Review: The Cincinnati Kid

Set in 1930s New Orleans, hotshot upstart poker player known as ‘The Kid’ (Steve McQueen) wants to be ‘The Man’. He’s hungry, he’s good – damn good, and he believes he’s ready. Right now though, ‘The Man’ is top poker player Lancey Howard (Edward G. Robinson, in a role he apparently considered very close to his true self), and he doesn’t look to be ready to pass down the mantle anytime soon. ‘The Kid’ keeps grinding though in smaller games, until he finally gets his shot at ‘The Man’ at a big game. Question is, will ‘The Kid’ find the right cards, the right bit of luck (for all the mathematics and psychology, poker still is considered gambling for a reason), and also play with the very best of his skill on the big day? Is he truly ready for ‘The Man’? The secondary story here involves a sour, cheating rival player named Slade (Rip Torn). He was previously burned and humiliated in a game by Lancey, and a vengeful Slade hasn’t forgotten it. In fact, for the upcoming big game that he has organised, he has blackmailed dealer/player Shooter (Karl Malden), a friend of The Kid, into fixing the game with some fancy deals. Shooter has always dealt fair, but Slade has him over a barrel in very bad debt. Shooter also has a very expensive, shallow wife (Ann-Margret) to keep happy as well. Tuesday Weld plays Christian, naïve farmer’s daughter and girlfriend of ‘The Kid’. Joan Blondell plays ‘Lady Fingers’ a relief dealer for the game, and long-time acquaintance of most of the players, including Lancey. Cab Calloway, Robert DoQui, and  Jack Weston are poker players, Dub Taylor is a dealer in the opening scene, and Theo Marcuse plays Slade’s chief thug.

 

Directed by Norman Jewison (“In the Heat of the Night”, “…And Justice for All”), this 1965 poker movie often gets labelled a poor man’s “The Hustler”, with pool switched with poker. It’s true that the two films have similarities, but I’ve never been fussed with “The Hustler”, and consider this the much more enjoyable film. Steve McQueen is slightly better company than surly Paul Newman for one thing. The entire cast here is pretty much top-notch right through, offering up vivid characterisations (or at least vivid archetypes). Although some regarded McQueen too old to play ‘The Kid’, no one plays laser-focussed confidence and cool like Steve McQueen. Yeah, he’s a bit of a louse in the relationship department, but he’s certainly not a surly, arrogant piece of crap like Newman’s Fast Eddie. In fact, those qualities are more indicative here of the film’s villain, and no one plays a sour, mean-spirited prick better than Rip Torn.

 

The best performances in the film are probably from veteran character actors Karl Malden and Edward G. Robinson. Robinson gets to play the current top guy in the poker world,  Lancey Howard, AKA ‘The Man’. Although outwardly gentlemanly and classy, he’s absolutely protective of his position at the top and despite his advanced age, still extremely competitive. He delivers a particularly no-nonsense beating towards Torn’s Slade (which could spell his downfall), and whilst cordial, clearly sees ‘The Kid’ as competition, even if he won’t let it show. If ‘The Kid’ wants to beat ‘The Man’ to become ‘The Man’, well, ‘The Man’ ain’t gonna make it easy for him. Malden probably plays the most interesting character named Shooter, a veteran dealer and occasional player. He’s friends with ‘The Kid’ and has always been an honest dealer, but he gets put into a very difficult position by Torn’s shark-like Slade. He’s also got the misfortune to be married to Ann-Margret, a shallow man-eater who even cheats at jigsaw puzzles. Malden is excellent (when wasn’t he?) and sympathetic in the part. You can’t help but feel for the poor guy. As for Ann-Margret, she’s highly amusing and perfectly cast in her shameless role. I guess it kinda works given she’s playing a fairly trashy character, but at times it felt that although the actress is spot-on in the role as written, it maybe belonged in more of a B-movie take on this same subject. Still, you have to admit she’s a hoot nonetheless. Tuesday Weld does perfectly fine as the rather naïve romantic partner for ‘The Kid’. The character isn’t among the film’s most interesting, but it’s probably one of Weld’s better performances. By far the most lasting impression of any of the women in the film is made by character actress Joan Blondell. As the brassy, cynical dealer ‘Lady Fingers’, she provides the comic highlight of the film with her bitchy interplay with Robinson. He calls her ‘that old bitch’, and she constantly needles him about being old. In today’s parlance they’d probably be referred to as ‘frenemies’. Elsewhere, the legendary Cab Calloway, sweaty Jack Watson, and thuggish Theo Marcuse offer colourful character support in and around the table. We also get a rather taciturn but wonderful cameo by Irene Tedrow as Weld’s simple, somewhat worn-down mother. Look out for such familiar faces as Dub Taylor, Robert DoQui, Jeff Corey, Karl Swenson, and Milton Selzer in tiny parts, too.

 

Plot-wise it’s a pretty standard sports movie plot, but this one really pops with character, performance, and local flavour. It’s been wonderfully shot by Philip H. Lathrop (“Days of Wine and Roses”, “Point Blank”, “Hard Times”). Highly underrated, near great film, easily the best poker movie ever made. Terrific performances, colourful characters, terrific local flavour and location shooting, and a rock-solid Lalo Schifrin (“Cool Hand Luke”, “Bullitt”, “The Fox”) score. Director Jewison has the poker scenes crackling with tension, with a nice use of close-ups, too. Scripted by Ring Lardner Jr. (the film version of “MASH”) and Terry Southern (“Dr. Strangelove”, “Easy Rider”, “Barbarella”) from a Richard Jessup novel, this one deserves a much higher profile. Nice title song by the late great Ray Charles, too. A must for poker fans and Steve McQueen fans alike, this ain’t no poor man’s “The Hustler”.

 

Rating: A-