Monday, October 30, 2017

THE HUSTLER (1961): Pool Room Drama



At 135 minutes, The Hustler, filmed in black and white, resembles a move from the 1930s or 1940s in all of its grittiness.  It also resembles more modern films that are always trying to say something more by giving us an ambiguous leading character.  But unlike those same films, The Hustler succeeds in accomplishing that feat. 

Directed by Robert Rossen, this movie includes top performances by Paul Newman as Fast Eddie Felson, George C. Scott as the villainous Bert Gordon, Jackie Gleason as pool shark Minnesota Fats, and Piper Laurie as the emotionally fragile Sarah.

Eddie comes to Ames, Iowa, with his longtime partner, Charlie, to take on the legendary Minnesota Fats in a marathon pool contest.  Eddie at first has the upper hand on Fats and is up at one point close to $18,000.  This doesn’t last, however.  Soon Eddie, full of liquor and his own conceit, then begins to lose all of the money he has so far won.  When it appears Eddie has no money left, Fats leaves the pool hall.

The loss to Minnesota Fats haunts Eddie.  So badly does he want to revenge this loss that he abandons Charlie in a hotel room, and he tries to set out on his own to pick up extra cash.  The result is fairly predictable.  He can’t find good prospects to hustle, and eventually he ends up in a poolroom in the rough side of town where he gets his thumbs broken.

At about this time, Eddie involves himself with Sarah, an alcoholic supported by her rich father.  Though both Eddie and Sarah are dealing with their own demons, they do actually love each other.  More disastrously, Eddie involves himself with Bert, a big time promoter and gambler.  Bert cares nothing about Eddie or Sarah.  He only likes money and action.  Yet Bert is the only one willing to bankroll Eddie in his quest to once again play against Minnesota Fats.

Eventually Eddie, Sarah and Bert end up in Louisville, where Eddie is set up to play a rich billiards player.  Eddie has never played three-cushion billiards before (he only knows pool), but in the end he manages to win.  However, he only does so by begging Bert for money and telling Sarah to leave him alone.  Bert then returns to the hotel where Sarah is staying at, seduces her, and she in turns commits suicide.

With $3,000 to his name after his victory in billiards in Louisville, Eddie then returns to Ames, plays Minnesota Fats and comes out victorious.  The victory is, of course, a hallow one due to the loss of Sarah.  Also, his refusal to pay Bert any percentage of his winnings from Minnesota Fats leads to the banning of Eddie from ever playing in a big-time pool hall again.

The Hustler is an almost unbearably sad film.  In the end, only Eddie, Sarah and Minnesota Fats appear to have any human qualities.  Sarah dies.  Eddie is condemned to never play again the game he is so good at.  And Minnesota Fats is destined to have to associate with someone like Bert Gordon.  Yet unlike Bert, the three generate what we would call real emotion and live real lives – not at the expense of others.

There was a sequel to The Hustler made in 1986 called The Color of Money.  It certainly wasn’t the worst sequel ever made, and it was a better than average movie.  It just never matched The Hustler in quality filmmaking.  The Hustler is a film that is unusually exceptional on various levels.  The pool scenes between Fats and Eddie are entertaining in themselves.  Also, the pool game and Eddie’s development as a pool player is largely symbolic of Eddie’s development of character.  The term “character” is uttered several instances throughout the movie.  Finally, The Hustler is a well-told story of someone coming of age.  Eddie matures during the course of the film.  Sadly, it is too late when he realizes just how much he loses in growing up.

October 30, 2017



© Robert S. Miller 2017