The Color of Money (1986)

Fast Eddie Felson teaches a cocky but immensely talented protégé the ropes of pool hustling, which in turn inspires him to make an unlikely comeback.

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers:

Walter Tevis (novel), Richard Price (screenplay)

Stars:

Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Newman	...	Fast Eddie Felson
Tom Cruise	...	Vincent Lauria
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio	...	Carmen
Helen Shaver	...	Janelle
John Turturro	...	Julian
Bill Cobbs	...	Orvis
Robert Agins	...	Earl at Chalkie's
Alvin Anastasia	...	Kennedy
Randall Arney	...	Child World Customer #1
Elizabeth Bracco	...	Diane at Bar
Vito D'Ambrosio	...	Lou at Child World
Ron Dean	...	Guy in Crowd
Lisa Dodson	...	Child World Customer #2
Donald A. Feeney	...	Referee #1
Paul Geier	...	Two Brothers / Stranger Player

Storyline

Pool hustler Fast Eddie Felson finds the young, promising pool player Vincent in a local bar and he sees in him a younger version of himself. To try and make it as in the old days, Eddie offers to teach Vincent how to be a hustler. After some hesitations Vincent accepts and Eddie takes him and Vincent's girlfriend Carmen on a tour through the country to work the pool halls. However, Vincent's tendency to show off his talent and by doing so warning off the players and losing money, soon leads to a confrontation with Eddie.

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Plot Keywords:

pool | pool player | hustler | losing | tournament | 

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Taglines:

The Hustler isn't what he used to be, but he has the next best thing. A kid who is.

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Genres:

Drama | Sport

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

17 October 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Hustler; 8-Ball

Filming Locations:

Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,800,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,357,877, 19 October 1986, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$52,293,982

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Silver Screen Partners II

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Paul Newman won the Best Actor Oscar for this picture, he and wife Joanne Woodward became the first married couple to win his and hers Oscars since Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier. Newman's win also came after he had already received an Honorary Oscar Statuette the previous year. The win was widely considered based on sentimentality and guilt that one of Hollywood's leading male actors had never won.

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Goofs

Carmen says to Vincent "Nice guys finish last". Vincent replies "Oh, is that original or did you just make that up?", which means the same thing.

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Quotes

Vincent Lauria: [Eddie has just run the table] Pretty damn good.
Eddie Felson: Not bad for a blind man. Rack 'em.
Vincent Lauria: Yes sir, boss. Rack 'em up for Mr. Fast Eddie!
Eddie Felson: I haven't played serious pool since before you were born, and right off the bat, I'm layin' 'em to waste! Watch this. Nine on the break...

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Crazy Credits

Dog Walkby (Zoe)

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Connections

Referenced in Free Enterprise (1998)

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Soundtracks

One More Night
Written and Performed by Phil Collins
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp. / WEA International
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

Paul Newman outclasses Tom Cruise

Pool hustler Fast Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) discovers a cocky, young pool player Vincent (Tom Cruise) in a local bar. Along with Vincent's girl Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), he tries to teach the youngster all that he knows about the hustle.

Tom Cruise overplays the cocky arrogant characters. At times, he plays him like a cartoon character. Luckily Paul Newman could bring the acting chops to this movie. When Paul's character loses to Amos (Forest Whitaker), you see a history of the man's failures. You felt his defeat emotionally. Martin Scorsese directs this. I wonder if Martin Scorsese held back a little. The violence and grittiness for which he's known for isn't all there. They're traveling the darkest and lowest pool halls, but it could have been much worst.