The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)

Director:

John Cassavetes

Writer:

John Cassavetes

Release Date:

8 October 1977 (Sweden)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

A proud strip club owner is forced to come to terms with himself as a man, when his gambling addiction gets him in hot water with the mob, who offer him only one alternative.

Plot Keywords:

Strip Club | Gambling Debt | Female Frontal Nudity | Reluctant Hitman | Hitman

Cast

Ben Gazzara	...	Cosmo Vittelli
Timothy Carey	...	Flo (as Timothy Agoglia Carey)
Seymour Cassel	...	Mort Weil
Robert Phillips	...	Phil
Morgan Woodward	...	The Boss
John Kullers	...	The Accountant (as John Red Kullers)
Al Ruban	...	Marty Reitz
Azizi Johari	...	Rachel
Virginia Carrington	...	Mama
Meade Roberts	...	Mr. Sophistication
Alice Friedland	...	Sherry
Donna Gordon	...	Margo Donnar (as Donna Marie Gordon)
Haji	...	Haji
Carol Warren	...	Carol
Derna Wong Davis	...	Derna
Kathalina Veniero	...	Annie
Yvette Morris	...	Yvette
Jack Ackerman	...	Musical Director
David Rowlands	...	Lamarr
Trisha Pelham	...	Waitress
Eddie Shaw	...	Taxi Driver (as Eddie Ike Shaw)
Sonny Aprile	...	Sonny (as Salvatore Aprile)
Gene Darcy	...	Commodore
Ben Marino	...	Bartender (as Benny Marino)
Arlene Allison	...	Waitress
Vincent Barbi	...	Vince (as Vince Barbi)
Val Avery	...	Blair Benoit
Elizabeth Deering	...	Lavinia
Soto Joe Hugh	...	Chinese Bookie (as Soto Joe Hugh)
Catherine Wong	...	The Bookie's Girl
John Finnegan	...	Taxi Driver
Miles Ciletti	...	Mickey
Mike Skloot	...	Scooper
Frank Buchanan	...	Flo's Friend
Jason Kincaid	...	Parking Lot Attendant
Frank Thomas	...	Poker Player
Jack Krupnick	...	Poker Player
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Harry Governick	...	Man at Bar (uncredited)
John Pappas	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Derna Wylde	...	Dancer (uncredited)

Directed by
John Cassavetes

Writing credits
John Cassavetes

Produced by
Phil Burton	....	associate producer
Al Ruban	....	producer

Original Music by
Bo Harwood

Cinematography by
Mitch Breit		(as Mitchell Breit)
Al Ruban

Film Editing by
Tom Cornwell

Production Design by
Sam Shaw

Art Direction by
Phedon Papamichael

Production Management
Art Levinson	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nathan Haggard	....	second assistant director (as Nate Haggard)

Art Department
Verna Bagby	....	set constructor
Miles Ciletti	....	props
Bruce Hartman	....	set constructor
Bryan Ryman	....	assistant art director
Richard Upper	....	titles and graphics
Robert Vehon	....	set constructor

Sound Department
Bo Harwood	....	sound
Robert Knudson	....	sound mixer (as Buzz Knudson)

Stunts
Craig R. Baxley	....	stunts
Paul Baxley	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Mitch Breit	....	in charge of lighting (as Mitchell Breit)
Catherine E. Coulson	....	camera assistant (as Catherine Coulson)
Frederick Elmes	....	camera operator (as Fred Elmes)
Michael Ferris	....	camera operator
Rob Hahn	....	camera assistant (as Robert Hahn)
M. Todd Henry	....	camera assistant
Bruce Knee	....	lighting crew
Don Robinson	....	lighting crew (as Donald Robinson)
R. Michael Stringer	....	camera assistant (as Mike Stringer)
Chris Taylor	....	lighting crew
Richard Upper	....	still photographer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mary Herne	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Robert Heffernan	....	in charge of post production
Craig Holt	....	apprentice editor
Neal Meisenheimer	....	assistant editor
Terri Messina	....	assistant editor
Fran Morgenstern	....	assistant editor
Jack Woods	....	post-production consultant
David Armstrong	....	editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Anthony Harris	....	conductor
Anthony Harris	....	music arranger

Other crew
Steve Brooks	....	operator: Cinemobile
Lanie Heffernan	....	secretary to director
Sandy King	....	script supervisor (as Sandra King)
Connie McFeeley	....	accountant
Teresa Stokovic	....	production secretary
David Armstrong	....	location manager (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Faces Distribution

Distributors

• British Film Institute (BFI) (2007) (UK) (theatrical)
• NEF Diffusion (II) (1977) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Film & Teater (1977) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Team-Film (1977) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Castle Hill Productions (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Concorde Home Entertainment (2012) (Germany) (DVD) (John Cassavetes Collection)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Faces Distributing Corporation
• Koch Media (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Touchstone Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Cinemobile System  location equipment (as Cinemobile)
• Playboy Limosine  appreciation to (as Playboy Limousine)
• Todd-AO Studios  sound (as Todd AO)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

135 min | 109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Portugal:M/16 | Sweden:15 | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:R | UK:15 (re-rating) | Germany:12

Company:

Faces Distribution

Trivia:

This was actually a story idea developed by John Cassavetes and Martin Scorsese years previously.

Quotes:

Cosmo Vitelli:Now, teddy. Teddy. Everything takes work. We'll straighten it out. You know. You gotta work hard to be comfortable. Yeah, a lot of people kid themselves, you know. They-they know when they were born, they know where they're goin'... they know whether they're gonna go to heaven,whether they're gonna go to hell. They think they know that. They kid themselves. Right? But the only people...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Californication: Vaginatown (#2.5)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Rainy Fields of Frost and Magic

That Obscure Sense of Reality

In many cases, the reality is enigmatic, and John Cassavetes is a genius to capture and exhibit that obscure sense of reality on celluloid. With deliberately rough camera work (containing lots of lens flares) and editing (not trimming out movements of the photographer's hands before and after actions), along with the crafted acting of Ben Gazzara, Cassavetes presents the obscure-hence-realistic underground gang world as no one else has. The camera movement and choreography of the murder scene is reminiscent of Godard--well calculated to appear to be not calculated. The scene is the only one accompanied by music; the entire film is inscrutably quiet.

The dragging story may be a part of his method, but it is a drawback to make the viewers lose their attentions. After Cosmo Vitelli (Gazzara) executes the killing, the plot focuses on the process he is going back to his ordinary life, but it is needlessly stretched out. Also, the scene of the confrontation against the gang members is a redundant second climax.