The Wet Bandits were a duo of criminals, comprised of Marv Murchins and Harry Lyme. Marv was solely responsible for the name, after leaving a calling card of leaving the water running at every house they robbed. Harry disapproved of this calling card, regarding it as "sick" behavior and would attempt to make Marv stop. Harry ended up being correct, as when the cops found them, they thanked Marv for leaving the water running, allowing them to charge them with all of the robberies they committed.[1]
After the pair escaped prison, Marv decided that they become the Sticky Bandits after wrapping his hand in double-sided sticky tape to steal money from a donation bucket. Harry was dismissive of this name and behavior and became more irritated when Marv revealed such info to the cops.[2]
Marv and Harry later parted ways, with Marv instead working with his wife Vera and mother Molly.[3]
Whilst robbing the Baxter house, Sinclair mentioned to Hughes and Jessica that they weren't a group of "two-bit bandits."[4]
| The following information comes from outside the main Home Alone franchise and therefore may not be reliable and/or officially acknowledged. |
Sometime in the mid-2010s, Kevin McCallister told his passenger Jack about the trauma he received during his childhood, mentioning the "two psychopath home invaders", and how they never cursed, and that Kevin still had nightmares about "the bald one".[5]
| Potentially unofficial information ends here. |
Behind the scenes[]
The duo appeared only in the 1990 film Home Alone and its 1992 sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, though they were indirectly referenced in Home Alone: The Holiday Heist.
While Marv appears in Home Alone 4 (which shares a loose connection to the original two films), the terms "Wet Bandits" and "Sticky Bandits" are never used as Marv ditches Harry and partners up with his sidekick/wife Vera and mother Molly.