The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)

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.

Director:

John Cassavetes

Writer:

John Cassavetes

Stars:

Ben Gazzara, Timothy Carey, Seymour Cassel

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Cosmo Vitelli owns the Crazy Horse West, a strip joint in California. He's laconic, a Korean War vet, and a gambler. When we meet him, he's making his last payment on a gambling debt. Then, he promptly loses $23,000 playing poker at an illegal local casino. The guys he owes this time aren't so friendly, pressuring him for immediate payment. Then they suggest that he kill a Chinese bookie to wipe off the debt. Vitelli and the film move back and forth between the double-crossing, murderous insincerity of the gamblers and the friendships, sweetness, and even love among Vitelli, the dancers, a dancer's mother, and the club's singer, Mr. Sophistication.

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Plot Keywords:

strip club | nightclub | nude black woman | female nudity | gambling debt | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 October 1977 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Mordet på en kinesisk bookmaker

Company Credits

Production Co:

Faces Distribution

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min 109 min (1978 Re-Release)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Haji portrayed a character, Haji, who had the same name as her own, as she had previously done in Bigfoot (1970).

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Quotes

Cosmo Vitelli: I'm a club owner. I deal in girls.

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Alternate Versions

The original version runs 135 minutes. Two years after the release director John Cassavetes prepared a different theatrical cut with a running time of 108 minutes, both adding and removing scenes resulting in a different film.

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Connections

Referenced in Meurtre d'un broutemécouilles chinois (1998)

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Soundtracks

After the Ball
(uncredited)
Written by Charles Harris
Performed by Meade Roberts and others

User Reviews

John Cassavetes: a fearless filmmaker

John Cassavetes is widely regarded as being the father of American independent film. Using his fees as an actor in films such as "The Killers" (1964) and "Rosemary's Baby" (1968, he funded his own films away from the interference of Hollywood. In this film, Ben Gazzara plays Cosmo Vitelli, a nightclub owner who lives way beyond his means and manages to get into a massive gambling debt with the mob. This leads to the gangsters putting heavy pressure on Cosmo to perform a hit for them in order that he pays back the debt. The film deals with Cosmo's attempts to extricate himself from these proceedings whilst still keeping his integrity, not to mention his life intact.

The film can be seen as having parables with Cassavetes own dealings with Hollywood studios and his attempts, not unlike those of the films protagonist to keep his integrity and his artistic vision intact. The film is a classic example of 70's American cinema when the old studio system had collapsed and filmmakers had the freedom to make whatever films they liked no matter how personal or non commercial they might seem. This is a truly great film.