Synopsis
Fast Eddie Felson is a small-time pool hustler with a lot of talent but a self-destructive attitude. His bravado causes him to challenge the legendary Minnesota Fats to a high-stakes match.
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Cast
- Paul NewmanEddie 'Fast Eddie' Felson
- Jackie GleasonMinnesota Fats
- Piper LaurieSarah Packard
- George C. ScottBert Gordon
- Myron McCormickCharlie Burns
- Murray HamiltonFindley
- Michael ConstantineBig John
- Stefan GieraschPreacher
- Jake LaMottaBartender
- Vincent GardeniaBartender
Recommendations
- 100
Chicago Sun-Times
The Hustler is one of those films where scenes have such psychic weight that they grow in our memories. That's true of the matches between Eddie and Fats. - 100
ReelViews
One of the most compelling character-based films to emerge from the decade of the 1960s. - 100
Empire
There's a huge amount of style in this picture, but also a huge amount of substance underpinning it. - 90
Chicago Reader
A postnoir melodrama with metaphysical trimmings, it does remarkable things with mood and pacing, and the two matches with Gleason as Minnesota Fats are indelible. - 90
The Hollywood Reporter
The sequences crackle with vitality as well as setting subtly the characterizations and packing the explosives to be detonated later. - 90
The A.V. Club
Like the best sports films, The Hustler makes the game look exciting even to outsiders, but Rossen's film is ultimately about a more universal subject than impossible breaks and the heavy spin of masse shots. Adapting Walter Tevis' novel, Rossen made a morality tale without the moralizing. - 90
The Guardian
The film is marred slightly by an over-abrupt ending and the irritating device of speeded-up clocks, but these are minor flaws in a film that has grown in stature over the years. - 89
Austin Chronicle
Dingy atmosphere and great performances make this a standout.
