The Hustler

• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Drama
• Movie Type: Sports Drama, Psychological Drama
• Themes: Hotshots, Dangerous Friends, Down on Their Luck
• Director: Robert Rossen
• Main Cast: Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie, George C. Scott, Myron McCormick
• Release Year: 1961
• Country: US
• Run Time: 134 minutes

Plot

As The Hustler's "Fast" Eddie Felson, Paul Newman created a classic antihero, charismatic but fundamentally flawed, and nobody's role model. A pool player from Oakland, CA, as good as anyone who ever picked up a cue, Eddie has an Achilles' heel: arrogance. It's not enough for him to win: he must force his opponent to acknowledge his superiority. The movie follows Eddie from his match against billiards champ Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) as he falls in love with Sarah (Piper Laurie), an alcoholic would-be writer and sometime prostitute, and falls under the spell of Bert Gordon (George C. Scott), a successful gambler who offers to take Eddie under his wing and teach him how to play in the big time. However, when Sarah joins Eddie and Bert on a trip to Louisville for a high-stakes match with a dandy named Findlay (Murray Hamilton), the consequences prove tragic. Along with a classic performance by Newman, The Hustler also features turns by Scott, Laurie, and Gleason, in a rare dramatic role. Cameos from pool champ Willie Mosconi and boxer Jake LaMotta add to the atmosphere of Harry Horner's grubby production design and Eugen Schüfftan's camerawork. Director Robert Rossen, who had been working in films since 1937, was to direct only one more film, Lilith (1964), before his death in 1966. In 1986, Newman returned to the role of "Fast" Eddie in Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money, for which he finally earned an Academy Award as Best Actor. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Review

The Hustler combines elements of film noir, Westerns, sports films, and a heavy dose of existentialism. Some have suggested that the film has a Biblical aspect: the ever-darkened pool halls are each man's Hell, with the parasitic Bert Gordon (George C. Scott) as the Satanic figure who lures Eddie with his own brand of apple. Others point to the film as a parable for the conflict between art and commerce, utilitarianism and metaphysics. Regardless of interpretation, The Hustler is a crackling good morality tale, with a series of top-notch performances, appropriately moody black-and-white cinematography, and a master and prodigy conflict as old as the ages. Paul Newman's performance is a raw-nerved, twitchy wonder, while Jackie Gleason, Scott, and Piper Laurie provide supporting performances of rare depth. Director Robert Rossen allows the complex relationships of the film's key figures plenty of time to evolve, while his careful work establishes a tangibly musty and seedy sense of the film's pool hall setting. Fast Eddie's ultimate redemption, which comes at a terrible price, gives the film a melancholy and bittersweet conclusion that is wholly fitting. ~ Dan Jardine, All Movie Guide

the hustler	hustler magazine
Hustler Taboo	hustler shirt