IMDb > House of Games (1987)
House of Games
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House of Games (1987) More at IMDbPro »

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House of Games (1987) -- A psychiatrist comes to the aid of a compulsive gambler and is led my a smooth-talking grifter into the shadowy but compelling world of stings, scams, and con men.

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Overview

User Rating:
7.4/10   7,520 votes
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Down 3% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Jonathan Katz (story) &
David Mamet (story) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for House of Games on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
11 October 1987 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Nothing is as it seems. more
Plot:
A psychiatrist comes to the aid of a compulsive gambler and is led my a smooth-talking grifter into the shadowy but compelling world of stings, scams, and con men. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 6 wins & 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
DVD’s I Bought This Week: September 8th
 (From FilmSchoolRejects. 8 September 2009, 9:37 AM, PDT)

Redbelt
 (From The AV Club. 1 May 2008, 1:00 PM, PDT)

User Reviews:
Good but stagy, improbably but entertaining more (87 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Lindsay Crouse ... Margaret Ford

Joe Mantegna ... Mike
Mike Nussbaum ... Joey

Lilia Skala ... Dr. Maria Littauer

J.T. Walsh ... The businessman

Willo Hausman ... Girl with book
Karen Kohlhaas ... Prison ward patient

Steven Goldstein ... Billy Hahn
Jack Wallace ... Bartender, House of Games
Ricky Jay ... George / Vegas Man
G. Roy Levin ... Poker player
Bob Lumbra ... Poker player
Andy Potok ... Poker player
Allen Soule ... Poker player
Ben Blakeman ... Bartender, Charlie's Tavern
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Additional Details

Runtime:
102 min
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Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
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Filming Locations:
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Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The numeral 187 appears in the film in different instances. A license plate reads "HSX 187". Also it is the number of the airport locker used at the end. 187 is the police code for murder. more
Goofs:
Continuity: Towards the end of the film, Margaret Ford returns to her private office and cuts herself. Several drops of blood fall on the cover label of a dossier lying on the desk. In subsequent shots, the blood stain jumps down the label and finally ends up on the back cover, leaving the label clean. more
Quotes:
Mike: I think you're bluffin', pal. I think you're trying to BUY it!
George: Then you're gonna have to give me some respect, or give me some money.
more
Movie Connections:
References King Kong (1933) more
Soundtrack:
Fugue from the Toccata in C Minor more

FAQ

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful.
Good but stagy, improbably but entertaining, 1 March 2003
7/10
Author: SanTropez_Couch

Here's my first David Mamet directed film. Fitting, since it was his first, as well.

The story here is uneven and it moves along like any con movie, from the little cons to the big cons to the all-encompassing con. It's like "The Grifters," but without that film's level of acting. (In that film, John Cusack was sort of bland but that was the nature of his character.) The acting here is very flat (I sometimes wondered if the bland acting by Crouse was supposed to be some sort of attack on psychoanalysis). At least in the beginning. It never gets really good, but it evolves beyond painfully stiff line reading after about ten minutes. Early in the film, some of Lindsay Crouse's lines -- the way she reads them -- sound as if they're inner monologue or narration, which they aren't. With the arrival of Mantegna things pick up.

The dialogue here isn't as fun as it should be. I was expecting crackerjack ring-a-ding-ding lines that roll off the tongue, but these ones don't. It all sounds very read, rather than spoken. Maybe Mamet evolved after this film and loosened up, but if not, then maybe he should let others direct his words. He's far too precious with them here and as a result, they lose their rhythmic, jazzy quality. What's more strange is that other than this, the film doesn't look or feel like a play. The camera is very cinematic. My only problem with "Glengarry Glen Ross" was that it looked too much like filmed theatre, but in that film the actors were not only accomplished, but relaxed and free. Everything flowed.

I wouldn't mind so much if it sounded like movie characters speaking movie lines -- or even play characters speaking play lines -- but here it sounds like movie (or even book) characters speaking play lines. It's a weird jumble of theatre and film that just doesn't work. That doesn't mean the movie is bad -- it isn't, it's often extremely entertaining. The best chunk is in the middle.

It's standard con movie stuff: the new guy (in this case, girl) Margaret Ford (Lindsay Crouse) gets involved in the seedy con underworld. How she gets involved is: she's a psychiatrist and one of her patients, Billy is a compulsive gambler. She wants to help him out with his gambling debt, so she walks into The House of Games, a dingy game room where con men work in a back room. I'll admit the setup is pretty improbable. (Were they just expecting Crouse to come in? Were they expecting she'd write a cheque? Was Billy in on it? One of these questions is definitely answered by the end, however.)

And from here the cons are start to roll out. I found the beginning ones -- the little learner ones -- to be the most fun. We're getting a lesson in the art of the con as much as Crouse is.

We see the ending coming, and then we didn't see the second ending coming, and then the real ending I didn't see coming but maybe you did. The ball just keeps bouncing back and forth and by the last scene in the movie we realize that the second Crouse walked into The House of Games she found her true calling.

I'm going to forgive the annoying opening, the improbable bits and the strange line-reading because there are many good things here. If the first part of the movie seems stagy, stick with it. After the half-hour mark it does really get a momentum going. If you want a fun con movie, then here she is. If you want Mamet, go watch "Glengarry Glen Ross" again -- James Foley did him better.

***

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for House of Games (1987)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
The worst female leading role ever? the_nightfly
Why split the loot at the bar (spoilers)? kag2
Can anybody answer this Poker question? lightville-1
Real con artists lizerooh
Did Margaret clean house? *SPOILERS* LittleJeff
Lindsay Crouse---wooden acting or just written that way? tricksoftrade02
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