THE HUSTLER

THE HUSTLER - 1961

RATED - NR but probably PG-13.  Almost every scene involves alcohol and adult topics.  There is no foul language, sex or nudity.  There is some minor violence, mostly partially hidden or off screen.

RATINGS - 115 Amazon (4.5/5), 337,363 Netflix (4.0/5), 24,464 IMDB (8.2/10)

STARRING - Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, George Scott, Piper Laurie and Myron McCormick.

AWARDS - Nine Academy Award Nominations including BEST PICTURE, BEST ACTOR, BEST ACTRESS and two BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR. BAFTA BEST PICTURE award and several Golden Globe nominations including BEST ACTOR.

THEMES - Relationships, justice.

STORY - The film opens with a typical scene in a day of the lives of 'Fast Eddie' (Newman) and Charlie (McCormick).  Another small town stop pretending to be salesman with car trouble on their way to a sales award convention so they need to spend a few hours at the local pool hall while their car is being worked on.  They go into their routine to 'setup' the locals for the big hustle and at the end of the day the locals are a few hundred dollars lighter.  The ultimate goal is to 'hustle' the mighty one, Minnesota Fats (Gleason) who hasn't been beaten in 15 years.  The big match lasts 36 grueling hours and several bottles of booze.  The cocky, swaggering Eddie has met his match but it wasn't the pool skills that did him in.  Can he recover or is he the 'born loser' that Bert Gordon (Scott), the 'Fat Man's manager and professional gambler, accuses him of being?  Sarah (Laurie) enters the picture and can two 'born losers'  rehabilitate each other?  The acting is outstanding by all five main characters and the settings in seedy bars, bus stations and pool halls genuinely gives the feeling of life in another world where day to day survival is fueled by alcohol and nicotine and petty pursuits. Can anyone pull themselves out of this environment or are they destined to be 'born losers'?  Human nature at its most raw and vulnerable. One of Newman's great performances along with Gleason, Scott and Laurie.  A classic!!! 

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB/TRAILER

REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT

REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT - 1962

RATED - NR but probably PG for some boxing violence & adult themes.

RATINGS - 25 AMAZON (4/5), 757 IMBD (7.8/10), 20,270 NETFLIX (3.8/5).

STARRING - Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney, Julie Harris

THEMES - Loyalty, friendship, love, gambling, hustling.

STORY - The film begins in the ring with the aging heavyweight boxer Mountain Rivera (Quinn) getting pounded by the then real life Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali). Once ranked as high as 5th in the world, he has been reduced to a sure win for those on the way up and a payday for his manager. It's all he's ever done and he's not prepared to do anything else in life. The doc tells him this is it. Another blow to the head and his eyesight may not survive that one. His manager (Gleason) and trainer (Rooney) have other ideas. Mountain is their paycheck and besides, Gleason just bet (and lost) that Mountain wouldn't last 4 rounds against Clay. He needs to keep the franchise going because he isn't prepared for anything else, either. Mountain tries the unemployment office where the case worker (Harris) takes a personal, as well as professional, interest in helping this 'mountain' of a man who is lost outside the ring. The scene when he takes her to the bar where he always hangs out and tries to treat her like a 'lady' is a classic. Gleason, meanwhile, is being pursued by the mob to make good on his bet. Rivera is caught in the middle of this tragedy as friendship and loyalty are put to the test. This is NOT an uplifting, all ends well story. I can't imagine a better cast for this story written by Rod Serling (Twilight Zone) for TV six years earlier.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMBD