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IMDb > The Hustler (1961)
The Hustler
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The Hustler (1961) More at IMDbPro »

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The Hustler (1961) -- An up-and-coming pool player plays a long-time champion in a single high-stakes match.
The Hustler (1961) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)

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Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 8% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Sidney Carroll (screenplay) and
Robert Rossen (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Hustler on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
25 September 1961 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
They Called Him "Fast Eddie" more
Plot:
An up-and-coming pool player plays a long-time champion in a single high-stakes match. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Won 2 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 13 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(37 articles)
Birthday Suits 11/07
 (From FilmExperience. 7 November 2009, 8:45 AM, PST)

Weekend Shopping Guide 10/16/09: Boosh Is Mighty
 (From . 16 October 2009, 3:56 PM, PDT)

User Reviews:
Superb film by a great director. more (113 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Paul Newman ... Eddie Felson
Jackie Gleason ... Minnesota Fats
Piper Laurie ... Sarah Packard

George C. Scott ... Bert Gordon
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
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Robert Rossen's The Hustler (USA) (complete title)
more
Runtime:
134 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Company:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
An aficionado of acting, George C. Scott told interviewer Lawrence Grobel in his December 1980 "Playboy" magazine interview that his The Hustler (1961) co-star Paul Newman's performance in that film was nothing special (both actors were nominated for Academy Awards for their performances). However, he found Newman's performance as the eponymous Hud (1963) to be a superb piece of acting. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: After thugs break his thumbs, Eddie wears cast on his hands that remain sparking white for weeks - an impossibility because casts are dirt magnets that quickly become dingy-looking under the best of conditions and he's seen spilling coffee on them, lives in a seedy apartment, goes outside for a picnic and so on. more
Quotes:
[last lines]
Fast Eddie: Fat man, you shoot a great game of pool.
Minnesota Fats: So do you, Fast Eddie.
more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
Louisville more

FAQ

A Note Regarding Spoilers
Is "The Hustler" based on a novel?
Any recommendation for other pool-playing movies like "The Hustler"?
more
37 out of 51 people found the following review useful.
Superb film by a great director., 4 May 1999
10/10
Author: Joseph Harder (jah5y@virginia.edu) from warren michigan

Because of his tragically erratic, often interrupted career, Robert Rossen is rarely put into the pantheon of great Hollywood directors. However, he produced three films which deserve a permanent place among the classics, All the Kings Men( probably the best film about American politics), Lilith( one of the greatest films about mental illness) and this, a movie which DESERVES to be ranked with the hundred greatest, and possibly the fifty greatest, American films. It is superbly acted, brilliantly photographed and edited, and directed with clarity and assurance. In a just world ( if there is such a place), an special Oscar would have been bestowed on Newman, Laurie, Scott, and Gleason AS A GROUP. Piper Laurie was unforgettably poignant, Scott unforgettably sleazy, and Gleason... well, Gleason simply IS Minnesota Fats. Paul Newman almost certainly deserved the Oscar.It was an amusing irony, perhaps a little joke by God, that the bartender in the movie was played by none other than Jake LaMotta.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Hustler (1961)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Why was Burt a bad guy? Coolhandjosh
type of game they played Royalroland656
The Hustler ClydeBrowne
George C Scott or Jackie Gleason? kag2-1
Sarha in the Mirror falconfightfist
Newman and Scott both got robbed deniropacino89
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