BEFORE: I know I said that November made me think of movies about politics - but that last film had so many tricks and scams, it made me think of "caper" films - films about stings, heists and double-crosses (don't worry, I think this topic will lead me back to politics soon enough...). Let's keep going with sports-related scams + hustles.
THE PLOT: An up-and-coming pool player plays a long-time champion in a single high-stakes match.
AFTER: I feel like I got hustled myself this weekend, we went up to Yonkers to the Empire Casino for the third time. The first time we went, I won a few bucks, and the second time, I lost a bit. This time I had nothing but bad luck, the slots weren't paying off for me at all. Since I didn't recognize any of the same video slot machines from the last time we were there, I'm wondering if they swapped out all the old machines and replaced them with ones that just don't pay out as often. You know, let people win a few bucks in the new casino, show them a good time, then when everyone gets used to going there and they make it part of their routine, change the odds and tighten up the slots...
But we're here to talk about pool, which starts with "P" and that rhymes with "T" and that stands for trouble... Apparently the problem with being a great pool player is that when people recognize you as a great pool player, they won't play you for money, since they'll likely lose. Hence the hustle - making people think you're a lousy player, so they'll play you or bet big against you, which is when you start playing well and taking their money. Or so the theory goes.
"Fast Eddie" Felson challenges the great Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason), and they play in a 40-hour marathon, during which time Eddie gets up $18,000 - that would be a great time to quit and walk away, but Eddie can't seem to quit while he's ahead. So he keeps playing, the Fatman gets his second (or is it third?) wind, and gets his money back.
Eddie loses the match and his partner, then tries to battle his way back in a series of small-stakes games. He also hooks up with a girl, Sarah Packard (Piper Laurie), who likes to drinky-drinky, so he's got a lot of time to go play pool while she's blacked out. Eddie eventually hooks up with a new manager, Bert Gordon (George C. Scott) and travels with him to Louisville on Kentucky Derby Day, and they take Sarah along. Gordon arranges a match with local pool shark Findley, but it turns out Findley plays billiards, not pool (I wish the movie had taken a moment to explain the difference...)
I won't reveal what happens in Louisville, but it leads to a rematch between Eddie and Minnesota Fats. I wish I'd seen more of Jackie Gleason playing pool - the movie was more interesting when he was on-screen - the attire, the mannerisms, the accessories of a pool player all seem intriguing. For the effect of the hustle, all of these things - the way a player dresses, how much he drinks, the way he acts - they're all part of the con.
Piper Laurie played Sarah Packard, and later on "Twin Peaks" she played Catherine Martell, brother of Andrew Packard, and nemesis of her sister-in-law Jocelyn Packard - I'm wondering if this was an inside joke that I didn't understand at the time, or just a coincidence.
And of course I would like to see the sequel film "The Color of Money", as soon as some premium channel chooses to run it...so review to be continued then.
RATING: 5 out of 10 cue-sticks
"The Hustler" gets 5 out of ten just for the rematch alone. Fats is on the ropes. Only Fast Eddie's inexperience and swagger has kept the game from reaching a swift conclusion.
ReplyDeleteFats looks like he's about three minutes from mental and physical shutdown. But then he excuses himself, heads for the men's room, splashes some water on his face, changes into a clean shirt, and then emerges, announcing "Fast Eddie...let's play some pool."
And it goes from there. When there's a pool table in the room it's "Twelve Angry Men" with just two guys holding pool cues.
There's great stuff going on outside that scene, too. So: five points plus whatever it would have earned before then equals Something Greater Than 5.
That's not in the "rematch", that occured during their first meeting, which was a series of games that lasted all night, all the next day - 40 hours total.
ReplyDeleteIt was a great moment, and an important turning point in the movie, but it was at the end of their first series of games, not in the rematch.
Fast Eddie learned not to count someone out when they seemed down, and that he SHOULD have quit while he was ahead in the winnings.