Paul Newman, Tom Cruise and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in the Martin Scorsese movie ‘The Color of Money’

With a sequel to the Robert Rossen directed The Hustler (1961) on tap some 25-years later, we look to Paul Newman reprising his role as “Fast” Eddie Felson in the Martin Scorsese directed movie The Color of Money (1986). With the original movie’s review here, we return to the notions of ambition and cockiness meeting the sporting world of billiards, with Tom Cruise starring as the up-and-coming pool player Vincent Lauria.

(John Turturro as Julian in the Martin Scorsese movie The Color of Money).

With the sequel based on the 1984 Walter Tevis book The Color of Money, the movie’s screenplay includes writing credits for Richard Price. The opening reintroduces Felson as a successful liquor salesman based in Chicago, Illinois. We witness Felson partner with a hustler named Julian, as portrayed by John Turturro. It’s when the charismatic Vincent Lauria with his sharp yet inexperienced at hustling pool players girlfriend, Carmen as portrayed by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, get the better of Julian that “Fast” Eddie changes plans.

(From left, Tom Cruise as Vincent Lauria and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Carmen in the Martin Scorsese movie The Color of Money).

The plan calls for Felson to pitch Vincent, who had been working retail, to spend 6-weeks hustling their way through pool halls to a nine-ball tournament in Atlantic City, New Jersey. To sweeten the deal through manipulating Vincent’s feelings for Carmen, Eddie gives Vincent a high value Balabushka pool cue for saying yes. The acceptance and subsequent disappearance by ‘Fast’ Eddie for this bothers Julian as well as Felson’s girlfriend. Helen Shaver portrayed Felson’s girlfriend, Janelle.

(From left, Helen Shaver as Janelle and Paul Newman as ‘Fast’ Eddie Felson in the Martin Scorsese movie The Color of Money).

The 6-week tour is fraught with the drama of Felson aiming to teach Lauria the art of hustling while Lauria bristles at the notion of playing below his ability to scam wealthy marks. As Felson, Lauria and Carmen are following Felson’s pool hall knowledge, vision, fronting, and experiences harkening back to the prequel movie The Hustler, the monetary gains and losses have been largely flowing going to Felson. The drama increases again when playing famed player Grady Seasons before Atlantic City raises questions of ego around this round of play as well as the play. Keith McCready portrayed Grady Seasons.

(From left, Forest Whitaker as Amos and Paul Newman as ‘Fast’ Eddie Felson in the Martin Scorsese movie The Color of Money).

Taking inspiration from the experience between Vincent and Seasons, Felson starts playing again. Humiliated after getting taken by Amos, as portrayed by Forest Whitaker, Felson leaves enough money with Vincent and Carmen for the pair to make it to Atlantic City on their own. Felson takes his own path to New Jersey. Drama for Felson comes to a head between Felson and Lauria, Felson and Julian, and, finally, Felson and Janelle. Perhaps the biggest thing to come to a head is Felson relationship for the lifestyle and game of billiards, as confirmed by the film’s conclusion.

(From left, Tom Cruise as Vincent Lauria and Paul Newman as ‘Fast’ Eddie Felson in the Martin Scorsese movie The Color of Money).

The means of a broken belief system restored, some 25-years later for ‘Fast’ Eddie Felson, was the message I felt mostly strongly in the pairing of movies that are The Hustler and The Color of Money. Having that context made for a better experience to the sequel than I would have had for the second movie as a stand alone experience. Being unwilling to separate the two, I grant The Color of Money as directed by Martin Scorsese 4.25-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie and George C. Scott in the movie ‘The Hustler’

Life can be a cruel mistress when moving from innocence to experience; from curious to aware; or, to borrow from the dialogue of the Robert Rossen directed The Hustler (1961), from loser to winner. In the movie based on the Walter Tevis book The Hustler, billiards, ambition and love mingle into a socially conscious take on the emotional cost each activity has in relation to the others.

(From left, Paul Newman as Eddie Felson and Myron McCormick as Charlie Burns in the Robert Rossen movie The Hustler).

The sport of billiards, or pool, offers insight into the human experience that I didn’t see coming when opening The Hustler. Paul Newman stars as “Fast” Eddie Felson, a young yet emerging pool hustler supported by Charlie Burns, as portrayed by Myron McCormick. The relationship between Burns and Felson was close, financial, and mutually beneficial.

(From left, Paul Newman as Eddie Felson and Jackie Gleason as Minnesota Fats in the Robert Rossen movie The Hustler).

The relationship along with Felson’s billiards skill offer Burns the confidence needed to sponsor a high stakes player-on-player pool game between Felson and famed billiards professional Rudolph Walter Wanderone, Jr., aka Minnesota Fats. Jackie Gleason portrayed Minnesota Fats. Based strictly on game play, both Eddie Felson and Minnesota Fats prove themselves of similar pool playing talent. A bottle of bourbon and 25-hours left Felson’s $18,000 advantage lost to Minnesota Fats.

(From left, Paul Newman as Eddie Felson and Piper Laurie as Sarah Packard in the Robert Rossen movie The Hustler).

In the shared sleeping space of Burns and Felson following the session, Felson left half of the money he had left and stowed his belongings at a bus station. Felson meets Sarah Packard, as portrayed by Piper Laurie, in the terminal there. They bonded over alcohol, mutual life experience, and not much else. Circumstances and a stay at a boarding house for Felson build into something of a relationship between the two. Felson’s choice between his sense of love for Sarah and his sense of ambition for billiards prowess begin emerging.

(From left, George C. Scott as Bert Gordon and Paul Newman as Eddie Felson in the Robert Rossen movie The Hustler).

Bert Gordon, as portrayed by George C. Scott, takes clear interest in Felson at the match between Minnesota Fats and Eddie Felson. The notion of losing and winning, as Gordon and Fats understand it, are on the table. As Felson works to regrow his stake through small time hustling in order to pursue another tournament against Minnesota Fats, the hustling gambler Bert Gordon puts the gambler’s understanding of the psychology and costs of high stakes, high pressure gaming on love based relationships. After a particularly cruel public humiliation, Sarah Packard and Eddie Felson both realize a truth that reaches its full expression in the closing acts of the movie.

(Robert Rossen directed The Hustler, also writing the screenplay with Sidney Carroll).

The social messaging of The Hustler made the film a touch more serious than many made around Hollywood in the era wherein this film was released. The human message of the film, despite or in the face of the fact that Rossen had been blacklisted ahead of this film, perhaps offers the achievement of this film further relevance. Ultimately, its the human stories that lead me to the value present in the movie. I give Robert Rosen‘s The Hustler 4.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, April 28, 2021