The Hustler

Fast Eddie Felson hustles pool halls, losing on purpose to build the money. His real target is one name: Minnesota Fats. Their first meeting runs twenty-five hours and Eddie destroys himself just as he is about to win. What follows is his recovery, a relationship with Sarah, and an arrangement with the gambler Bert Gordon. What Eddie has to learn is not technique but character. Robert Rossen directed, from Walter Tevis's 1959 novel. Paul Newman plays Fast Eddie and Jackie Gleason plays Minnesota Fats. Rossen said what it was about himself: his protagonist wants to become a great pool player, but the film is really about the obstacles he meets while trying to fulfil himself as a human being. It received Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Director, Actor and Actress, and won for Art Direction and Cinematography. It took Best Film at the BAFTAs and the screenplay won a Writers Guild award. It is credited with reviving interest in pool across America and with bringing the champion Willie Mosconi to a wide audience. The Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 1997. Paul Newman won his only Oscar years later, in 1986, playing the same character in The Color of Money, which many took as belated recognition for this performance. Who it is for: viewers who like black and white American drama, tension over a pool table and Paul Newman. Who it is not for: anyone wanting a sports-film victory. The film is about losing and what it costs.