|
The Hustler (1961) 8.1
An up-and-coming pool player plays a long-time champion in a single high-stakes match. Director:Robert RossenWriters:Sidney Carroll (screenplay) (as Sydney Carroll) , Robert Rossen (screenplay), 1 more credit » |
| Watch Trailer 0Share... |
The 25 Most Immersive Worlds in Cinema
Highly immersive cinematic worlds can carry a movie, and we've rounded up the best of the best.
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Related Items
Search for "The Hustler" on Amazon.com
Share this Rating
Title: The Hustler (1961)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
Learn more
People who liked this also liked...
The Color of Money
(1986)
Drama
|
Sport
Director:
Martin Scorsese
Stars:
Paul Newman,
Tom Cruise,
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
Cool Hand Luke
(1967)
Crime
|
Drama
Director:
Stuart Rosenberg
Stars:
Paul Newman,
George Kennedy,
Strother Martin
Certificate: M
Biography
|
Crime
|
Western
Director:
George Roy Hill
Stars:
Paul Newman,
Robert Redford,
Katharine Ross
Papillon
(1973)
Biography
|
Crime
|
Drama
Director:
Franklin J. Schaffner
Stars:
Steve McQueen,
Dustin Hoffman,
Victor Jory
High Noon
(1952)
Drama
|
Western
Director:
Fred Zinnemann
Stars:
Gary Cooper,
Grace Kelly,
Thomas Mitchell
Anatomy of a Murder
(1959)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Mystery
Director:
Otto Preminger
Stars:
James Stewart,
Lee Remick,
Ben Gazzara
The Sting
(1973)
Comedy
|
Crime
|
Drama
Director:
George Roy Hill
Stars:
Paul Newman,
Robert Redford,
Robert Shaw
The Big Sleep
(1946)
Crime
|
Film-Noir
|
Mystery
Director:
Howard Hawks
Stars:
Humphrey Bogart,
Lauren Bacall,
John Ridgely
The Night of the Hunter
(1955)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Film-Noir
Directors:
Charles Laughton,
Robert Mitchum, and 1 more credit »
Stars:
Robert Mitchum,
Shelley Winters,
Lillian Gish
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
Mike Nichols
Stars:
Elizabeth Taylor,
Richard Burton,
George Segal
The Great Escape
(1963)
Adventure
|
Drama
|
History
Director:
John Sturges
Stars:
Steve McQueen,
James Garner,
Richard Attenborough
Judgment at Nuremberg
(1961)
Drama
|
History
|
War
Director:
Stanley Kramer
Stars:
Spencer Tracy,
Burt Lancaster,
Richard Widmark
Edit
Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Paul Newman | ... | ||
| Jackie Gleason | ... | ||
| Piper Laurie | ... | ||
| George C. Scott | ... | ||
 |
Myron McCormick | ... |
Charlie Burns
|
| Murray Hamilton | ... |
Findley
|
|
| Michael Constantine | ... |
Big John
|
|
| Stefan Gierasch | ... |
Preacher
|
|
|
|
Clifford A. Pellow | ... |
Turk
(as Cliff Pellow)
|
| Jake LaMotta | ... |
Bartender
|
|
|
|
Gordon B. Clarke | ... |
Cashier
|
|
|
Alexander Rose | ... |
Score Keeper
|
|
|
Carolyn Coates | ... |
Waitress
|
|
|
Carl York | ... |
Young Hustler
|
| Vincent Gardenia | ... |
Bartender
|
|
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Storyline
"Fast" Eddie Felson is a small-time pool hustler with a lot of talent but a self-destructive attitude. His bravado causes him to challenge the legendary "Minnesota Fats" to a high-stakes match, but he loses in a heartbreaking marathon. Now broke and without his long-time manager, Felson faces an uphill battle to regain his confidence and his game. It isn't until he hits rock bottom that he agrees to join up with ruthless and cutthroat manager Bert Gordon. Gordon agrees to take him on the road to learn the ropes. But Felson soon realizes that making it to the top could cost him his soul, and perhaps his girlfriend. Will he decide that this is too steep a price to pay in time to save himself? Written by <jgp3553@yahoo.com>
Taglines:
Trapped by the underworld . . . they risked love and fortune in a desperate gamble! See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
Edit
See more »
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
25 September 1961 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Robert Rossen's The Hustler See more »Box Office
Budget:
$2,000,000 (estimated)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
Edit
Fast Eddie: Fine.
Bert Gordon: Good. I'd hate to think I was puttin' my money on a cripple.
Fast Eddie: Hey, whaddaya say somethin' like that for?
Sarah Packard: It's alright, Eddie. I'm sure Mr. Gordon meant no offense. It was a figure of speech.
Bert Gordon: That's right, Miss Packard.
Sarah Packard: And a fact is a fact.
Bert Gordon: Smart girl, Eddie.
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
The film crew built a dining area that was so realistic that people showed up expecting to have their orders taken. See more »Goofs
In the last game with Fats, Eddie starts by calling and pocketing the 1 ball and the 12 ball. Eddie is talking to Bert as he sets up his next shot, a 4 ball, which he then pockets. His next string of calls - the 5 ball, the 14 ball, and then the 4 ball again (which he had already pocketed). See more »Quotes
Bert Gordon: How's your hand?Fast Eddie: Fine.
Bert Gordon: Good. I'd hate to think I was puttin' my money on a cripple.
Fast Eddie: Hey, whaddaya say somethin' like that for?
Sarah Packard: It's alright, Eddie. I'm sure Mr. Gordon meant no offense. It was a figure of speech.
Bert Gordon: That's right, Miss Packard.
Sarah Packard: And a fact is a fact.
Bert Gordon: Smart girl, Eddie.
See more »
I've seen The Hustler repeated times, thought not as many as some of the other commentators. Recently I saw it for the first time in the theater, at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin. Watching "The Hustler" in a theater is like listening to Dave Brubeck's "Time Out" album: you start to see and even hear things in black and white. You know the pool tables are green, and the balls are multi-colored, but somehow the black and white perfectly matches the colorless existence of the protagonist and his supporting players. You can smell the cigarettes, taste the booze.
Newman, Gleason, Scott, and Laurie all turn in great performances. But this movie, made after the heyday of the studio players' contract, still bears the hallmark of great movies from that era: strong supporting performances all the way down the line. Vincent Gardenia, for pete's sake, as the unlucky bartender in the first scene! Michael Constantine as Big John. Myron McCormick as Charlie, Eddie's sponsor most of the way through the movie. And Murray Hamilton as the millionaire Southern mark. This movie was made when supporting roles were an end in themselves, by actors who believed every second they were on screen should be of high quality.
The day I wrote this review -- January 18, 2004 -- The Hustler was no. 143 on the Top 250 list. No way are there 142 better movies.