The Hustler: Behind the Scenes

BushkaGUY said:
This just appeared on my YT feed. Pretty interesting.

The Hustler
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That was great! Thanks for finding it and sharing it here. I was one of those young kids who became enamored with pool after seeing the movie.
Jerry Orbach was a Broadway actor (mostly Off Broadway) when I arrived in the early 60's. He would come in to Guys and Dolls after his play was over, usually after 11 at night. He always wore that same tan trenchcoat and carried his own cue. His poolroom name was Jerry The Actor and he could play at what I would call a low shortstop speed. He could make balls and play simple position. I played him several times for five a game 9-Ball and we broke about even if I recall. I was still learning myself. Jerry was serious about his pool and we didn't talk much when we played. He did remember me when he came to the Peter Vitalie tournament in Los Angeles in 1987. He sat up on the podium next to me and watched the matches. Now he was a TV star and I was the TD.

Paul Newman should have won an Oscar for that role, even moreso than the one he got for The Color Of Money. Walter Tevis became a friend of mine due to his relationship with my mother (that story is in More Pool Wars). He told me that the greatest influence on him was Eddie Taylor, a robust gentleman pool player who always wore a suit. He watched Taylor play in Louisville and a couple of other places. Walter had heard the name Fast Eddie and just liked it. He had never seen or met Ronnie Allen, who was living in San Francisco back then. So there's that.

IMO Tevis' best book was The Man Who Fell To Earth. If you haven't read it, you should. The movie TCOM was an entirely different story than the one Tevis told in his book. You should read the book. IMO a better story than the movie. Thanks again
 
Thanks for sharing that, surprised I hadn't seen it. Being picky, the first three or so minutes about the history of pool was a bit of a snoozer, and I wish there had been a little more inside stuff about the film shared, but still enjoyed it. The Orbach story about the Dick Cavett show was the highlight for me - priceless. The rest - most who have read about the movie over the years probably know, but again, very enjoyable watch.

Although he was fun in his later years in a great adaption of "A Christmas Carol" my favorite George C. Scott performances are his turns as a "villain" in "The Hustler" and especially as the prosecutor in "Anatomy Of A Murder" - both are just brilliant. Generally like a lot of Paul Newman's movies but more as he aged, honestly, and he can be an acquired taste sometimes --- lots of parallels between "The Color Of Money" and "The Verdict" (which I think was a better movie and performance) and thought Cruise's character in TCOM was a bit over the top (more so than it was obviously intended to be) - wish that character had been a bit different - but was done well and I'll take anything with a little Warren Zevon in it, lol, still I don't often seek out TCOM to watch and really only watch it for Newman.
 
This will always be the all time pool movie classic for many reasons including the fact that the pool scenes will never be re created and filmed as was the reality of AMES billiards, the bar scenes, and the other aspects such as the bus terminal, NYC early early 60s etc. and the actual street characters in this movie. The music, the camera work, the film noir aspects of this creation will never be matched again.
 
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