House of Games (1987)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

David Mamet

Writers:

Jonathan Katz (story) &
David Mamet (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

11 October 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Nothing is as it seems.

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.

Plot Keywords:

Psychiatrist | Grifter | Con | Poker | Compulsive Gambler

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

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
Scott Zigler	...	Western Union clerk
William H. Macy	...	Sgt. Moran (as W.H. Macy)
John Pritchett	...	Hotel desk clerk
Meshach Taylor	...	Mr. Dean
Johnny 'Sugarbear' Willis	...	Hotel doorman (as Sugarbear Willis)
Josh Conescu	...	Garage attendant
Julie Mendenhall	...	Late student
Rachel Cline	...	Student
Patricia Wolff	...	Patient / Ford's office
Paul Walsh	...	Man in restaurant
Roberta Maguire	...	Restaurant hostess
Jacqueline de La Chaume	...	Woman with lighter

Directed by
David Mamet

Writing credits
Jonathan Katz		(story) &
David Mamet		(story)
David Mamet		(screenplay)

Produced by
Michael Hausman	....	producer

Original Music by
Alaric Jans

Cinematography by
Juan Ruiz Anchía

Film Editing by
Trudy Ship

Casting by
Cyrena Hausman

Production Design by
Michael Merritt

Set Decoration by
Derek R. Hill		(as Derek Hill)

Costume Design by
Nan Cibula

Makeup Department
Laurent Delouya	....	hair stylist: Mr. Mantegna
Erin Lyons	....	hair stylist
Gregory Villamil	....	hair stylist: Miss Crouse
Pamela S. Westmore	....	makeup artist (as Pamela Westmore)

Production Management
Lee R. Mayes	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ned Dowd	....	first assistant director
Michael Hausman	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Jeff Balsmeyer	....	storyboard artist (as Jeffrey Balsmeyer)
Valerie Ross	....	property assistant
Samara Schaffer	....	property master
J. Grey Smith	....	lead man
Jeffrey P. Soderberg	....	set dresser (as Jeff Soderberg)

Sound Department
Douglas Axtell	....	boom operator
Suki Buchman	....	assistant sound editor (as Susan Buchman)
Anthony J. Ciccolini III	....	supervising sound editor
Marko A. Costanzo	....	foley artist
Pam DeMetruis-Thomas	....	assistant sound editor (as Pam DeMetruis)
Kathleen Earle Killeen	....	assistant sound editor (as Kathy Killeen)
Thomas A. Gulino	....	sound editor
John Pritchett	....	sound mixer
John Pritchett	....	sound
Marc S. Shaw	....	adr editor
Gail Showalter	....	assistant sound editor
Jeffrey Stern	....	sound editor
Jacqueline Tager	....	assistant sound editor (as Jacqui Tager)
Dick Vorisek	....	sound re-recording supervisor

Special Effects by
Robert G. Willard	....	special effects (as Robert Willard)

Camera and Electrical Department
Michael F. Barrow	....	gaffer (as Michael Barrow)
Michael F. Barrow	....	grip equipment
Michael F. Barrow	....	lighting equipment
Martin Bosworth	....	grip (as Marty Bosworth)
Chris Centrella	....	key dolly grip
Henry Cline	....	second assistant camera
Geoffrey Coburn	....	electrician
Robert Diehl	....	electrician
Bill Flick	....	grip
Lars Larson	....	grip
Mark Lorge	....	electrician
Hugh McCallum	....	best boy grip
Robert McClure	....	electrician
John Merriman	....	best boy electric
George Mooradian	....	first assistant camera
Lorey Sebastian	....	still photographer
Michael Sudmeier	....	electrician
Greg White-Wiegand	....	electrician
Quintin Woo	....	electrician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Candace Blake	....	wardrobe assistant
Dawn Johnson	....	costumer
Sally Roberts	....	wardrobe assistant
Sally Roberts	....	assistant costume designer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Peter B. Ellis	....	apprentice editor
K.F. Ligammari	....	apprentice editor
Colleen Sharp	....	apprentice editor
Barbara Tulliver	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Warren Bernhardt	....	musician: piano solom, "Fugue From the Toccata in C Minor"
Suzana Peric	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Gregory W. Anderson	....	driver (as Gregory Anderson)
Jerry Jackson	....	transportation coordinator
Jon McCarthy	....	driver (as Jon R. McCarthy)
David Milchen	....	driver captain

Other crew
Alexa Albert	....	production assistant
Rachel Cline	....	assistant to producer
Liz Dixon	....	coach
Liz Dixon	....	consultant
Peter Hutcheson	....	production assistant
Kevin Hyman	....	production accountant
Ricky Jay	....	consultant: confidence games
Richard Lorenzana	....	financial representative
Ron Lynch	....	location manager
Susan McBrine	....	caterer (as Susan MacBrine)
Ivan Passer Jr.	....	production assistant
P.J. Pettiette	....	dailies courier
Deborah Pritchett	....	production office coordinator
Cathy Sarkowsky	....	production office coordinator
Sheila Thompson	....	craft service
Lynn Wegenka	....	key production assistant
Christine Wilson	....	script supervisor
Patricia Wolff	....	production assistant
Scott Zigler	....	production assistant
Randall Balsmeyer	....	title designer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Filmhaus

Distributors

• Orion Pictures Corporation (1987) (USA) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• GoodTimes Home Video (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1988) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Orion Home Video (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Special Effects Unlimited

Other Companies

• Balsmeyer and Everett  titles
• DeLuxe Laboratories  prints
• Mac B's Catering  catering
• Michael Barrow  grip and lighting equipment
• Trans / Audio  post-production services

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Canada:PG | Finland:K-14 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #28269) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Seattle, Washington, USA

Company:

Filmhaus

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.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: 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).

Quotes:

Mr. Dean: Mike, how did you know she was gonna go for it?
Mike: Go for it? Hey, the broad's an addict!

Movie Connections:

References Meteor (1979)

Soundtrack:

Fugue from the Toccata in C Minor

Good but stagy, improbably but entertaining

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.

***