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The Hustler

The Hustler (1961)

tomatometer

97

Average Rating: 8.7/10
Reviews Counted: 39
Fresh: 38 | Rotten: 1

Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason give iconic performances in this dark, morally complex tale of redemption.

86

Average Rating: 7.6/10
Critic Reviews: 7
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 1

Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason give iconic performances in this dark, morally complex tale of redemption.

audience

90

liked it
Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 29,414

My Rating

Movie Info

As The Hustler's "Fast" Eddie Felson, Paul Newman created a classic antihero, charismatic but fundamentally flawed, and nobody's role model. A pool player from Oakland, CA, as good as anyone who ever picked up a cue, Eddie has an Achilles' heel: arrogance. It's not enough for him to win: he must force his opponent to acknowledge his superiority. The movie follows Eddie from his match against billiards champ Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) as he falls in love with Sarah (Piper Laurie), an

Unrated,

Drama, Romance

Sidney Carroll, Robert Rossen

Jun 4, 2002

Fox

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Critic Reviews for The Hustler

All Critics (39) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (38) | Rotten (1) | DVD (30)

Newman is better than usual; Gleason, as the slit-mouthed, beady-eyed Minnesota Fats, darts among the shabby little pool sharks like an improbably agile and natty whale; and Gambler Scott looks as though he could sell hot-air heat to the devil.

August 3, 2008 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | Comment (1)
TIME Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The Hustler belongs to that school of screen realism that allows impressive performances but defeats the basic goal of pure entertainment.

March 21, 2007 Full Review Source: Variety | Comments (11)
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A wonderful hymn to the last true era when men of substance played pool with a vengeance.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out
Derek Adams
Time Out
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Under Robert Rossen's strong direction, its ruthless and odorous account of one young hustler's eventual emancipation is positive and alive.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

One of the most compelling character-based films to emerge from the decade of the 1960s.

September 26, 2002 Full Review Source: ReelViews
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The Hustler is one of those films where scenes have such psychic weight that they grow in our memories.

July 11, 2002 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

So much more than the ups and downs of one pool player--It's shot in a very realistic way and deals with inner conflict and what it means to be a man.

June 20, 2011 Full Review Source: Scene-Stealers.com
Eric Melin
Scene-Stealers.com

This is one of Newman's very best films, if not his best, even if it's relentlessly depressing.

May 20, 2011 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

A raft of excellent performances buoy a fervent tale of weakness and success.

April 11, 2011 Full Review Source: Cinema Sight
Wesley Lovell
Cinema Sight

Like a traditional morality play; teens and up.

December 28, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media
Nell Minow
Common Sense Media

An extraordinarily accomplished noir drama about pool, with top notch peformance from Paul Newman as the jaded player and exemplary supporting cast headed by Piper Laurie, George C. Scott, and Jackie Gleason.

August 4, 2010 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Director Rossen presses all the right buttons in this classic dark masterpiece, and the atmosphere of the pool halls is brilliantly conveyed by Shufton's black-and-white CinemaScope photography.

August 3, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4
Film4

Eddie's true modern progeny is There Will Be Blood's Daniel Plainview, drinking bitter milkshakes since 1961.

May 7, 2008 Full Review Source: Film Freak Central
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

shows timeless struggle and is a classic in cinema

September 9, 2007 Full Review Source: 7M Pictures
Kevin Carr
7M Pictures

This is the purest examination of an athlete's internal struggle ever mounted for the screen.

June 29, 2007 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine
Arthur Ryel-Lindsey
Slant Magazine

Landmark Paul Newman vehicle--only took the Academy 25 years to recognize the greatness of his original "Fast Eddie" character

January 30, 2007
John A. Nesbit
Old School Reviews Source: Old School Reviews

Elenco impecável em um filme fascinante e doloroso sobre um personagem em busca da própria integridade.

September 11, 2006
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

A rich paean to the low-life pool players, dank pool halls and its pool sharks.

January 1, 2006 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Newman and Scott smolder through the moody black-and-white cinematography, delivering line after line of crackling dialogue.

September 16, 2003 Full Review Source: Citysearch
Dan Fazio
Citysearch

Not to be missed.

July 30, 2003 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Dingy atmosphere and great performances make this a standout.

March 10, 2003 Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
View all critic reviews (39)

Audience Reviews for The Hustler

View All
A very well-done, old fashioned story concerning a drifter (Paul Newman) who hustles people at the game of pool, but potentially meets his match on the pool board in Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason), while struggling to keep his relationship with an equally troubled young woman (Piper Laurie) going. You can probably call a good chunk of what takes place, with a few surprises dished in, but ultimately this movie remains extremely entertaining thanks primarily due to the ensemble performances (Newman, Laurie, Gleason, and George C. Scott are all tremendous) that raises this somewhat familiar tale well above average territory. It has a lot to say about taking sports too seriously, especially when gambling is involved, and how one could sometimes put sport above relationships with people and the cost that comes with it. Not a flawless film, but darn close to one, and a movie that should be seen by anyone who loves sports (like me).
March 24, 2013
Dan Schultz
Dan Schultz

Super Reviewer

A character study of an awesome proportion, it's much more than the theatrical antics of a small time pool hustler. Paul Newman portrays "Fast" Eddie Felson, a hustler who tours the country with his partner conning the money out of men to pay for their next hotel room, booze, and many dames. Still, Eddie has higher aspirations than to be a con man to secure a sizable nest egg, and so he goes up against the biggest fish in the pond, Minnesota Fats, played by the always entertaining Jackie Gleason. Though Gleason isn't a large presence in the film, he is the main goal for Eddie, the motivation for most of the film. It's a complex issue that rears its head in many antihero works, when the main protagonist gives up happiness for something bigger than themselves, and here Eddie is stuck between a rock and a hard place. It's truly an actor's film, showcasing the talents of Paul Newman and the very enigmatic and rarely seen Piper Laurie. Both are thrown into many scenes together with very little story and are forced to show the craggy underbellies of each of their characters. Though it drags at times, it's very volatile to watch their relationship, and the sacrifices each puts forth in order to keep Eddie from becoming a washed up has been, yet find some form of happiness. At the very end, it's no longer about the ideal Eddie holds of himself, but escaping the clutches of a system that would keep him underfoot. Besides Newman and Laurie there are some great small parts for Gleason and George C. Scott. Both come off as austere and stoic in the face of the storm but in the end they show their true colors, their lack of strength when the hero shows himself above their antics and backroom dealings. Eddie really is the entire film, falling between a mess of a human being into the hero who you root for when he's down by a large sum of money, the crowd starting to disperse, and the sweat and tears mingling on his face. Heavily Oscar nominated, The Hustler remains a classic in every sense of the word, sparking a sequel in the eighties called The Color of Money, starring Paul Newman, again as Fast Eddie, and big star Tom Cruise. I can't wait to see it in order to compare and contrast, but truly it's this film, so classic, so fraught with tension and sexual ambiguity, that will probably stay with me.
August 8, 2010
FrizzDrop
Spencer S.

Super Reviewer

The Hustler Quotes

    1. Charlie Bums: It's quiet.
    2. "Fast" Eddie Felson: Yeah, like a church. Church of the Good Hustler.
    3. Charlie Bums: It looks more like a morgue to me. Those tables are the slabs they lay the stiffs on.
    4. "Fast" Eddie Felson: I'll be alive when I get out, Charlie.
    – Submitted by G Thomas B (2 months ago)
    1. "Fast" Eddie Felson: You still don't see it, do you, Charlie? You are nothing but a small-time Charlie. You'd love to keep me hustling for you, huh? Wouldn't ya? I mean, a couple more years with me, scuffling around them little towns and those back alleys. You might make yourself enough to get a little poolroom back in Oakland. Six tables and a handbook on the side. Is that when you say goodbye to me, Charlie?
    – Submitted by Victor M (4 months ago)
    1. Sarah Packard: You know, I've been living here for almost three years. Now in three days it seems as if I know everybody. When I pass people on the street I want to stop and say, 'Listen, I got a fella.'
    – Submitted by Victor M (4 months ago)
    1. Sarah Packard: Why me? He takes her head in his hands and kisses her. She responds but, as he holds her tighter, she starts to struggle.
    2. Sarah Packard: Please ... please ... please. She pushes him away and shakes her head.
    3. Sarah Packard: You're too hungry.
    – Submitted by Victor M (4 months ago)
    1. "Fast" Eddie Felson: You look beautiful, Fats. Just like a baby ...all pink, and powdered up.
    2. Charlie Bums: What are you trying to do, Eddie? You beat him. You beat him bad. You wanna kill yourself?
    3. "Fast" Eddie Felson: What are ya, chicken, Charlie?
    4. Charlie Bums: Well, maybe that's it. I'm chicken.
    5. "Fast" Eddie Felson: Go on home. Just leave me the money.
    6. Charlie Bums: Go to hell.
    7. "Fast" Eddie Felson: Charlie, boy, you better give me that money. C'mon now, give it to me. It's mine.
    8. Charlie Bums: Okay, here ... [slaps money into Eddie's hand] Be a damn fool.
    – Submitted by Victor M (4 months ago)
    1. "Fast" Eddie Felson: Too high, Bert. Price is too high. Because if I take it, she never lived, she never died. And we both know that's not true, Bert, don't we, huh? She lived, she died. Boy, you better. You tell your boys they better kill me, Bert. They better go all the way with me. Because if they just bust me up, I'll put all those pieces back together again, and so help me, so help me God, Bert ... I'm gonna come back here and I'm gonna kill you.
    – Submitted by Victor M (4 months ago)
View all quotes (16)

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Movie: ID: 17057 Title: The Hustler Release Date: 1961-09-25 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 6 Status: 1

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Foreign Titles

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  • The Hustler (UK)
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