Daily News from New York, New York • 203

Fridav. November 3. 1989 DAILY NEWS A7 3 EXTRA MOVIE Pass i pippe loTO'stoiiy, Stealers' Daniel epitomizes London's ambitious yuppies. He already owns a country estate in Kent, not to mention his own seaplane, which he uses to commute to work. He's the kind of fast mover who jets off to Amsterdam on the spur of the moment just to resolve a quarrel with his girlfriend.

But the directors of the -rf v) I)HHI iilrf a DEALERS. Paul McGann, Rebecca De Momay. Directed by Colin Bucksey. At the Quad, Worldwide and Cinema 3. Running tone: 1 hour, 29 minutes.

Rated R. EALERS" IS BRIT-I ain's answer to the movie "Wall Street" It's an expose of London's fiercely competitive financial world, an attempt to satirize the new class of whiz-kid yuppies whose aggressive pursuit of money has energized that city in recent years. The British are usually adept at satire. But "Dealers" is just a slick, superficial movie that never match-. es the nervous energy and stinging accuracy of Oliver Stone's merciless 'Wall Rebecca De Momay are London yups in love with money and each other.

KATHLEEN CARROLL suesit iBn Dank are concerned about putting a young man with such reckless tendencies in charge 6f the all-important "dollar book." They've decided, instead, to hire Anna Schuman, a brainy American blond (Rebecca De Mornay) for the top trading position. Daniel is naturally furious. But he soon learns that Anna, who's a much more conservative trader, did not get her job through The Times. Although she claims it's her ability that got her where she is, it seems she's been having an affair with one of the bank's directors, a married man. Daniel, being a man of action, invites Anna to spend passing by a dark alley when he witnesses the fatal stabbing of a man whose child, an adorable toddler (Nicole Alysia), sits nearby in her stroller.

The horrified artist takes the abandoned child to his makeshift home in a deserted tenement He feeds her as best he can. The next day he goes to a children's store to steal some clothes for her. The store's owner happens to be the same young woman who dashed off without letting him finish her portrait. She's so sympathetic to his plight she gives him clothes and toys for the little girl. Eventually the young woman invites the pair to her posh uptown apartment The artist refuses to stay the night.

It turns out that his building has been demolished. Fortunately he and the child are offered two cots at the Bowery Mission. But the artist is now so attached to the child and the young woman he becomes depressed 4 s- 'JWWjt. 4. SCENE stealer Nicole Alysia Slseiialli DEAL: Paul McGann (c.) and the evening at his country home.

There he confronts her with evidence of her "business arrangement" with her boss. She makes a dash for the seaplane and flies solo back to London. Somewhat later, Daniel tries a new approach while showing Anna his expensive sports car. "It's very beautiful," says Anna. "So are you," responds Daniel.

That banal exchange of dialogue some over his way of life. Lane's sidewalk artist was clearly inspired by Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp. He's the hapless little guy, the forlorn outsider who, in this case, lives in a city that is full of racist hostility. The film maker persists in depicting most of the white characters as either fur-wearing snobs or uniform-clad bullies (the snooty uptown doorman is the worst offender). As a performer, Lane is certainly no Chaplin.

He's gifted enough as a mime to convey the hero's sweet nature but he is not a comic genius by any means. Still he has managed to get an incredible performance from the tiny Alysia, who endears herself immediately with her perky personality. "Sidewalk Stories" has its flaws, but Lane is clearly a film maker with a fresh vision as well as a social conscience. K.C. S-, if jit i -'J 4 Lane (I.) Sandye Wilson part of the rich young wheeler-dealer about town but that's about all.

De Mornay seems more worried about smudging her carefully applied makeup than about making the right rapid-fire trading calls as the ice princess of the financial district There's so little chemistry between the two actors that they seem like unlikely romantic partners. In short, "Dealers" is a bad investment tSI 3, Branson Pinchot, Stuart Pankin is second-rate in his office offering him a chance to crack a real case. Relying on the psychic's brain power, he sets out to find a stolen car belonging to the cardinal's secretary. Got it so far? Well here's where things get even more idiotic. The psychic's spirit guide, Murray, seems to be more agitated than usual, and Murray's nasal voice occasionally pops out of the psychic's mouth.

Hearing the voice, the nun turns as pale as ghost For Murray is her ex-boyfriend who's still fuming over the fact that he was killed. Pinchot is quoted in the production notes as saying, 'You can't ever let the work show because that's the worst crime you can commit as an actor." Well, Pinchot, babe, you're guilty of letting the work show in "Second Sight," which is why all your frantic quivering and accent switch- -ing is just not funny.y PG rr aSflrpc strong language. how clinches the deal and a romance begins. Meanwhile, back at the office, the two dealers are ordered to work together as a team. Daniel, who's suffering from burnout after watching his former boss kill himself with drugs, booze and cigars, decides on a dangerous strategy for ending the bank's deficit, a plan that Anna would never approve.

McGann certainly looks the 3 MEN a dud: John Larroquette 'Second Siglit' SECOND SIGHT. John Larroquette, Branson Pinchot Directed by Joel Zwick. At area trteatere. Running time: 1 hour, 23 minutes. Rated PG.

RN AN APPARENT EF-II fort to be helpful, an actor II pauses in "Second Sight" long enough to describe the plot as "a romantic triangle between a nun, a detective and a dead man." One is grateful for that explanation because it's quite impossible to tell just what is going on in this sloppy alleged comedy, which, in case you care, also features a stressed-out psychic (Bronson Pinchot). his personal publicist (Stuart Pankin) and a Catholic cardinal (William Prince). The psychic, it appears, is employed by Wills (John Larroquette), an ex-cop who now runs the Second Sight Detective Agency. Wills mainly uses his loony employe for betting but a nun (Bess Armstrong) has just shown up Street" The opening scene is an attention-grabber. A dealer in the London branch of the Whitney Paine bank shoots himself at his desk after running up a huge trading deficit.

Daniel Pascoe (Paul McGann), the bank's hot young "star," seems to be the most likely candidate for his job. SIDEWALK STORIES. Nicole Alysia, Sandye Wttson. Directed by Charles Lane. At the 3d Avenue Cinema and the Quad.

Running time: 1 hour, 37 minutes. Rated R. WRITER-DIRECTOR Charles Lane's "Sidewalk Stories" is, ulti mately, a message movie. Lane's admitted goal is to persuade people to stop ignoring the pleas of the homeless and, ironically enough, he has attempted to do so by making a silent movie. "Sidewalk Stories" manages to expose the modern-day realities of New York while at the same time recapturing the sentimentality and charm of the classic films of the silent era.

Lane's melancholy tale of Manhattan, which, by the way, is his first feature-length film, was shot entirely in black and white. It relies only on piano accompaniment for mood music until the very last scene. The mood of the opening sequence is much more buoyant. Street entertainers show off their tricks in Greenwich Village. A meek sidewalk artist, played by Lane, is being picked on by a much taller fellow artist in a series of comical slapstick moves.

An attractive young woman (Sandye Wilson) stops by to have her portrait done. She's obviously touched by the artist's gentle manner but she rushes off, leaving him with just a sketch of one of her eyes. Later that night the artist is Of fit.