Themes: Bank Robbery, One Last Heist, Dishonor Among Thieves
Main Cast: James Caan, Elliott Gould, Michael Caine, Diane Keaton, Charles Durning, Lesley Ann Warren
Release Year: 1976
Country: US
Run Time: 108 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Harry and Walter Go to New York was born of the theory that, the more stars and money that you throw into a film, the better the film will be. The theory has seldom been proven true, and it certainly wasn't in this case. Harry (James Caan) and Walter (Elliot Gould) are a third-rate vaudeville team, playing tank towns in turn-of-the-century USA. Thrown into the hoosegow on a petty-theft charge, our heroes make the acquaintance of big-time crook Adam Worth (Michael Caine). Once they're sprung, Harry and Walter follow Worth to New York, with the intention of pulling off a huge bank robbery. Lissa Chestnut (Diane Keaton), a bird-brained suffragette, is also mixed up in the proceedings though she never seems certain of who or what her character is from one scene to the next. The film's one tangible asset is its meticulous re-creation of 1890s New York, courtesy of art director Harry Horner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Harry and Walter Go to New York is a visual treat of a film. Theoni V. Aldredge's period costumes are perfect period. The various set, art and production designers have done a model job of creating a gorgeous 1890s look and feel. And expert cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs has captured it all in creamy-tinged photography that is simply scrumptious. If only the writers and director had bothered to put some laughs in this comedy, Harry would have been a film worth catching. Unfortunately, despite its beautiful visual appeal, Harry is a chore to sit through -- and this despite the presence of a talented cast. Talented -- but not always cast correctly, as is painfully the case with leading actors James Caan and Elliott Gould. Neither one seems to have the slightest idea how to play his character; considering how poorly written they are, this is understandable. But Diane Keaton, Charles Durning and Michael Caine face the same problem, and they manage to at least do decent jobs, if far from their best work. But Caan and Gould are actually painful to watch, and eventually become actively annoying. The real villains, of course, are the writers, who have crafted one of the deadliest comedy scripts in Hollywood history. Not far behind them is director Mark Rydell, who doesn't exhibit the slightest understanding of pacing, comic timing or the art of setting up a gag. Best advice: let Harry and Walter go to New York on their own, without any help from you. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Richard G. Berger - Art Director, Theoni V. Aldredge - Costume Designer, Jerry Ziesmer - First Assistant Director, Mark Rydell - Director, David Bretherton - Editor, Frederic Steinkamp - Editor, Donald Guidice - Editor, David Shire - Composer (Music Score), Alan Bergman - Songwriter, Marilyn Bergman - Songwriter, Harry Horner - Production Designer, Laszlo Kovacs - Cinematographer, Don Devlin - Producer, Tony Bill - Producer, Harry Gittes - Producer, Ruby Levitt - Set Designer, Arthur Piantadosi - Sound/Sound Designer, Barry Thomas - Sound/Sound Designer, Kay Rose - Sound Editor, John Byrum - Screenwriter, Robert Kaufman - Screenwriter
Harry Dighby (Caan) and Walter Hill (Gould) are struggling vaudevillians who are sent to jail when Dighby is caught robbing audience members. They are assigned as roommates to a cultured, wealthy, and charming bank robber named Adam Worth (Caine). Worth plans to rob the Lowell Bank and Trust, both to avenge himself on the bank manager who had arranged his capture, and because his ego can not resist the temptation of robbing a bank reputed to be perfectly secure. Though in jail, he procures detailed diagrams of the bank's security systems.
A reforming newspaperwoman named Lissa Chestnut (Keaton) visits their cell, during which visit Dighby and Hill manage to photograph the bank plans with her camera, then burn the originals. They break out of prison the next day, as Worth is also paroled. They meet in New York and, by force, Worth manages to extract a copy of the photographed plans from them. Dighby, Hill, and Chestnut then band with Chestnut's team of do-gooders to race with Worth and his professional bank robbing squad to see who can first rob the Lowell Bank and Trust.
