The Hustler (1961)

Director:

Robert Rossen

Writers:

Sidney Carroll (screenplay) and
Robert Rossen (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 September 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

They Called Him "Fast Eddie"

Plot:

An up-and-coming pool player plays a long-time champion in a single high-stakes match.

Plot Keywords:

Hustler | Pool Hustler | Pool Hall | Train | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Eddie Felson
Jackie Gleason	...	Minnesota Fats
Piper Laurie	...	Sarah Packard
George C. Scott	...	Bert Gordon
Myron McCormick	...	Charlie Burns
Murray Hamilton	...	Findley
Michael Constantine	...	Big John
Stefan Gierasch	...	Preacher
Clifford A. Pellow	...	Turk (as Cliff Pellow)
Jake LaMotta	...	Bartender
Gordon B. Clarke	...	Cashier
Alexander Rose	...	Score Keeper
Carolyn Coates	...	Waitress
Carl York	...	Young Hustler
Vincent Gardenia	...	Bartender

Also Known As:

Robert Rossen's The Hustler (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

134 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:L | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #20068) | Brazil:12 | Ireland:12 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | West Germany:16 | UK:X (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Rossen Films

Trivia:

The words Sarah writes on the mirror are "perverted", "twisted" and "crippled".

Goofs:

Continuity: During the last match between Fats and Eddie, in the first game, Fats attempts a soft break, leaving the cue ball against the rail. In the establishing shot, the cue ball is clearly bouncing away from the rail, in the next shot, the ball is tight frozen against the rail.

Quotes:

Bert Gordon: [to Eddie] You owe me MONEY.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Pulp Fiction (1994)

Soundtrack:

Louisville

An All Time Classic

When is a movie about pool not a movie about pool? When it's The Hustler. Watching this for the first time, i was expecting a movie full of games of pool with trick shots galore, with Newman the hero getting the girl and beating Fats the champ, role credits...a nice little feel good story. wow, was i ever mistaken (and very pleasantly surprised to be). The Hustler is filled with great performances: Newman, Gleason, Scott, and Laurie all give great, GREAT performances that makes a fairly simplistic plot with little real action absolutely riveting to watch. Newman is great as Eddie the born loser with talent coming out of his ears, but not enough brains to know how to utilise it best. Gleason is great and says a lot with simple body language more than the few lines he has. Scott is phenomenal as always as a soulless gambler only looking out for himself and dragging all those around him down as well. Laurie is perfectly suited to her character, a desperate, lonely alcoholic who seems to know her relationship with Eddie is bad for both of them, yet is unwilling or unable to break free.

The Hustler is amazingly written, with quotable lines and dialogue that just cuts deep into the cores of these characters; as they interact with each other and are forced to show their true colours, we see the true people underneath as the facade is stripped away. These are damaged, broken, confused, troubled souls who seem to gravitate towards one another, as if they can sense a kindred spirit. I have to say that the reason these characters resonated so strongly with me, is because, as unpleasant as it is to do so, i can see elements of myself in each character.

This kind of movie is one that would be nigh on impossible to get made in contemporary Hollywood. A downbeat story from start to finish, with unlikeable characters, it is one of the greatest films i have ever seen. an absolute classic in the purest sense.