House of Games (1987)

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

Director:

David Mamet

Writers:

David Mamet (screenplay), Jonathan Katz (story),

Stars:

Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna, Mike Nussbaum

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 6 wins & 2 nominations.

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

Storyline

A famous psychologist, Margaret Ford, decides to try to help one of her patients get out of a gambling debt. She visits the bar where Mike, to whom the debt is owed, runs poker games. He convinces her to help him in a game: her assignment is to look for "tells", or give-away body language. What seems easy to her becomes much more complex.

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Plot Keywords:

psychiatrist | compulsive gambler | tell | poker | con | 

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Taglines:

Nothing is as it seems.

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 October 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dom gry

Filming Locations:

Seattle, Washington, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$2,585,639 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmhaus

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was originally intended to be a larger-budget film with many "name" actors, but David Mamet chose to direct on his own with his wife (Crouse) and friends (Mantegna) in the cast.

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Goofs

When Margaret first shoots Mike, a hole appears in his upper right pant leg; however, he grabs the part of his leg just behind his knee (well below the hole).

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Quotes

Mike: You see, in my trade, this is called - what you did - you cracked out of turn. Huh? You see? You crumbed the play.

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Connections

References King Kong (1933)

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Soundtracks

"Fugue from the Toccata in C Minor"
(BWV 911)
by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Warren Bernhardt, piano

User Reviews

A rare gem

I knew nothing about this movie when I saw it on tv many years ago and had never seen 'The Sting' before seeing this. It's best to enjoy these type of movies without any prior knowledge, because if you knew anything about it before hand, you could work out the plot after 10 minutes. A movie that seems a straight forward thriller, but actually deals more with the desire to explore one's darker side. Mamet maybe made some of the plot twists seem a tad to obvious and doesn't quite manage to shake of a 'tv' approach, but that doesn't matter because Joe Mantegna gives a superb performance that lifts the other cast members above tv standard.

One of David Mamet's better movie efforts (like Untouchables, Spanish Prisoner and Glengarry Glen Ross), it's best knowing nothing about this movie before seeing it.

8/10.