The Cincinnati Kid

source: The Cincinnati Kid

This movie is in many ways like two different movies. One, some trivial romances and relationships that were, frankly, pretty uninteresting. And the other, about the build up to and execution of a game of high stakes poker. The poker part, believe it or not, is the best aspect of the film. In some ways, this movie reminded me of THE HUSTLER--but that was about pool,...and Paul Newman was a lot more "wet behind the ears" than Steve McQueen in this movie. All-in-all, a time passer. I saw it because I am trying to see all the films of Edward G. Robinson. He plays a supporting part and does probably the best job of acting in the movie. Karl Malden, as always, is excellent. Look carefully and you'll see Cab Calloway as one of the players. Decent but could use some infusion of life and energy. Also, I found the final hand between McQueen and Robinson ridiculous--one having a full house and the other a straight flush. The odds against having two hands that strong when playing head-to-head against someone is about 1224523631833491209301304031040309323882123 to 1! This didn't help the movie any as far as realism goes.

I do neither doubt nor wonder that some do not `get' The Cincinnati Kid, but the fact remains it is simply one of the great money movies of all time. It is as cautionary an American tale as any rags-to-riches-to-rags story. It is as truthful as any courtroom drama, and as trenchant a commentary on a material culture as one is likely to find. Where its mythology falls short, I think, stems from the absence of a mentor for the lonely Eric Stoner (The Cincinnati Kid). He must face The Man, Lancey Howard, by his lonesome, with his only possible ally being the disreputable Shooter, a trustworthy card dealer and shark (he uses the word `mechanic') and a man who believes himself honorable, but who has slept with so many mangy dogs for so long he can shake neither the fleas nor the stink. Stoner's isolation-something he abets throughout the film-keeps him from defeating Howard. The film's subtext is revealed in a brief conversation between The Kid and his girlfriend, Christian. She sees a French film with Shooter's wife, Melba, and puzzles over a choice the foreign movie poses: is honor the most important thing in life? Is it worth dying for? For the moment The Cincinnati Kid doesn't think so. For him the answer seems obvious: `what good is honor if you're dead?' Yet he tries to defeat Howard honorably-and meets devastation. Principles and honor take a beating in this movie; nobody has the kind of character one would hold up as a gold standard. By inference the only honorable people are either black urbanites (seen here either shining shoes or playing jazz music), or country folk. The rest are hard-scrabbling sleeze, among whom honor is an alien virtue. Thus The Cincinnati Kid poses a fundamental question, one every American male seeking to improve his lot in life (Eric Stoner, Fast Eddie Felson, Bud Fox and many others) must answer: is victory (i.e. success) worth a tarnished name, or is it worth scheming and cheating for? And what good is honor when you've `died' in a card game and you haven't got two dimes to rub together?

"There's always a kid", says Edward G. Robinson's character, "the man", in this film, and I guess there's always a man as well. In fact, the Cincinatti Kid is just about the least kid-like kid you could imagine, as Steve MacQueen was little more than ten years away from his death-bed when he played the part. I don't know what it is I like about Steve MacQueen: either his acting is very subtle indeed, or it's virtually non-existent, but there's something about his strong, silent, only reluctantly violent heroes that is innately more appealing than, say, the "make my day, punk" attitude of Clint Eastwood. Robinson's suave gambler is also an appealing figure in this movie. There's also some good use of traditional New Orleans jazz (but also some nasty, obvious strings on the soundtrack as well, reminding one of the equally ugly music in director Jewision's 'In the Heat of the Night', made at around the same time). There are obvious parallels between this film and 'the Hustler', but while more modern, this film is also simpler in construction: there are some side-plots but ultimately, the characterisation (though strong) is static and it all comes down to the cards on the table. Someone wins, someone loses; but that's always the way. This isn't the deepest film you'll ever see, but it remains an immensely watchable one.

The opening scene is riveting. Well cast with Robinson, McQueen and Malden in top form and most supporting roles convincing. The flavor of old New Orleans is undeniable. The plot line is a familiar one - - the new lion challenging the old king, this time at a poker table. The results are not predictable and the action leading to the climax is gripping. Subplots support the main story line even though the female characters are just a bit too glamorous to be believable. The novel the movie is based upon is rather spare and a great deal of the dialog and minor actions were added when the screenplay was written. A most enjoyable and satisfying motion picture!

Norman Jewison's (`In the Heat of the Night,' `The Thomas Crown Affair,' `Fiddler on the Roof')1965 `The Cincinnati Kid' contains top notch location shooting in New Orleans and gritty dialogue (screenplay by Ring Lardner, Jr., `M*A*S*H*') that seems way ahead of its time. The star power of this film is immense, with Steve McQueen portraying `the Kid' who is overly confident that he can beat `the Man,' Edward G. Robinson at his own game, stud poker. McQueen is ever confident while Robinson has seen it all and will not be surprised or scared by anything that he sees on the card table. As in all great movies there is a very strong supporting cast in this film. Led by Karl Malden as `the Kid's' confidant, Shooter and a trio of strong supporting actresses, Ann-Margaret, Tuesday Weld and Joan Blondell. Ann-Margaret portrays Shooter's wife, Melba with great flair; she sees her husband as a loser and as a weakling. She openly commits adultery and talks down at him in front of anyone. Her characterization appears to be the role model for Fredo Corleone's wife Deanna, in `The Godfather, Part II.' Beyond the obvious supporting roles is one of the best supporting/character players of all time, Jack Weston. He appears in many films in the 1960s and 1970s often as a person who gets in over his head with people and situations he cannot handle. In this movie he plays `Pig,' the first victim of Edward G. Robinson at the big card game. Pig thinks he is a pro but quickly and thoroughly gets gutted by `the Man.' Weston portrays a similar character in the original `Thomas Crown Affair.' Nobody sweats on camera like Jack. His type of adept characterizations can be seen in more recent settings, for example William H. Macy's `Jerry Lundergard' in 1996's `Fargo.' Al in all this is one of the all time classics and by far is my favorite of any of the serious gambling movies such as `The Hustler,' `The Gambler' and `The Color of Money.'

This film was okay, but could have been a little more intense. If you're making a period piece circa 1930, you better make sure you get the details right. Tuesday Weld and Ann Margaret sported hairstyles thirty years in the future (1965). Steve McQueen was the only male in the film who had a mod hairdo and wore a crewneck shirt under his sportcoat. That style was cool in the 60's, but he would have looked like a vagrant without a shirt and tie in the 30's. In the opening sequence, McQueen escapes from the bad guys by hopping on a moving train engine. The only problem was that it was a diesel and in the 30's, 99% of the train engines were steam. Details matter.

I saw an interview with director Norman Jewison in which he was asked why he would make a movie about a card game. "Where would the excitement come from?" Jewison basically said that the excitement came from watching people lose everything. That's a paraphrase, of course, but accurate enough. Personally, though, I think the interviewer was correct. Aside from the last hand, when the winner of the card game was decided, I found precious little to get excited about with this movie. That was a bit of a disappointment. The cast is good. Steve McQueen, Karl Malden and Edward G. Robinson are the leads. McQueen is the title character, a cocky young player who's out to prove his worth by taking out the veteran Lancey Howard (Robinson) in a game dealt by Shooter (Malden). Ann-Margret and Tuesday Weld as the love interests of Shooter and the Kid respectively don't add much to this except some pleasant scenery to be frank, and the issues in the respective relationships give a bit of a soap opera feel throughout. In an attempt to add a bit of a subplot, there's even some crookedness going on in the game, under the direction of Slade (Rip Torn). To me, though, it didn't work. There was no particular reason to like any of these characters - or, for that matter, to dislike any of them. They came across as surprisingly bland and colourless. I'm not one who thinks that a movie has to be action-packed to be interesting, but for whatever reason, this one just didn't grab me. For good performances and a bit of suspense at the end - 4/10.

With the exception of the opening scene, THE CINCINNATI KID is devoid of any realism and while it aspires to be a meditation on how winning really isn't everything when you have no personal integrity, it's pretty empty-headed. That's really disheartening when you consider the talent behind it. It's directed by Norman Jewison, has a script by Terry Southern and a cast of "A" actors. Steve McQueen is good in his usual understated way. The supporting cast includes Tuesday Weld, Edward G. Robinson, Joan Blondell, Cab Calloway, Karl Malden and Rip Torn...none of them makes much of an impact. There is a very funny performance by Ann-Margret, which was something of a revelation at the time...she's NOT a good girl! Jewison, replacing Sam Peckinpah, was just starting to make "serious" films after a string of Doris Day comedies and this registers as a false start for him...he'd hit his stride later with IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT as well as with the much better McQueen collaboration THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR.

Like the rest of the English-speaking world, I've recently succumbed to poker-mania, and started wasting some of my spare cash in amateur Texas Hold 'Em games. Due to my newfound interest in card-playing, and my appreciation for old movies, I picked up "The Cincinatti Kid" on DVD. And I sure wasn't disappointed. The movie's awesome, on so many levels. As you might expect, the poker scenes are incredibly tense and, from what little I know of the game, they're pretty realistic. But other aspects of the film are great, too. The New Orleans location shooting is gorgeous. You get to see a lot of the city, so I imagine the crew must've spent a fair amount of time there. There's plenty of cool jazz numbers and some nice French Quarter atmosphere. Director Norman Jewison manages to imbue New Orleans, and the movie as a whole, with an atmosphere that's both sleazy and glamorous at the same time. The strong cast is another highlight. Steve McQueen is understated yet compelling, while Joan Blondell hams it up in a highly entertaining fashion (I love how she keeps teasing Lancey Howard about his age). Edward G. Robinson, one of my favorite character actors, radiates class and even a little menace as Howard. And - this is the best part - the movie also features the sweetly beautiful Tuesday Weld and the painfully sexy Ann-Margret. You just can't lose with a multi-generational cast of stars (and babes) like that. Some commentators have complained that "The Cincinatti Kid" is slow, particularly during the scenes that don't feature poker. I can't say that I agree. The McQueen-Weld romance is sweet, and it doesn't really take up that much screen time. Sure, the movie may seem a little plodding if compared to contemporary films, but then again even "Aliens" is plodding compared to contemporary films. The theme song's catchy, too. What more do you need? This movie's a mini-classic.