Can you answer all these questions?

[deleted]

1-"Why does Casey go so quickly from being against hiring Sandy & Ray to defending them to Harry"?

They grow on him.


2-"Why does Harry risk working with a coke addict"?

Probably the only real friend that Harry has and he has real affection for Casey. So, he is not just going to kick Casey to the curb, and Casey's little habit might be one of the few things he has left at this point in life that he enjoys, and Harry isn't going to take that away from him, especially since it hasn't been any major problem thus far.


3-"Why does Sandy so quickly jump into bed with Ray - just curious (and envious)".

Those were the 1970's!

In addition, the movie needed to move on with the story it wanted to tell, and Sandy and Ray's close relationship (and subsequent sexual tension) was an important piece upon which major elements of the plot hinged, so that needed to be established fairly early on in the movie.


4-"Why does Casey secretly train Ray, and why does Harry stand for it"?

Firstly, Ray schmoozed Casey, telling him that he wants to learn from one of the 'best'. And, when someone is older and has a great talent and no kids to 'pass the business on down to', it is not uncommon to want to do that (feel you still have a purpose by teaching what you know) before you become infirm / die.

Also, Harry did not 'know' about the training until after it had happened. He and Casey go back a long way and are very tight. Although a good 'look-out' for marks, keeping Casey with him is kind of like what someone would do for an aging father or uncle that they have genuine affection and respect for and know that they would hate to be put out to pasture. Also, Harry has no other partners and knows that he can trust Casey (and, in addition to spotting marks, Casey also is the person who deals with any fencing of stolen goods other than cash). Harry is not going to abandon him just for training Ray.

Harry is very cool emotionally (good for his business) other than when it came to Casey and then Sandy.


5-"Why does Harry sacrifice himself to save Ray at the end, given their anomosity and battle for the same woman"?

He is in love with Sandy. He knows she cares for Ray and they are a young couple, so he takes the fall (although he DID try to ditch the wallet before being nabbed). He did it more for her than for Ray. He did, however, try to mend fences with Ray before they go out on their last job together. Also, he might have had some 'survivor's guilt' over what happened to Casey and, when that happens, sometimes people put themselves into riskier situations.


6-"Could they really pull in $1,420 a day (1973 dollars, maybe $6,500 in 2011) and avoid getting caught or beaten"?

Make up your own mind about that while watching how they do it in the movie (about not getting caught or beaten). First, the cannon is so skilled at taking the wallet, that the mark does not know that the wallet is gone until he needs it, and that is at least several minutes, if not more, from the actual event. By that time, the wallet has been moved between people, so even if the mark thought back to the original 'bump' and found that person (which would be unlikely because the thieves would have already left the immediate area), the 'stall' who did the bumping would no longer be in possession of the wallet. That is the trick of the organized wire ring of several people -- skill, 'bait (distract), take and switch', coordination, speed, and blending in.

Also, Casey's job was to try to find marks that had more than just a few dollars in their wallets and also marks who would be more likely to carry more cash as opposed to more credit cards (they did not want credit cards). If they made 7 to 8 hits on wallets averaging $200.00 each, then that would give them $1400-$1600.00 in a day. If they worked 8 hours in one day, that would average 1 hit an hour.


7-"How good are professional wire rings"?

I don't remember hearing of any big 'wire ring' busts in the USA for a long time, so either they are very good, the 'busts' are not widely publicized (at least in my small part of the world), or there aren't that many around right now. But, that's pretty much speculation on my part. And, in some areas of cities and tourist spots, especially in poorer, foreign countries, there are thieves that are a lot more aggressive than what is portrayed in the movie and purse snatching is a lot more common where I live than wallet snatching.



Cheers! denise1234



"I can't stand a naked light bulb, any more than..a rude remark or a vulgar action" Blanche DuBois

1. It didn't seem to me that he was against it, just sceptical at first.

2. Casey said it himself, that he was Harry's addiction. Harry most likely saw in him a father figure.

3. It was so quick. She seemed attracted to his life-style, and wasn't really doing much with her life at the time. Her attraction was something like (the movie's) Bonnie to (the movie's) Clyde, albeit, with less charismatic characters.

4. He saw something of himself in Ray, and wanted to reconnect with his younger self.

5. It was a bit out of character, but shows the kind of learning experience the genre demands.

6. If they were smart, and moved around often, leaving before they become too hot. I've seen documentaries about pick-pockets, and it isn't illogical.

7. I don't know.

Listen to the river sing sweet songs
to rock my soul