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The Hustler Overview:

The Hustler (1961) was a Drama - Sports Film directed by Robert Rossen and produced by Robert Rossen.

The film was based on the novel of the same name written by Walter Tevis published in 1959.

SYNOPSIS

An arrogant and amoral hustler haunts poolrooms skinning suckers waiting to get a crack at bringing down Minnesota Fats. When he starts to have real feelings for a woman, he's faced with a dilemma. To pick up Fast Eddie's story years later, see The Color of Money (1987), an excellent sequel for which Newman won the Best Actor Oscar.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

The Hustler was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1997.

Academy Awards 1961 --- Ceremony Number 34 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best ActorPaul NewmanNominated
Best Supporting ActorJackie GleasonNominated
Best Supporting ActorGeorge C. ScottNominated
Best ActressPiper LaurieNominated
Best Art DirectionArt Direction: Harry Horner; Set Decoration: Gene CallahanWon
Best CinematographyEugen ShuftanWon
Best DirectorRobert RossenNominated
Best PictureRobert Rossen, ProducerNominated
Best WritingSidney Carroll, Robert RossenNominated
See More Oscar Winners

The Hustler BlogHub Articles:

The Hustler (1961, Robert Rossen)

on May 8, 2020 From The Stop Button

It’s an hour into The Hustler before the film offers any real information about protagonist Paul Newman. We’ve seen Newman and mentor slash manager Myron McCormick pool hustle their way across the North American continent, getting Newman to New York City so he can play the best pool player in th... Read full article

The Hustler (1961)

By Beatrice on Apr 26, 2017 From Flickers in Time

The Hustler Directed by Robert Rossen Written by Sidney Carroll and Robert Rossen from a novel by Walter Tevis 1961/USA Rossen Films/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation Repeat viewing/Netflix rental One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die Minnesota Fats: That’s what the game&#8217... Read full article

Ruined by Romance: Drive (2011) and The Hustler (1961)

By Judy on Aug 7, 2014 From Cary Grant Won't Eat You

I was excited when Drive came out: finally, I thought, a new Bourne. An action flick with intelligence and fine acting, starring a man who had bypassed romantic leads after The Notebook to refine his skills in indies. And the promo! It looked exciting and moody, with the kind of premise that meant m... Read full article

Ruined by Romance: Drive (2011) and The Hustler (1961)

By Judy on Aug 7, 2014 From Cary Grant Won't Eat You

I was excited when Drive came out: finally, I thought, a new Bourne. An action flick with intelligence and fine acting, starring a man who had bypassed romantic leads after The Notebook to refine his skills in indies. And the promo! It looked exciting and moody, with the kind of premise that meant m... Read full article

The Hustler (1961)

By 4 Star Film Fan on May 5, 2014 From 4 Star Films

Starring Paul Newman, George C. Scott, Piper Laurie, and Jacke Gleason, the film follows a pool hustler named Fast Eddie Felson (Newman). A cocky and skilled player, Eddie travels all the way from Oakland, California to face the legendary Minnesota Fats (Gleason). In an epic pool marathon with very ... Read full article

See More The Hustler Articles

The Hustler Quotes:

Fast Eddie: Fats, let's you and me shoot a game of straight pool.
Minnesota Fats: Hundred dollars?
Fast Eddie: Well, you shoot big time pool, Fats. I mean, that's what everybody says: you shoot big time pool. Let's make it $200 a game.
Minnesota Fats: Now I know why they call you Fast Eddie.
Fast Eddie: Boy, you better, you tell your boys they better kill me, Bert. They better go all the way with me, 'cause if they just bust me up, I'll put all those pieces back together again, then so help me... So help me God, Bert, I'm gonna come back here and I'm gonna kill you.
Charlie Burns: How do you feel?
Fast Eddie: Fast and loose, man.
Charlie Burns: In the gut, I mean.
Fast Eddie: I feel tight, but good.
[in their $3,000 game, after Minnesota Fats breaks, it's Eddie's shot]
Fast Eddie: How should I play that one, Bert? Play it safe? That's the way you always told me to play it: safe... play the percentage. Well, here we go: fast and loose. One ball, corner pocket. Yeah, percentage players die broke, too, don't they, Bert? [he makes the shot and the spectators applaud] How can I lose?
Charlie Burns: Quiet.
Fast Eddie: Yeah, like a church. Church of the Good Hustle.
Charlie Burns: Looks more like a morgue to me. Those tables are the slabs they lay the stiffs on.
Fast Eddie: I'll be alive when I get out, Charlie.
See More Quotes from The Hustler
The Hustler Facts
When George C. Scott lost the Best Supporting Actor Oscar to George Chakiris in West Side Story, it essentially started the actor's longstanding feud with the Academy over the fact that political decisions were involved in the choice of who won. This ultimately led to Scott rejecting the Oscar he won in 1970 for his performance in Patton.
Piper Laurie didn't make another film for the next 15 years, devoting the time to her marriage and raising her only daughter. She returned to the screen in 1976 in 'Brian de Palma''s Carrie, earning her second Oscar nomination.
The Hustler while nominated for many awards, lost all the major ones and the main competition at the Oscars were the films Judgment at Nuremberg and West Side Story . In the scene when Eddie takes Sara out to a restaurant just before the Louisville trip, Sara has a line "I feel pretty" which, of course was the title to a major song in West Side Story.
Jackie Gleason was in reality a very good pool player and did many of his own shots in the film.
Initially Paul Newman turned down the part of Fast Eddie Felson, as he was unavailable, having committed to star alongside Elizabeth Taylor in the film version of "Two for the Seesaw". Robert Rossen then offered the part to Bobby Darin. However, shooting overruns on Taylor's Cleopatra meant that she had to drop out of "Seesaw". Newman was then offered the part of Felson again; he accepted it after reading only half of the script. Nobody thought to tell Bobby Darin though, who found out from a member of public at a charity horse race.
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