Comments on: THE HUSTLER: NEW 35MM PRINT

By: Ro Soo Hoo

Ro Soo Hoo — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:31:26 +0000

While in UC Berkeley, in the middle of the Flower children and Hippies fad, and about a year after the movie came out, it seemed like every other guy had a pool cue and was going to The Blue Cue, Kips, Town and Country and other local joints. The adventure in pool hustling ended when during the following summer, the backer of our opponent exposed the pistol in waistband…maybe it was intimidation. We left the money behind and went back to our middle class lives and Viet Nam…with our thumbs intact and walking very normal…Along with a copy of the movie, I still have the old pool cue and Jackie Gleason will always be Minnesota Fats…methinks this could be the basis for a screen play about how a generation of young men reacted to the movie…you got Hippies, Free love Flower kids, pool hustling, Vietnam, Campus riots etc. As for your audience, think of all those baby boomer old guys who once owned a pool cue…

By: JimL

JimL — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:50:56 +0000

I am a big Paul Newman fan, after Jimmy Stewart, he is my favortie classic actor. I have only seen “The Hustler” once, I have seen “The Color of Money” several times and I think “Fast Eddie” Felson is one of Newman’s great characters. The original is definitely better than the sequel, it has better actors and a more compelling story, so I hope TCM will program this classic again in the near future.

By: keelsetter

keelsetter — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 03:29:51 +0000

Despite my strict “no solicitations” policy, I would have bought a stack of encyclopedias from Newman. I’m on my way out the door right now to see him at the theater in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid! (A film I first saw at the drive-in as a double-feature with McCABE & Mrs. Miller.)

By: Al Lowe

Al Lowe — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 04:25:28 +0000

One of my all-time favorite movie scenes is in The Hustler.
Its when Felson (Newman) first encounters Fats (Gleason) in the film and they pretend like they don’t know each other’s reputation. Felson asks Fats if he shoots pool.
Felson finally admits he has been seeking Fats out so he can play him. Fats asks the pool hall owner, “Big John, you think this boy is a hustler?”
Fats chuckles. Felson has a big grin on his face.

Prior to acting, Newman was an encylopedia salesman and he was considered one of the best. He would have been an incredible pool hustler in real life.

It is hard to believe they were considering using Jack Lemmon and Kim Novak in the Newman and Piper Laurie parts.

By: Medusa

Medusa — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:53:00 +0000

This is one of those classic films that I’ve never watched. Shocking! I will have to look this one up and have at it, much too belatedly! What a cast! Maybe I never was attracted to the pool aspect of it, but this shows that you’re never too old to discover something wonderful when you’re talking about movies!

Thanks for reminding us of this movie — and what a hep trailer!

(I always loved Myron McCormick (and Murray Hamilton) from the film of “No Time for Sergeants” too!)