The Hustler is one of those great films that comes along quietly and hits you like a ton of bricks. The story takes place in the arena that is the pool hall with the playing field 8 foot of felt covered slate.
Paul Newman, in a career performance plays Fast Eddie Felson, a small time pool shark who wants to be the baddest stick in the country.
Newman's portrayal of the alternately sneering and sniveling pool hustler is marvelous. We watch with interest his early moves, traveling around with manager Charlie (Myron McCormick) hustling rubes. He wants a crack at the best there is, the Fat Man, Minnesota Fats, and when he gets it, he greedily takes it for granted, disrespecting his opponent and getting drunk rather than tending to business. He thus lets the chance slip through his fingers losing everything. "A loser," concludes the fat man's banker.
In the aftermath he meets another lost soul, Sarah, played by Piper Laurie, an emotionally disturbed, crippled alcoholic. He runs out on his manager and takes up with her. A sleazy thug, Bert Gordon, played by George C. Scott becomes his new manager after some maneuvering and helps him in his bid for a rematch with the Fat Man.
Jackie Gleason, an experienced pool player in his own right, plays Minnesota Fats. "You shoot a good stick, kid," he tells Fast Eddie, at their first encounter. Gleason absolutely embodies the fabled pool champion with every move and mannerism filled with style and grace. He demolishes Newman at their first match as if it was a matter of course, and it is. He has one thing you don't, kid; character, observes Bert Gordon, later, as they discuss Fast Eddie's future.
The movie has multiple layers of meaning and stands up to repeat viewings. In moral terms, The Hustler presents a bleak picture of the real world, with the pool hall the cosmos, Minnesota Fats the established order of things, and Fast Eddie the subversive element that seeks to overthrow. Bert Gordon is the money man who prefers to manipulate things from the sideline, watching where the weight he can bring to bear will make the most impact; a hollow man who must destroy in order to feel alive.
The director, Robert Rossen, filmed in stark black and white. This gave the production a sense of urgency and realism that a color film often lacks. The Kenyon Hopkins jazz score is well suited to the empty theme, spare and meaningful. The script is studded with dozens of significant exchanges between the various characters. The casting is inspired with Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie, and George C. Scott backed up by such scintillating character actors as Vincent Gardenia, Murray Hamilton, and Michael Constantine. The cinematography (Eugene Shuftan) and sets won Academy Awards, the only two statuettes the nine times nominated production won.
Incidentally, you may notice that Jackie Gleason is full on camera when he makes his shots but only Paul Newman's hands are shown because Gleason knew how to shoot while Newman did not.
Fox has released the new two disk DVD of The Hustler. The film is presented in black and white, in 2.35:1 theatrical format, and runs 134 minutes. There are a number of special features, including a commentary from Paul Newman and a bunch of others including the director's daughter, and making trick pool shots, and several more which are worth once through.
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