I’ve seen all kinds of magicians in all kinds of venues, and though I’ve been amazed by some big stage illusions, I’ve always had more respect for sleight-of-hand artists who work up close. Whether they use cards or cups and balls or other props, what makes the best stand above their peers is their knowledge of how deception works — how to make you see only what they want you to see, while they’re doing something else. Their hands aren’t literally quicker than your eyes, but their skill lies in steering your eyes (and brain) so you don’t see what their hands are doing.
Apollo Robbins is a magician who works up close, but in a different way. He’s a pickpocket, and an expert in both deception and perception, so good that he’s impressed others proficient in the craft, such as Teller. There’s a profile of Robbins in The New Yorker, with the accompanying video below, in which he shows author Adam Green how he does what he does.
You don’t see performers like this on television very often, or if you do, it’s in very small doses. Perhaps it’s because picking pockets for entertainment requires the exact same set of skills as doing it criminally on the street, which can make it seem even seedier than a guy in a tuxedo producing “your card” from inside an unpeeled lemon. There’s also an element of discomfort with the necessary violation of personal space. As you watch Robbins, you’ll see him constantly touching his victim to not only lift the items, but also distract and manipulate…
There have been very few movies that included criminal pickpockets as part of their plots, the most famous being the 1968 musical, “Oliver,” wherein Fagin’s gang of boys sing and steal from passersby in London. The only two that I know that were entirely about people who lift wallets professionally are the 1959 French film, “Pickpocket,” and the superior “Harry In Your Pocket,” a 1973 drama about two veteran pickpockets (Walter Pidgeon and James Coburn, at his ultra-coolest) who teach the business to a young couple (Michael Sarrazin and Trish Van Devere). It was directed by Bruce Geller, who knew how to dramatize the world of confidence games after creating the original “Mission: Impossible” TV series. I keep expecting someone in Hollywood to re-make “Harry” (George Clooney would seem the perfect choice, though the character is a little too close to his Danny Ocean — or maybe it’s time for a woman in the lead role), but four decades later, no one has gotten around to it.
Here’s a montage of Coburn and cohorts at work…