Harry Lyme

Harry Lyme was a burglar who, together with Marv Murchins, formed the criminal duo known as the "Wet Bandits" (later rebranded as the "Sticky Bandits"). Their schemes were thwarted twice by Kevin McCallister. Years later, Harry made another attempt to break into the McCallister home, but Kevin successfully deterred him using the Google Assistant.

Names	Harry Lyme
Gender	Male
Race	Human
Occupation	Thief
Origin	Home Alone (November 16, 1990)
Alignment	Evil
Age	Unknown
Created By	John Hughes, Chris Columbus
Height	162.6 cm (5ft 4in)

Appearance

Harry is a short man with a stocky build, standing at approximately 5'4". He has a round face with a prominent nose, thin lips, and a slight double chin. His brown eyes and dark eyebrows contribute to his scheming expressions. Harry's hair is dark brown, receding significantly, and styled into a slicked-back horseshoe shape.

He is often seen dressed in dark, layered clothing, reflective of his attempts to blend into the surroundings during his criminal activities. His signature outfit includes a long, black trench coat, a patterned scarf, and a rounded black hat, which he loses or burns during his misadventures. Harry's gold tooth is a defining feature, flashing conspicuously whenever he grins. In Home Alone 2, this is replaced with a silver tooth after his gold one is knocked out.

Despite his attempts to appear cunning and intimidating, Harry's physical quirks and misfortunes often undermine his efforts, making him an unintentionally comedic figure.

Personality

While both bandits are dimwitted, Harry serves as the brains of the duo. He is the primary planner, adept at strategizing and infiltration, as demonstrated in the first film when he gathers security information from the McCallister family while disguised as a police officer. Harry is capable of staying calm when necessary but has a notoriously short temper. When pushed to his limits or subjected to pain, he often descends into gibberish-laced outbursts, muttering under his breath in frustration.

Although Harry prefers to talk his way out of tricky situations, he doesn’t shy away from violence when provoked or angered. This is most evident in the second film, where he threatens Kevin with a gun. Despite his partnership with Marv, Harry frequently displays frustration and impatience with Marv's lack of intelligence, often resorting to verbal or physical abuse, especially when Marv’s blunders jeopardize their plans or reveal information to the police.

As a burglar, Harry is more professional and calculated than Marv. He takes charge of arranging the thefts, scouting locations, and deciding their next moves. While he often delegates much of the actual thieving to Marv, Harry is willing to get his hands dirty when the situation calls for it, as seen during the toy store heist. Despite his efforts to maintain a more low-profile approach than Marv, Harry is not above causing chaos and grabbing loot in a hurried, ham-fisted manner when opportunity strikes.

Biography

Early Life

Harry Lyme was presumably a school dropout, as he once mentioned never making it to the sixth grade. At some point, he teamed up with Marv Murchins, forming the duo known as the Wet Bandits, infamous for their string of burglaries.

Home Alone

While scouting homes in the affluent Chicago suburb of Winnetka, Harry disguised himself as a police officer using a name tag that read "Birniasz." This allowed him to gain access to the McCallister household under the pretense of checking for burglary precautions.

Inside the chaotic home, Harry was largely ignored as the McCallister family hurriedly prepared for their Christmas trip to Paris. He briefly interacted with a pizza delivery boy, asserting that the order wasn’t for him and casually stating he was “just around for the holidays.”

Eventually, Harry managed to speak with Peter McCallister, who explained that their home had door locks and automatic light timers. Harry tried to inquire about the family’s departure schedule, but Peter was pulled away by his son Buzz to eat pizza. Harry later caught Kate McCallister’s attention as she paid the delivery boy. She explained that the trip was a gift from her brother-in-law Rob, who had recently moved to Paris. When Harry heard they were leaving first thing in the morning, he cheerfully responded, “Excellent.” Before departing, Harry reassured Kate that her home was "in good hands."

After the McCallisters left for their trip, Harry and Marv parked their van near the house. Harry revealed to Marv that his impersonation of a police officer had successfully deceived the neighborhood, and he knew which homes would be vacant.

When they attempted to break into the McCallister house, they were surprised to see the interior lights suddenly turn on. Kevin, left home alone, had noticed their shadows outside and acted quickly to deter them. A perplexed Marv questioned Harry, who reiterated that the family was supposed to have left that morning. Unwilling to take any risks, the duo retreated for the time being.

The next morning, Harry and Marv decided to rob the Murphys' house, located across the street from the McCallister residence. While there, they overheard a voicemail from Peter McCallister on the Murphys' answering machine, confirming that Harry's assumption about the McCallister family being away was correct. They planned to return to the McCallister house later that night to rob it.

As they left the Murphy home, Marv performed their infamous "calling card" by clogging the kitchen sink and leaving the water running, much to Harry's irritation. Harry scolded Marv, calling the act "a sick thing to do." While driving away, they almost hit Kevin, who was walking past the driveway. Marv shouted a warning to Harry just in time, and Harry angrily told Kevin to watch where he was going. Attempting to play it cool, Harry wished Kevin a Merry Christmas and smiled, flashing his gold tooth. Kevin immediately recognized the distinctive gleam, having seen it the night before, and realized Harry was one of the burglars. Alarmed, Kevin ran away, prompting Harry to pursue him. However, Kevin eluded them by hiding in a nativity scene at a nearby church.

Later that night, Harry and Marv returned to rob the McCallister house as planned. However, Kevin, anticipating their return, created the illusion of a lively party inside by animating mannequins and playing loud Christmas music. Fooled once again, the burglars abandoned their plans.

The next morning, Harry sent Marv to investigate the house further. Inside, Marv encountered Kevin's clever setup, which included a recording of a gangster film scene and real fireworks to simulate gunfire. A shaken Marv reported back to Harry, who saw this as an opportunity to frame a supposed "murderer" to deflect attention from their own crimes. Their confidence was soon restored when they saw Kevin cutting down a backyard tree for Christmas, realizing that the party and gunfight had been a ruse. Despite Marv's hesitations about robbing a house with a child inside, Harry insisted on proceeding, declaring the house a prize he'd wanted since the beginning.

The pair formulated a plan to break in at 9:00 p.m. Pretending to be Santa Claus and an elf delivering gifts, they approached the house but were immediately met with resistance when Kevin shot Harry in the groin with a BB gun through the doggy door. Marv was similarly shot in the forehead. Furious, they split up, with Harry attempting to enter through the front door and Marv heading to the basement.

Kevin's house was rigged with an array of booby traps, and Harry suffered numerous injuries, including slipping on icy steps, burning his hand on a heated doorknob, getting his head scorched by a blowtorch, being covered in glue and feathers, and slipping on toy cars. Marv fared no better, enduring his own set of traps before both were hit by paint cans and tangled in wires. At one point, Kevin used Buzz's pet tarantula, Axl, to further disorient them. A terrified Marv accidentally flung the spider onto Harry, prompting Harry to angrily retaliate by striking Marv with a crowbar.

As the chase continued, Kevin fled to the Murphys' house, where Harry and Marv managed to ambush and capture him. The pair gleefully prepared to exact revenge on Kevin, with Harry threatening to bite off his fingers one by one. However, before they could harm him, Kevin's neighbor, Marley, intervened, knocking them out with his snow shovel.

The police arrived shortly after and arrested the duo. As they were driven away, Harry glared at Kevin through the police car window, seething with frustration and defeat.

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

After spending nine months in prison, Harry and Marv escaped during a riot and made their way to New York City, stowing away on a fish truck. Along the way, they acquired a revolver and new clothing, possibly stolen from the truck driver. The duo's plan was to obtain fake passports and flee to a foreign country.

Marv, embracing his quirky tendencies, decided to rebrand their criminal partnership as the "Sticky Bandits," demonstrating his new moniker by taping his hand to collect loose change. During this time, Kevin McCallister, coincidentally in New York himself, accidentally bumped into Harry in a crowded street. Although Harry thought he recognized the boy, Kevin disappeared into the crowd before he could confirm his suspicion.

Later, at an ice rink, Harry decided it was time to change their approach to crime. Acknowledging that stealing goods wasn’t yielding much, he suggested they shift to robbing cash instead. Marv proposed targeting hotels, but Harry dismissed the idea, reasoning that tourists rarely carried significant amounts of cash. Instead, Harry devised a plan to rob Duncan's Toy Chest, a store known for making substantial profits during the holiday season. The pair intended to hide inside the store overnight, steal the money, and leave undetected the next morning.

Their paths crossed with Kevin again after they spotted the McCallister name on a bag he was carrying as he left Duncan's Toy Chest. Realizing Kevin was in New York, they pursued him down the street, only to be thwarted when Kevin broke a necklace, spilling pearls that caused the duo to slip and fall, giving him time to escape.

Marv and Harry eventually caught Kevin when he fled the Plaza Hotel after the staff exposed him for using his father's stolen credit card. After ripping up Kevin's plane ticket to Miami, Marv revealed their plan to rob Duncan's Toy Chest and their intent to kill him, much to Harry's irritation. Kevin once again escaped, causing both criminals to be punched by a woman Marv had earlier harassed, and fled in a horse-drawn carriage. While Harry was uneasy knowing Kevin was nearby, Marv reassured him, pointing out that Kevin had no home to booby trap and was now alone in the perilous Central Park.

On Christmas Eve, as Harry and Marv looted Duncan's Toy Chest, Kevin appeared outside, knocked on the window, took a photograph, and hurled a brick through the glass, triggering the alarm. In their pursuit, they unknowingly stepped onto a makeshift seesaw Kevin had rigged, launching Harry through the air and onto a parked car.

The chase led to the roof of Kevin’s uncle Rob McCallister's abandoned townhouse. Harry attempted to outwit Kevin by convincing him to hand over his camera in exchange for being left alone, but Kevin retaliated by hurling bricks that hit Marv four times, enraging Harry. Harry then attempted to outmaneuver Kevin by jumping onto a fire escape ladder but slipped and injured his back due to the ladder being greased with soap.

Inside the townhouse, Harry endured a series of painful traps, including tools dropping on his head, a blowtorch burning his head and being extinguished with lighter fluid, a fall from a sawed ladder, two hits from an iron pipe, a crushing by a tool chest, a fall from a burning rope, and a varnish splattering. Despite these obstacles, Harry and Marv cornered Kevin in Central Park after Kevin slipped on ice.

In the park, Harry, fed up with Kevin's antics, tried to shoot him. However, the pigeon lady intervened by throwing birdseed at the duo, drawing a flock of pigeons that overwhelmed them and allowed Kevin to escape. Kevin left evidence of their crimes behind, leading the police to apprehend Harry and Marv once again. As they were being arrested, Harry repeatedly kicked Marv for babbling to the authorities about their plans.

Later Life

The events of Home Alone 4 introduce continuity issues with the first two films. Marv eventually grew frustrated with being constantly imprisoned and severed ties with Harry, who had always been the leader making the decisions. Marv later partnered with and married Vera, who became his new accomplice.

While watching the home of Natalie Kalban, Vera questioned whether Marv could handle planning without Harry. Marv countered that Harry's plans had always led to their arrests. Shifting away from burglaries, Marv concocted a scheme to kidnap the Crown Prince of the Royal Family during a visit. Although Marv was excited to finally be "the boss," he was actually operating under the supervision of his mother, Molly.

In a later event, Harry attempted to break into the McCallister home again, now occupied by a grown-up Kevin. However, Kevin thwarted the attempt using his Google Assistant, forcing Harry to retreat.

Powers and Statistics

Tier: 10-B, 9-C with weapons

Powers and Abilities: Superhuman Durability, Resistance to Fire Manipulation (Harry survived having his head set on fire and being caught in an explosion)

Attack Potency: Human level, Street level with weapons

Speed: Average Human

Lifting Strength: Unknown

Striking Strength: Human level

Durability: Wall level (survived lethal injuries that would usually kill a regular person, Harry survived being hit in the head with a bunch of tools. likely Small Building level for Harry (Harry survived an explosion of this magnitude 0.011711281071 tons of TNT)

Stamina: Superhuman (Continued to pursue Kevin despite having numerous injuries that would have killed a normal person)

Range: Standard Melee Range physically, Hundreds of Meters with firearms

Standard Equipment: Crowbars, gun

Intelligence: Below Average normally (Harry admits that he never made it to the sixth grade, and he often falls for Kevin's booby traps. Above Average for Harry in burglary (Harry is a skilled burglar and managed to obtain information by impersonating a police officer. He is also capable of making plans and can anticipate at least a few of Kevin's strategies)

Weaknesses: His poor intellect leaves him susceptible to being tricked.

Trivia

• Harry's name may reference Orson Welles's con-man character from the radio show The Adventures of Harry Lime, who also appears in the film The Third Man (1949).
• According to the Internet Movie Firearm Database, Harry carries a Smith & Wesson Model 10 Revolver (.38 Special) while disguised as a cop, believed to be the same type used by the officer chasing Kevin. In the second film, he switches to what appears to be a Colt Police Positive.
• Harry is absent in Home Alone 4, which has a loose continuity with the first two films. In this installment, Marv has ditched Harry and partnered with his wife, Vera.
• Harry's portrayal, speech patterns, and mannerisms suggest he may be Italian-American, possibly Sicilian-American. Actor Joe Pesci, who plays Harry, is of Italian descent, with family roots in Turin and Aquilonia in Italy. Pesci is well-known for portraying Italian-American mobster roles.
• After burning his right hand on a heated doorknob, the letter "M" becomes visible on his palm. This scar remains visible in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
• Harry's head is burned by a blowtorch in both films. Despite his hat being burned in the first movie, he appears with a similar one in the second, only for it to be burned again.
• He lost a tooth in the first film after one of Kevin's booby traps and initially had a golden replacement, which he later switched to silver in the second film.
• Harry's height is estimated to be 5'4", making him about a foot shorter than the much taller Marv.
• Joe Pesci's tendency to swear behind the scenes led to the implementation of a swear jar on set, which he reportedly filled in a single day. Harry's muttering and gibberish are a result of Pesci's effort to avoid swearing on camera.
• Harry shares similarities with T.J. Buzby from Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers, as both characters are criminals who pretend to be police officers.