The Hustler (film)

Infobox Film
name = The Hustler


image_size =
caption = original promotional poster
director = Robert Rossen
producer = Robert Rossen
writer = Walter Tevis (novel)
Sidney Carroll
Robert Rossen (screenplay)
narrator =
starring = Paul Newman
Jackie Gleason
Piper Laurie
George C. Scott
music = Kenyon Hopkins
cinematography = Eugen Schüfftan (as Eugene Shuftan)
editing = Dede Allen
distributor = 20th Century Fox
released = September 25, 1961
runtime = 134 min
country = USA
language = English
budget =
gross =
preceded_by =
followed_by = "The Color of Money"
website =
amg_id = 1:23961
imdb_id = 0054997|

"The Hustler" is a 1961 American drama film. It tells the story of small-time pool hustler, "Fast Eddie" Felson, and his desire to prove himself the best player in the country by beating legendary pool player "Minnesota Fats." After initially losing to Fats and getting involved with unscrupulous manager Bert Gordon, Eddie returns to beat Fats, but only after paying a terrible personal price.

"The Hustler" is an adaptation of the 1959 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis. Sidney Carroll and Robert Rossen adapted the novel for the screen. Rossen directed the film, shot on location in New York City. It stars Paul Newman as Eddie Felson, Jackie Gleason as Minnesota Fats, Piper Laurie as Sarah and George C. Scott as Bert.

The film was a major critical and popular success, gaining a reputation as a modern classic. Its exploration of winning, losing, and character garnered a number of major awards; it is also credited with helping to spark a resurgence in the popularity of pool. A real pool hustler was inspired to adopt the name of Gleason's character, Minnesota Fats, and to use the association with the film in his search for celebrity.

Plot

Small-time pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson (Paul Newman) travels cross-country with his partner Charlie (Myron McCormick) to challenge the legendary player "Minnesota Fats" (Jackie Gleason). Arriving at Ames, Fats's home pool hall, Eddie declares he will win $10,000 that night. Fats arrives and he and Eddie agree to play for $200 a game. After initially falling behind, Eddie surges back to being $1,000 ahead, and suggests raising the bet to $1,000 a game; Fats agrees. He sends out a runner, Preacher (Stefan Gierasch) to Johnny's Bar, ostensibly for a bottle of whiskey, but really to get professional gambler Bert Gordon (George C. Scott) to the hall. Eddie gets ahead $11,000 and Charlie tries to convince him to quit, but Eddie insists the game will end only when Fats says it is over. Fats agrees to continue after Bert labels Eddie a "loser." After 25 hours and an entire bottle of bourbon, Eddie is ahead over $18,000, but loses it all along with all but $200 of his original stake. At their hotel, Eddie leaves half of the remaining stake with a sleeping Charlie and leaves.

Eddie stashes his belongings at the local bus terminal, where he meets Sarah Packard (Piper Laurie), an alcoholic "college girl" who walks with a limp. He meets her again at a bar. They go back to her place but she refuses to let him in, saying he is "too hungry." Eddie moves into a rooming house and starts hustling for small stakes. He finds Sarah again and this time she takes him in, but with reservations.

Charlie finds Eddie at Sarah's and tries to persuade him to go back out on the road. Eddie refuses and Charlie figures out he plans to challenge Fats again. Eddie realizes that Charlie held out his percentage and becomes enraged, believing that with that money he could have rebounded to beat Fats. Eddie dismisses Charlie as a scared old man and tells him to "go lie down and die" by himself.

At Johnny's Bar, Eddie finds a poker game where Bert is sitting and Eddie loses $20. After the game, Bert tells Eddie that he has talent as a pool player but no character. He figures that Eddie will need at least $3,000 to challenge Fats again. Bert calls him a "born loser" but nevertheless offers to stake Eddie in return for 75% of his winnings. Eddie refuses.

Eddie hustles a local pool shark, who breaks Eddie's thumbs. Sarah cares for him and tells him she loves him, but he cannot say the words. When his thumbs heal, Eddie agrees to Bert's terms, deciding that 25% of something is better than 100% of nothing.

Bert, Eddie and Sarah travel to Louisville, Kentucky for the Kentucky Derby, where Bert arranges a match for Eddie against a wealthy local named Findley (Murray Hamilton). The game turns out to be billiards, not pool. Eddie loses badly and Bert refuses to keep staking him. Sarah pleads with Eddie to leave with her, saying that the world he's living in and its inhabitants are "perverted, twisted and crippled;" he refuses. Seeing Eddie's anger, Bert agrees to let the match continue at $1,000 a game. Eddie comes back to win $12,000. He collects his $3,000 share and decides to walk back to the hotel. Bert arrives first and subjects Sarah to a humiliating sexual encounter. After, she scrawls "PERVERTED", "TWISTED" and "CRIPPLED" in lipstick on the bathroom mirror. Eddie arrives back at the hotel to learn that she has killed herself.

Eddie returns to challenge Fats again, putting up his entire $3,000 stake on a single game. He wins game after game, beating Fats so badly that Fats is forced to quit. Bert demands a share of Eddie's winnings but Eddie, invoking the memory of Sarah, shames Bert into giving up his claim.

Production

The Tevis novel had been optioned several times, including by Frank Sinatra, but attempts to adapt it for the screen were unsuccessful. Director Rossen's daughter Carol Rossen speculates that previous adaptations focused too much on the pool aspects of the story and not enough on the human interaction. Rossen, who had hustled pool himself as a youth and who had made an abortive attempt to write a pool-themed play called "Corner Pocket", optioned the book and teamed with Sidney Carroll to produce the script. [Rossen, Carol. DVD commentary, "The Hustler" Special Edition]

According to Bobby Darin's agent, Martin Baum, Paul Newman's agent turned down the part of Fast Eddie.Starr p. 77] Newman was originally unavailable to play Fast Eddie regardless, being committed to star opposite Elizabeth Taylor in the film "Two for the Seesaw". Rossen offered Darin the part after seeing him on "The Mike Wallace Interview".Starr p. 76] When Taylor was forced to drop out of "Seesaw" because of shooting overruns on "Cleopatra", Newman was freed up to take the role, which he accepted after reading just half of the script.Newman, Paul. DVD commentary, "The Hustler" Special Edition] No one associated with the production officially notified Darin or his representatives that he had been replaced; they found out from a member of the public at a charity horse race. [Starr pp. 76–7]

Rossen filmed "The Hustler" over six weeks, entirely in New York City. Much of the action was filmed at two now-defunct pool halls, McGirr's and Ames Billiard Academy.Dyer pp. 117–9] Other shooting locations included a townhouse on East 82nd Street, which served as the Louisville home of Murray Hamilton's character Findley, and the Manhattan Greyhound bus terminal. The film crew built a dining area that was so realistic that confused passengers sat there and waited to place their orders. [cite news
title = 'The Hustler,' at Martini, Filmed On Location In N.Y.
work = The Galveston News
date = 1961-10-05 ] Willie Mosconi served as technical advisor on the film and shot a number of the trick shots in place of the actors.cite news
last = Ebert
first = Roger
title = The Hustler (1961)
work = Chicago Sun-Times
date = 2002-06-23
url = http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20020623/REVIEWS08/206230301/1023
accessdate = 2008-03-31] Rossen, in pursuit of the style he termed "neo-neo-realistic", [cite news
last = Kilgallen
first = Dorothy
title = Voice of Broadway
work = New Castle (PA) News
date = 1961-05-29 ] hired actual street thugs, enrolled them in the Screen Actors Guild and used them as extras. [cite news
title = Dream Street
work = Uniontown (PA) Morning Herald
date = 1961-09-08 ]

Early shooting put more focus on the pool playing, but during filming Rossen made the decision to place more emphasis on the love story between Newman and Laurie's characters. [cite news
last =Kilgallen
first =Dorothy
title = Edith Piaf Worries Friends
work = Lowell Sun
date = 1961-04-21 ] Despite the change in emphasis, Rossen still used the various pool games to show the strengthening of Eddie's character and the evolution of his relationship to Bert and Sarah, through the positioning of the characters in the frame. For example, when Eddie is playing Findley, Eddie is positioned below Bert in a two shot but above Findley while still below Bert in a three shot. When Sarah enters the room, she is below Eddie in two shot while in a three shot Eddie is still below Bert. When Eddie is kneeling over Sarah's body, Bert again appears above him but Eddie attacks Bert, ending up on top of him. Eddie finally appears above Bert in two shot when Eddie returns to beat Fats. [Casty p. 43]

Scenes that were included in the shooting script but did not make it into the final film include a scene at Ames pool hall establishing that Eddie is on his way to town (originally slated to be the first scene of the film) and a longer scene of Preacher talking to Bert at Johnny's Bar which establishes Preacher is a junkie. [Rossen p. 189-92]

Cast

* Paul Newman as Eddie Felson
* Jackie Gleason as Minnesota Fats
* Piper Laurie as Sarah Packard
* George C. Scott as Bert Gordon
* Myron McCormick as Charlie
* Murray Hamilton as Findley
* Stefan Gierasch as Preacher

Pool champion Willie Mosconi has a cameo appearance as Willie, who holds the stakes for Eddie and Fats's games. Boxing champion Jake LaMotta also has a cameo as a bartender.

Themes

"The Hustler" is fundamentally a story of what it means to be a human being, couched within the context of winning and losing. Describing the film, Robert Rossen said: "My protagonist, Fast Eddie, wants to become a great pool player, but the film is really about the obstacles he encounters in attempting to fulfill himself as a human being. He attains self-awareness only after a terrible personal tragedy which he has caused - and then he wins his pool game."Casty p. 41] Roger Ebert concurs with this assessment, citing "The Hustler" as "one of the few American movies in which the hero wins by surrendering, by accepting reality instead of his dreams."

Film and theatre historian Ethan Mordden has identified "The Hustler" as one of a handful of films from the early 1960s that re-defined the relationship of films to their audiences. This relationship, he writes, is "one of challenge rather than flattery, of doubt rather than certainty."Mordden p. 28] No film of the 1950s, Mordden asserts, "took such a brutal, clear look at the ego-affirmation of the one-on-one contest, at the inhumanity of the winner or the castrated vulnerability of the loser." Although some have suggested the resemblance of this film to classic film noir, Mordden rejects the comparison based on Rossen's ultra-realistic style, also noting that the film lacks noir's "Treacherous Woman or its relish in discovering crime among the bourgeoisie, hungry bank clerks and lusty wives."Mordden p. 29] Mordden does note that while Fast Eddie "has a slight fifties ring",Mordden p. 30] the character "makes a decisive break with the extraordinarily "feeling" tough guys of the 'rebel' era ... [b] ut he does end up seeking out his emotions" and telling Bert that Bert is a loser because he's dead inside.

Reception

Critical

"The Hustler" had its world premiere in Washington, D.C. on September 25, 1961. Prior to the premiere, Richard Burton hosted a midnight screening of the film for the casts of the season's Broadway shows, which generated a great deal of positive word of mouth. [cite video
people = Naylor, David (director)
title = The Hustler: The Inside Story
medium = film
year2 = 2001] Initially reluctant to publicize the film, 20th Century Fox responded by stepping up its promotional activities. [Casty p. 40]

The film was well-received by critics, although with the occasional caveat. "Variety" praised the "solid performances"cite news
last = Variety staff
title = The Hustler
work = Variety
publisher = variety.com
date = 1961-01-01
url = http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117791850.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0
accessdate = 2008-04-24] of the entire main cast but felt that the "sordid aspects" of the story prevented the film from achieving the "goal of being pure entertainment." "Variety" also felt the film was far too long. Stanley Kauffmann, writing for "The New Republic", concurred in part with this assessment. Kauffmann strongly praised the principle cast, calling Newman "first-rate"cite news
last = Kauffmann
first = Stanley
title = The Talent of Paul Newman
work = The New Republic
pages = 28
date = 1961-10-09
] and calling Scott's performance "his most credible performance to date." Laurie, he writes, gives her part "movingly anguished touches" (although he also mildly criticizes her for over-reliance on Method acting). Although he found that the script "strains hard to give an air of menace and criminality to the pool hall" and also declares it "full of pseudo-meaning", Kauffmann lauds Rossen's "sure, economical" direction, especially in regard to Gleason who, he says, does not so much act as " [pose] for a number of pictures which are well arranged by Rossen. It is the best use of a manikin by a director since Kazan photographed Burl Ives as Big Daddy." The "New York Times", despite finding that the film "strays a bit"cite news
last = Weiler
first = A H
title = Provocative Duo: 'The Hustler' and 'The Mark' Again Show Films Can Hit Social Ills
work = The New York Times
date = 1961-10-08
] and that the romance between Newman and Laurie's characters "seems a mite far-fetched", nonetheless found that "The Hustler" "speaks powerfully in a universal language that spellbinds and reveals bitter truths."

Awards

"The Hustler" received nine Academy Award nominations. The film won two, for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White (Harry Horner and Gene Callahan) and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (Eugen Schüfftan). The film was also nominated for Best Picture and Newman was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Gleason and Scott were both nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role; Scott refused the nomination. Laurie was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Rossen received nominations for Best Director and, with Carroll, for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. [cite web
title = The Hustler - Awards
publisher = allmovieguide.com
url = http://www.allmovieguide.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:23961~T4
accessdate = 2008-03-31]

Newman was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. Gleason and Scott were each nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Scott was also nominated as Best New Star of the Year. [cite web
title = Awards Search: The Hustler
publisher = Hollywood Foreign Press Association
url = http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/film/25327
accessdate = 2008-03-31]

At the 1962 BAFTA Awards, "The Hustler" tied with the Soviet film "Ballad of a Soldier" for Best Film from Any Source. Newman won for Best Foreign Actor and Piper Laurie was nominated for Best Foreign Actress. [cite web
title = Film Nominations - 1961
publisher = British Academy of Film and Television Awards
url = http://www.bafta.org/awards/film/nominations/?year=1961
accessdate = 2008-03-31] Gleason was honored as Best Supporting Actor by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures and the film was named among the Board's ten best films of 1961. [cite web
title = Awards - 1961
publisher = National Board of Review of Motion Pictures
url = http://www.nbrmp.org/awards/past.cfm?year=1961
accessdate = 2008-03-31] Rossen was named Best Director by the New York Film Critics Circle Awards [cite web
title = New York Film Critics Circle: 1961 Awards
publisher = New York Film Critics Circle
url = http://www.nyfcc.com/awards.php?year=1961
accessdate = 2008-03-31] and Rossen and Carroll shared the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written Drama. [cite web
title = WGA Awards
publisher = Writers Guild of America
url = http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551
accessdate = 2008-03-31]

Legacy

In the decades since its release, "The Hustler" has cemented its reputation as a classic. It currently holds a 97% "fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes. [cite web
title = The Hustler
publisher = Rotten Tomatoes
url = http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hustler/
accessdate = 2008-04-24] Roger Ebert, echoing earlier praise for the performances, direction and cinematography and adding laurels for editor Dede Allen, cites the film as "one of those films where scenes have such psychic weight that they grow in our memories."cite news
last = Ebert
first = Roger
title = Great Movies: The Hustler
work = Chicago Sun-Times
date = 2002-06-23
url = http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20020623/REVIEWS08/206230301/1023
accessdate = 2008-04-24] He further cites Fast Eddie Felson as one of "only a handful of movie characters so real that the audience refers to them as touchstones." "TV Guide" calls the film a "dark stunner"cite web
title = The Hustler
publisher = TVGuide.com
url = http://www.tvguide.com/movies/hustler/review/101552
accessdate = 2008-04-24] offering "a grim world whose only bright spot is the top of the pool table, yet [with] characters [who] maintain a shabby nobility and grace." The four leads are again lavishly praised for their performances and the film is summed up as "not to be missed."

Paul Newman reprised his role as Fast Eddie Felson in the 1986 film "The Color of Money", for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. A number of observers and critics have suggested that this Oscar was in belated recognition for his performance in "The Hustler". [cite web
last = Berardinelli
first = James
title = Review: Hustler
publisher = Reelviews.net
date = 2002
url = http://www.reelviews.net/movies/h/hustler.html
quote = 25 years late, Newman won the Best Actor Oscar for playing Fast Eddie.
accessdate = 2008-04-24]

In 1997, the Library of Congress selected "The Hustler" for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." [cite news
title = New to the National Film Registry
work = The Library of Congress Information Bulletin
publisher = Library of Congress
date = December 1997
url = http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9712/nfr.html
accessdate = 2008-03-20] Carroll and Rossen's screenplay was selected by the Writers Guild of America in 2006 as the 96th best motion picture screenplay of all time. [cite web
title = 101 Greatest Screenplays
publisher = Writers Guild of America West
url = http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=1807
accessdate = 2008-03-20]

In June 2008, AFI released its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. "The Hustler" was acknowledged as the sixth best film in the sports genre. [cite news | author = American Film Institute | title = AFI Crowns Top 10 Films in 10 Classic Genres | work = ComingSoon.net | date = 2008-06-17 | url = http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=46072 | accessdate= 2008-06-18] [cite web | title= Top 10 Sports | url = http://www.afi.com/10top10/sports.html | publisher= American Film Institute |accessdate= 2008-06-18]

"The Hustler" is credited with sparking a resurgence in the popularity of pool in the United States, which had been on the decline for decades. [Dyer p. 119] The film also brought recognition to Willie Mosconi, who, despite having won multiple world championships, was virtually unknown to the general public. [Dyer p. 117]

Perhaps the greatest beneficiary of the film's popularity was a real-life pool hustler named Rudolf Wanderone. Mosconi claimed in an interview at the time of the film's release that the character of Minnesota Fats was based on Wanderone, who at the time was known as "New York Fatty". Wanderone immediately adopted the Minnesota Fats nickname and parlayed his association with the film into book and television deals and other ventures. Author Walter Tevis denied for the rest of his life that Wanderone had played any role in the creation of the character. [Dyer pp. 121–2] Other players would claim, with greater or lesser degrees of credibility, to have served as models for Fast Eddie, including Ronnie Allen, Ed Taylor, Ed Parker and Eddie Pelkey. [Dyer p. 127]

Notes

References

* Casty, Alan (1969). "The Films of Robert Rossen". New York, The Museum of Modern Art. LCCN 68-54921.
* Mordden, Ethan (1990). "Medium Cool: The Movies of the 1960s". New York, Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0394571576
* Dyer, R. A. (2003). "Hustler Days: Minnesota Fats, Wimpy Lassiter, Jersey Red, and America's Great Age of Pool". New York, Muf Books. ISBN 156731807X.
* Rossen, Robert (1972). "Three Screenplays: All the Kings Men, The Hustler, and Lilith". New York, Anchor Doubleday Books. LCCN 70-175418.
* Starr, Michael and Michael Seth Starr (2004). "Bobby Darin: A Life". Taylor Trade Publications. ISBN 1589791215.

External links

*imdb title|0054997|The Hustler
* [http://www.filmsite.org/hust.html The Hustler at Filmsite.org]