The Hustler (1961)

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

Director:

Robert Rossen

Writers:

Sidney Carroll (screenplay) (as Sydney Carroll), Robert Rossen (screenplay)

Stars:

Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie

Won 2 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

"Fast" Eddie Felson is a small-time pool hustler with a lot of talent but a self-destructive attitude. His bravado causes him to challenge the legendary "Minnesota Fats" to a high-stakes match, but he loses in a heartbreaking marathon. Now broke and without his long-time manager, Felson faces an uphill battle to regain his confidence and his game. It isn't until he hits rock bottom that he agrees to join up with ruthless and cutthroat manager Bert Gordon. Gordon agrees to take him on the road to learn the ropes. But Felson soon realizes that making it to the top could cost him his soul, and perhaps his girlfriend. Will he decide that this is too steep a price to pay in time to save himself?

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Plot Keywords:

bus terminal | bus | buying a round of drink | playing pool | admiration | 

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Taglines:

Only the angel who falls knows the depths of hell.

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Genres:

Drama | Sport

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

October 1961 (UK)

Also Known As:

Robert Rossen's The Hustler

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rossen Films,Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jackie Gleason was in reality a very good pool player and did many of his own shots in the film.

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Goofs

During the first match with Fats, the time at one point is shown to be 4:00. Later, the time shown is again 4:00.

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Quotes

Big John: You Eddie Felson.
Fast Eddie: Who's he?
Big John: What's your game? Whaddaya shoot?
Fast Eddie: You name it, we shoot it.
Big John: Look, friend, I'm not trying to hustle. I don't never hustle people that walk in a poolroom with leather satchels. Don't try to hustle me.
Fast Eddie: Okay, I'm Eddie Felson. I shoot straight pool.

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Connections

Referenced in How to Make Trick Shots (2010)

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Soundtracks

Louisville Dixieland
(1961) (uncredited)
Music by Dan Terry

User Reviews

Superb film by a great director.

Because of his tragically erratic, often interrupted career, Robert Rossen is rarely put into the pantheon of great Hollywood directors. However, he produced three films which deserve a permanent place among the classics, All the Kings Men( probably the best film about American politics), Lilith( one of the greatest films about mental illness) and this, a movie which DESERVES to be ranked with the hundred greatest, and possibly the fifty greatest, American films. It is superbly acted, brilliantly photographed and edited, and directed with clarity and assurance. In a just world ( if there is such a place), an special Oscar would have been bestowed on Newman, Laurie, Scott, and Gleason AS A GROUP. Piper Laurie was unforgettably poignant, Scott unforgettably sleazy, and Gleason... well, Gleason simply IS Minnesota Fats. Paul Newman almost certainly deserved the Oscar.It was an amusing irony, perhaps a little joke by God, that the bartender in the movie was played by none other than Jake LaMotta.