Before the Hustler

jimmyco said:
As were Tony Curtis and Bobby Darin, if you believe everything you read on the Internet to be true.
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I said I read it but the Jack lemmon thing I heard him say in an interview. You know how they always ask actors about parts they took that they regretted or parts they didn't get stuff like that and he mentioned the Hustler.

There's probably lots of reasons but while Paul Newman and Jack lemmon are exactly the same age, Paul Newman looked a lot younger. The impression is that Eddie Felson is pretty young.

My wife and I watched The Hustler just the other night. I got to tell you, I'm looking at it through older eyes now. There's not one character in the movie that has any redeeming value as a human being.

These are one of the biggest collection of scumbags ever to be on a movie screen. If you have to pick one, probably Minnesota fats is the only nice guy in the whole movie.
 
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middleofnowhere said:
I said I read it but the Jack lemmon thing I heard him say in an interview. You know how they always ask actors about parts they took that they regretted or parts they didn't get stuff like that and he mentioned the Hustler.

There's probably lots of reasons but while Paul Newman and Jack lemmon are exactly the same age, Paul Newman looked a lot younger. The impression is that Eddie Felson is pretty young.

My wife and I watched The Hustler just the other night. I got to tell you, I'm looking at it through older eyes now. There's not one character in the movie that has any redeeming value as a human being.

These are one of the biggest collection of scumbags ever to be on a movie screen. If you have to pick one, probably Minnesota fats is the only nice guy in the whole movie.
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Well, they cut a lot of the film from it's original film can- In fact, Preacher, the guy who buys the liquor for Fats and Eddie was originally depicted as a heroin addict , but that sequence in the original filming was canned- and there was originally much more pool playing that was filmed, but later they decided to focus more on the characters and story line and less on the pool playing. For that reason the film drew in a much larger audience and profit.
Paul Newman was always producer, director and Screen play co writer Robert Rossen's first choice for the Fast Eddie part. Bobby Darin was to be second choice when Paul was hung up on another movie, but thankfully became free for the part just in time.

Many other Hollywood big wigs wanted to buy the movie rights to The Hustler prior to Rossen, most notably was Frank Sinatra, who may have played the role of Fast Eddie himself back in 1959 had he been successful in launching the movie.

I think Rossen came up with the perfect combination of actors for a film that many polls always list in the top 100 movies ever produced. In a different year Newman, Piper Laurie, and George C Scott could all have walked away with Oscars without any dissension. All of the younger guys in the pool halls and the waterfront bar were not actors- they were brought out from actual NYC pool halls and signed into the actors labor guild to appear in the movie and add more realism to the " tough" side of the pool scenes.

I watched it Saturday night Sept.11 as well on TCM- the movie was chosen to be played on TCM by a guest film commentator- they chose a surviving 9/11 NYC firefighter to pick 2 movies to play on TCM - one of his picks was 'The Hustler" - great choice!! His other choice that night was " To Kill a Mockingbird" - Gregory Peck.
 
mikemosconi said:
Well, they cut a lot of the film from it's original film can- In fact, Preacher, the guy who buys the liquor for Fats and Eddie was originally depicted as a heroin addict , but that sequence in the original filming was canned- and there was originally much more pool playing that was filmed, but later they decided to focus more on the characters and story line and less on the pool playing. For that reason the film drew in a much larger audience and profit.
Paul Newman was always producer, director and Screen play co writer Robert Rossen's first choice for the Fast Eddie part. Bobby Darin was to be second choice when Paul was hung up on another movie, but thankfully became free for the part just in time.

Many other Hollywood big wigs wanted to buy the movie rights to The Hustler prior to Rossen, most notably was Frank Sinatra, who may have played the role of Fast Eddie himself back in 1959 had he been successful in launching the movie.

I think Rossen came up with the perfect combination of actors for a film that many polls always list in the top 100 movies ever produced. In a different year Newman, Piper Laurie, and George C Scott could all have walked away with Oscars without any dissension. All of the younger guys in the pool halls and the waterfront bar were not actors- they were brought out from actual NYC pool halls and signed into the actors labor guild to appear in the movie and add more realism to the " tough" side of the pool scenes.

I watched it Saturday night Sept.11 as well on TCM- the movie was chosen to be played on TCM by a guest film commentator- they chose a surviving 9/11 NYC firefighter to pick 2 movies to play on TCM - one of his picks was 'The Hustler" - great choice!! His other choice that night was " To Kill a Mockingbird" - Gregory Peck.
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I wasn't really being judgmental on the film I honestly love the film. I was just trying to look at it objectively through The eyes of who I am now compared to who I was at 18.

It's a little bit like people who like to watch gangster movies. It's a lot more fun viewing them from the safety of a theater seat then actually live and up close.

DiLiberto may have saved my life vouching for me with a very bad guy who later became a pretty good friend of mine, not that I really wanted this guy as a friend.
 
Robert Rossen, the guy who brought us this great film was quite an accomplished pool player himself. He was smart enough to know, from his pool playing days, that the general public would only buy the movie if he used pool more as a backdrop than as the main plot. Lucky for Brunswick and others that the younger generation of viewers picked up on the pool, as portrayed by Newman, as being the essence of cool-

I don't think anyone could have ANTICIPATED the explosion of pool rooms from 1962 to 1967. Sadly the draft for the Vietnam war and the explosion of a "turned on" hippie generation led many of those rooms to go out of business by the early 70s. I remember when my local room closed in the summer of 1971, I was really just becoming a regular at 17 and really missed that place.
 
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Piper Laurie always seemed to be the vulnerable victim and never tried to do evil to others. All of the pool related characters weren't worth spit in an ocean! I immediately flashed to a young Sinatra when picturing him as Fast Eddie, he could have made a great Fast Eddie, perhaps better than Newman. None of the others would have worked nearly as well in my opinion. Lemon possibly would have worked. I don't think he was mentioned but Robert Mitchem would be a possibility.

edit: At least in the context of this movie Fats was fine too. He never claimed to be what he wasn't and wouldn't take Eddie's last few hundred.

Hu
 
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ShootingArts said:
Piper Laurie always seemed to be the vulnerable victim and never tried to do evil to others. All of the pool related characters weren't worth spit in an ocean! I immediately flashed to a young Sinatra when picturing him as Fast Eddie, he could have made a great Fast Eddie, perhaps better than Newman. None of the others would have worked nearly as well in my opinion. Lemon possibly would have worked. I don't think he was mentioned but Robert Mitchem would be a possibility.

edit: At least in the context of this movie Fats was fine too. He never claimed to be what he wasn't and wouldn't take Eddie's last few hundred.

Hu
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I think they would have had to retool the character of Eddie, as Sinatra was older than Jackie Gleason. The backstory of Fast Eddie would have had to been rewritten. The movie and the story is what it is, and is pretty much perfect.

If you read the book many of the lines in the movie come directly from the book. In the end of the book the relationship of Bert and Eddie is different though and if I remember right Sarah didn't die in the book. Also if I remember right, Eddie plays some one pocket in the book.
I have not read the book in a long time and I am going by memory. I had an autographed copy that I loaned to someone to read. He went to jail shortly there after and I never got it back.
 
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Too bad we can't get a Pool Player Director's Cut with the extra pool scenes added back in.

Having only seen it as a kid, watching it this past year was like seeing it for the first time. It is a great movie that I will be re-visiting. I remember as it ended, I realized the story isn't really so much about pool hustling, but people hustling in general. It's about different types of addictions and how people can use your weaknesses against you. It's nice we have a great movie that involves the sport we love.
 
The Hustler...still THE pool movie. Probably because it really wasn't about pool.

The opening Alcoa Theatre bit was well done. Self sacrifice for love...always a good theme.
 
middleofnowhere said:
I said I read it but the Jack lemmon thing I heard him say in an interview. You know how they always ask actors about parts they took that they regretted or parts they didn't get stuff like that and he mentioned the Hustler.

There's probably lots of reasons but while Paul Newman and Jack lemmon are exactly the same age, Paul Newman looked a lot younger. The impression is that Eddie Felson is pretty young.

My wife and I watched The Hustler just the other night. I got to tell you, I'm looking at it through older eyes now. There's not one character in the movie that has any redeeming value as a human being.

These are one of the biggest collection of scumbags ever to be on a movie screen. If you have to pick one, probably Minnesota fats is the only nice guy in the whole movie.
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Pretty dark movie. Pool was just the vehicle for a look at some truly fk'd up humans.
 
garczar said:
Pretty dark movie. Pool was just the vehicle for a look at some truly fk'd up humans.
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Your right it, was a physiological drama more then anything even in the pool connection. The relationship between Charlie and Eddie and most poignant in the end the relationship between Eddie and Minnesota fats.

They were the only two in the room who really understood what was going on, what they possessed that nobody could own. In a rewatching of the movie, the more I watch it, the more I like Minnesota fats.

There is certainly a prequel in his story that could probably still be done. Who is Minnesota fats, where did he come from and how did he come to be. Done right I bet a hell of a lot more interesting than Eddie.

When all is said and done, the public doesn't remember Eddie Felsons name, they remember Minnesota fats. Where is Netflix when you need them. Any would be writers on here would want to try a treatment?
 
middleofnowhere said:
Your right it, was a physiological drama more then anything even in the pool connection. The relationship between Charlie and Eddie and most poignant in the end the relationship between Eddie and Minnesota fats.

They were the only two in the room who really understood what was going on, what they possessed that nobody could own. In a rewatching of the movie, the more I watch it, the more I like Minnesota fats.

There is certainly a prequel in his story that could probably still be done. Who is Minnesota fats, where did he come from and how did he come to be. Done right I bet a hell of a lot more interesting than Eddie.

When all is said and done, the public doesn't remember Eddie Felsons name, they remember Minnesota fats. Where is Netflix when you need them. Any would be writers on here would want to try a treatment?
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I hope not. Don't mess with a classic. Let it stand as is. Today's butt-hurt freakshow version of Hollywood could only fk it up.
 
middleofnowhere said:
Your right it, was a physiological drama more then anything even in the pool connection. The relationship between Charlie and Eddie and most poignant in the end the relationship between Eddie and Minnesota fats.

They were the only two in the room who really understood what was going on, what they possessed that nobody could own. In a rewatching of the movie, the more I watch it, the more I like Minnesota fats.

There is certainly a prequel in his story that could probably still be done. Who is Minnesota fats, where did he come from and how did he come to be. Done right I bet a hell of a lot more interesting than Eddie.

When all is said and done, the public doesn't remember Eddie Felsons name, they remember Minnesota fats. Where is Netflix when you need them. Any would be writers on here would want to try a treatment?
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I have an idea for a pool movie that’s been in the back of my brain for quite a while — I think made right it’d be pretty good film, completely different than The Hustler.

There’s a guy at the pool room I play at that used to be a successful TV writer out in LA. If I get something registered with the WGA I may ping him and see what he thinks.

Lou Figueroa
 
SSDiver2112 said:
Too bad we can't get a Pool Player Director's Cut with the extra pool scenes added back in.

Having only seen it as a kid, watching it this past year was like seeing it for the first time. It is a great movie that I will be re-visiting. I remember as it ended, I realized the story isn't really so much about pool hustling, but people hustling in general. It's about different types of addictions and how people can use your weaknesses against you. It's nice we have a great movie that involves the sport we love.
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Yes, I'd watch for sure.
 
garczar said:
I hope not. Don't mess with a classic. Let it stand as is. Today's butt-hurt freakshow version of Hollywood could only fk it up.
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I'm not talking about a sequel, I'm talking about a prequel on Minnesota fats. It would have nothing to do with the actual movie The Hustler, it's a standalone story.

Prequels are very popular hence all the interest in the one right now surrounding The Sopranos and the popularity of Better Call Saul. The audience after they see a story want to know more about these people before the story, how did they come to be.
 
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