Pickpocket magician breaks down 12 pickpocketing tricks in movies and tv

• Professional pickpocket magician Lee Thompson rates 10 scenes from TV shows and movies.

• He looks at "Ocean's Eleven" (2001), "Focus" (2015), and "Now You See Me" (2013).
• Thompson has worked with the UK police and Revenue and Customs in public-awareness campaigns.

- Oh, ow!

Sorry.

It's not how quick can you do it, it's when you do it. So, she's not actually looking at the wrist, she's looking into his eyes. She never once looks at his wrist when she's doing the watch steal.

Hi, my name's Lee Thompson. I'm a pickpocket for hire for well over 32 years now. I get hired by banks, insurance companies, as well as theatrical pickpocketing for West End shows. Today we're looking at pickpocketing in movies, and we're going to judge just how real they are.

"Ocean's Eleven" (2001)

On the Chicago Loop, I would actually see lots of businessmen reading newspapers, and this steal is spot-on. The interaction, the amount of eye contact. It's not too much. He doesn't knock him over. It's a little, "Whoops." The guy is shielding his own pocket with his newspaper that he's reading. He's already done the pickpocketing work for the pickpocket, unknowingly. The technique is beautiful, and we're watching it from a spectator's point of view. He's not tried to move away because he's, there's no heat on him. But he will get out of that carriage. When I work with the police, we often tell people about a thing called looping, where you might think, "I know that person." You don't, but you've, subconsciously you've seen them a couple of times in a short space of time, because they're not getting anywhere, but they've got an agenda. The London Underground is notorious for pickpockets because it's crowded. It's been reported that there's, in one station alone, it was 139 cases of pickpocketing. Close your bag, keep it in front of you. Especially on a crowded tube or metro.

It's a 10. The technique is beautiful, and unfortunately does happen.

Rating: 10/10

"Killing Eve" S1E2 (2018)

As he raises his arm, he's actually raising his pocket to her hand. So she only has to stand like that and clip whatever she needs to clip. And then when he puts his arm down, the pocket moves away from the item and his peripheral vision. Her head is to his right side. He can't see anything over this right side. Now, I'm not telling you this so you go out and do it, I'm telling you this so you don't be a victim of it. The greater movement supersedes that of the lesser movement, or the greater force supersedes that of a lesser force. So they say, if I tap your leg with a pencil and then hit your shoulder with a hammer, you'll forget me tapping the pencil leg but you'll feel the hammer. So misdirection and sleight of hand is super important. And you can easily do that. We've got a piece of paper or an envelope. It's not a bulky item, so it's not perfect. I would give it an 8.

Rating: 8/10

"Focus" (2015)

So lost.

Oh. I love it. I love it! I think this movie, super-well choreographed. The pressure in gripping that purse or that wallet with the chopsticks, you're going to have to be pretty spectacular gripping. Most people can't even pick up sushi. So a heavy purse with coins in, maybe, we don't know what's in there, would be trickier, but it can be done. I've done things like this on behalf of the police to draw attention as a crime prevention, but just to show people how easy it was and how vulnerable they are.

Oh, ow!

Sorry.

Yeah, 100%. She could. Because he's moving and she's moving. He's not static. So the movement is covering all her movement. Definitely, she's taking that leather-strap watch with that technique. Because if you look, the crystal is really heavy, so when you undo the tongue bit through the prongs, the weight of the crystal will make the watch fall away from the wrist. So then what's actually happened is he's actually moving away from the watch. The friction could make him go, "What's going on?" So he's actually aided it himself unknowingly, and the weight of that crystal would make it fall away easier for her.

It's not how quick can you do it, it's when you do it. So, she's not actually looking at the wrist. She's looking into his eyes, and she's constantly looking into his eyes. She never once looks at his wrist when she's doing the watch steal. You might think, "There's a lot going on, that would never happen," but you're looking from a bird's-eye view. But they're all communicating with telephones and their earpieces and with visual signals. People at street parties who have been drinking are easy targets because, one, your inhibitions have gone, and that makes the element of surprise better for the pickpocket to get close to you.

My colleague, Apollo Robbins, I could see in the clips, 'cause I can tell his body language and I know what he looks like, was involved in this. It's phenomenal. I'd give it 10 out of 10.

Rating: 10/10

"The Take" (2016)

[people chattering]

My eyes would be gravitated towards it straight away, as a very vulnerable item to steal. I think most people have a wallet or, foolishly, their phone in their back pocket. So, that misdirection is beautiful. We do it for crime prevention. We putpocket, in reverse, to say, "I can put it in your pocket, I could easily take it out of your pocket." Unfortunately, you might think, "Well, he's just taken a phone off a bar that no one's watching." That's not what this distraction technique is about. You wouldn't have 100% certainty how it's going to go, because it's evolving instantly, in real time, because someone, the guy might have turned around and copped him. He's constantly self-directing and self-evaluating the instant. There is no, "I'm going to do this, this, or this." He's got lots of avenues to change his tactics.

[phone ringing]

[shouting]

You look and go, "Where's the busiest place I can be?" And you're going to go to a busy place because you can hide. Any books or pictures you see of pickpockets always seem to do that pincer movement.

And that is because you can grab the side of the wallet without making contact with his backside. That pocket is quite a wide pocket. Most people who've got denim jeans have tight pockets these days. It's a bit harder to steal from, but they're a standard pair of jeans with a baggy back pocket. That is an easy, easy dip.

Some wallets are pleather, some are leather. I would be tempted to put it in your front pocket and turn it sideways so it would jam. He doesn't know what's in the wallet. He doesn't know if there's credit cards in there, cash in there. Whereas the phone, the smartphone, nowadays we have so much of our personal information stored on that phone. Look after your phone. That would have been the thing I would have stolen. I carry a wallet. It's a decoy wallet. You're going to get nothing. Don't keep all your ID in one place, 'cause he's got everything. He would casually walk out the bar. If someone runs, your eyes dart to the person running. And in reality, if this was real life, for the stuff I've done for the police, those IDs and credit cards have gone to someone who knows someone, who knows someone, who knows someone who can crack all the information there. If it was broken down into individual things, I would give it a 10 out of 10. This has happened altogether for a small payoff. He's covering his back a little bit too much for my liking. I would have liked to have been out of there by now. But I'd say 9.

Rating: 9/10

"Birds of Prey" (2020)

Ow, get off me!

What the hell are you doing here?

The chances of her having anything in that pocket, it's highly unlikely. 'Cause it's quite a smart trouser suit, and the pocket's high. And although for the girl in the clip, being small down is really advantageous to being a pickpocket. Because you're low down to people's bags and pockets. But the Black Canary is quite a tall lady compared to her, so she's got to reach up into the pocket, and it's just, the timing is wrong. 100%, she would catch her. It could be that the three-finger dip, if you like, it doesn't matter. Three fingers, a whole hand, she's a child who's got small hands. I really like your earrings. Why, thank you. I hate that bit. I hate it. Clearly just done for the movie. Zero technique to do a bracelet. How do you know what clasp is on the bracelet? There are so many different sorts. Does it come over the hands? If it's over the hand, there's one important thing that gets in the way. That's the thumb. She just takes it off, but her hand is on the bench. So she's got to go under to find the clasp, and it clearly undoes from underneath. Fake. It's a normal thing that you would be used to seeing. Someone's broken their arm or they've got it in a sling. Or people carry babies in front of them that are not babies. It's a doll. You can buy realistic babies. I've actually witnessed and seen the babies. And I do the baby trick myself. Everything is doable. So I would give this, out of 10, an 8.

Rating: 8/10

"Now You See Me" (2013)

Pay very, very close attention, because I'm about to bend this spoon with my mind.

[audience gasping]

Man: What's this?

Jack: Whoa, what are you doing, man?

Man: Look at this! Looks like we've got a spoon and a stem!

I find this bit really disappointing, because the whole of the movie is all about the magician's skill and technique that they practice for hours and hours. A skill and technique that you don't see. But whereas this clip is not clear at all. You see him take the spoon. It's not clear what's going on. And then the reveal at the end is like, "I don't think that actually really happens."

Wallet. My wallet! My watch!

Chances are, a pickpocket would take advantage of that crowd build and, unbeknown to you, try and pickpocket that crowd. I don't believe, realistically, that the street performer would want to steal from you.

Obviously there's a lot of it CGI'd for the camera, but there are magicians that do manipulation acts that can do that with cards. There are people called card ninjas who throw cards for mile -- not miles, but yards and yards in a certain direction. But the problem is with magicians they practice sleight of hands that you don't see. So it's very rare that you would actually see something exactly like "Now You See Me." It's hard to judge on the skill level, because the narrative is not clear.

Rating: 5/10

"Gangs Of New York" (2002)

Jenny: Oh! Ah!

But I'd check my pockets if I was you, 'cause I do believe she lifted your timepiece.

Moved in and covered all her angles, so there's no sight lines for people surrounding her to see.

You look stunned and poorly, sir.

Around this sort of time period in New York, it would be 100% realistic for pickpockets to be roaming the streets. The best pickpockets I've seen are female. So Sophie Lyons, the wife of the king of bank robbers, is that right? If I remember rightly. But in 1538, there was a lady called Moll Cutpurse who was a prolific pickpocket. She was amazing. She used to dress up as a man, smoke a pipe. But she was renowned for allegedly, in the history books, if you Google it, doing 50 wallets a day or pocket wallets a day. I'll give it a 10 because you didn't see anything, and that's the whole point.

Rating: 10/10

"The Adventures of Tintin" (2011)

Thompson: I don't suppose you'd fancy a cup of tea?

Thomson: Oh, you're quite mistaken.

I'd love one. My treat.

It's animated, so you can go, "That's not realistic." But the technique of going in is realistic. This way, a hand comes over into here. Actually, you'd probably, you'd notice that. But if someone timed it and came in front of him and said, "Oh, can you show me where this place is?" They're covering that over. They're covering your peripheral vision. So although you would do that, you wouldn't do that. Not on its own. And also, the elastic on the wallet is also realistic, because when I do my show, I have a chain, and I challenge a volunteer to steal my wallet knowing full well it's attached to a chain. It's animation. It's a fun animation. 3.

Rating: 3/10

"Sleight" (2016)

You going to tell me the good news, or no?

Luna: Yeah. But it's good news, so I'm telling you at the bar with a drink in my hand.

Bo: OK, well I'll meet you at the bar then. I'm just going to hit the bathroom really quick.

Luna: Oh, yeah, no problem. So, the keys are hanging, and his technique is, unfortunately, exactly how you would take the keys. He grabs them to stop them from making a noise. Just the last bit of the key. Pulling out of a pocket is really simple to do. In fact, he hasn't done anything but hold the keys. She's moved away from the keys. I've got say, unfortunately, yes. 100%, 10 out of 10.

Rating: 10/10

"Pickpocket" (1959)

In this old French movie, they practice a lot on button jackets, and he practices undoing buttons. You might think that's a bit unrealistic, but it's actually very easy to do. A lot of people button their jackets up, and they think that would be an obstacle. It's not helping you at all. It is so easy to go in and to unbutton. It's actually sometimes harder to button. You put your fingers behind it, you flick it, it comes out of the buttonhole really easy. But maybe that was just slowed down for the shot, but in the motion, that would happen, and I've done it myself. And I've taken a purse with 3,000 pounds in it, credit cards. Gave it all back, obviously, for a pickpocketed awareness campaign. I'd give it an 8.

Rating: 8/10

"Pickpockets" (2018)

[spits]

[in Spanish] Sir, somebody just spit on you. Be careful.

[shouting]

Very aggressive compared to all the other clips we've seen. They're not trying to be like the gentleman thief, like "Lupin" or "Ocean's Eleven." They are young. Are they naive? Maybe they are, I don't know, but they're going in hard. And the chances are they're going to get caught, because they're not trying to be secretive. I'm not impressed with their skill at all. I would say they're really mugging them rather than pickpocketing them. But what they are doing, they're working as that wolf-pack-gang mentality, creating the carnage of the distraction, especially walking over London Bridge, for sake of argument. If you're on the phone, someone could snatch your phone, pass it to one of their people behind them. You turn round, you bump into me, and go, "Where's my phone?" It's already gone down the line, from two other people. And it's the confusion, that misdirection, that you can't achieve on your own as easily. Forget it. I'm not even going to mark it. They're going to get busted. They're not gonna last long.

Rating: 0/10

There it is. You have got your wallet, but I got your credit cards. [laughing]