupied for a moment, the dip or cannon has removed your wallet (cp. Fuller’s Pickup on South Street).

Geller’s film (by Buchanan & Austin) loosely follows the structure of Pickpocket, Bresson’s essay. The old pro on cocaine, the center man, and the two novices brought in as “stalls”, divide it vertically.

The gang collapses in this way, the old pro tumbles due to a novice mistake he does not perceive, the center man (Harry) is caught by his own code to spare the novice. There is only so much money to cover legal expenses that have to be paid.

The direction focuses on the trade and factors leading to the collapse. Geller’s Mission: Impossible technique includes the snorkel camera to closely examine the novice’s collection of wallet items, paraphernalia of a personal nature.

Harry’s m.o. is to live high, travel in style, and never hold the bag, he is a master dip.

It starts in Seattle, moves across the border to Victoria (“where the big money is”), and ends in Salt Lake City at the Intermountain Horse Show.