The Gamblers is a 1970 American drama film directed by Ron Winston and starring Suzy Kendall, Don Gordon and Pierre Olaf.^[1] Its plot involves a confidence trickster who goes for a trip of a luxury cruise liner, where he is himself conned out of his money. It is loosely based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel The Gambler. Its alternative title was Kockari.

Cast

Suzy Kendall – Candace
Don Gordon – Rooney
Pierre Olaf – Cozzier
Kenneth Griffith – Broadfoot
Stuart Margolin – Goldy
Richard Woo – Koboyashi
Massimo Serato – Del Isolla
Faith Domergue – Signora Del Isolla
Relja Basic – Yakov
Anthony Chinn – Nono

References

1. ^ http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/216349

Links

• The Gamblers (1970 film) at the Internet Movie Database

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

Directed by Ben Bolt, Harold Becker
Produced by Martin Ransohoff
Written by Clark Howard, Robert Roy Pool
Starring Matt Dillon, Diane Lane, Tommy Lee Jones, Bruce Dern, Lee Grant
Music by Michael Melvoin, Frank Fitzpatrick (Music Editor)
Cinematography Ralf D. Bode
Editing by Stuart H. Pappé
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) September 25, 1987
Running time 109 min.
Country United States
Language English
Box office $1,733,000

The Big Town is a 1987 film drama about a young man who comes to the big city to work as a professional gambler, in the process becoming romantically involved with two women—one of whom is already married. The film was directed by Ben Bolt and Harold Becker and it stars Matt Dillon, Diane Lane, and Tommy Lee Jones.

Main cast

Plot

In 1957, J. C. Cullen is a small-town crapshooter who heads to Chicago, Illinois to seek his fortune. There he becomes the pawn of two high-rolling professional gamblers, Mr. and Mrs. Edwards. He later gets mixed-up in a revenge scheme cooked up by Lorry Dane, the embittered stripper wife of strip-joint owner George Cole. Before he knows what’s happened, Cullen is embroiled in two torrid romances, one with Dane and the other with nice girl Aggie Donaldson; he also nearly loses his life by ending up in the middle of a deadly feud between Edwards and Cole.

Links

• The Big Town at the Internet Movie Database
• The Big Town at AllRovi

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

Directed by Brewster MacWilliams
Produced by Robert Peters, Roy Winnick
Written by Brewster MacWilliams
Starring Frank Gorshin, Stanley DeSantis, Sam Anderson, Mike Genovese, Susan Traylor, Robert Dubac
Music by Colin Leese
Cinematography Arturo Smith
Release date(s) 1997
Running time 89 min.
Country US
Language English

After the Game is a 1997 film noir drama/mystery film starring Frank Gorshin, Stanley DeSantis, Sam Anderson, Mike Genovese, Susan Traylor, and Robert Dubac.

Directed by Brewster MacWilliams and produced by Robert Peters and Roy Winnick, the screenplay was written by Brewster MacWilliams.

The DVD, titled The Last Hand, was issued in 2004.

Synopsis

After the Game is a crime fiction murder mystery with a theme of “after the game of poker” and “after the game of life.” It deals with revenge, deceit, lust and greed, and explores karma and the afterlife.

Aging gambler Benny Walsh (played by Gorshin) dies in a suspicious car crash after the biggest poker win of his life. His son, Clyde (played by Dubac), comes to the Nevada town in search of answers. He discovers that each of his father’s gambling buddies had ample reason to see him dead.

Cast

Frank Gorshin as Benny Walsh
Stanley DeSantis as Frank Bertini
Sam Anderson as Jimmy Walsh
Mike Genovese as Sam Kowalski
Susan Traylor as Veronica Kowalski
Richard Lineback as Slim, the Bartender
Donna Eskra as Dolly
Robert Dubac as Clyde Walsh
Lou Rawls as Morgue Attendant
Daniel Zacapa as Detective Garcia
Hudson Leick as Grace

Links

• After the Game at the Internet Movie Database

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

Directed by Barry Levinson
Produced by Mark Johnson
Screenplay by Barry Morrow, Ronald Bass
Story by Barry Morrow
Starring Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino
Music by Hans Zimmer
Cinematography John Seale
Editing by Stu Linder
Distributed by United Artists
Release date(s) December 16, 1988 (1988-12-16)
Running time 133 minutes
Country United States
Language English, Italian
Budget $25 million
Gross revenue $354,825,435

Rain Man is a 1988 comedy-drama film written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass and directed by Barry Levinson. It tells the story of an abrasive and selfish yuppie, Charlie Babbitt, who discovers that his estranged father has died and bequeathed all of his multimillion-dollar estate to his other son, Raymond, a man with autism of whose existence Charlie was unaware.

The film stars Tom Cruise as Charlie Babbitt, Dustin Hoffman as Raymond Babbitt, and Valeria Golino as Charlie’s girlfriend, Susanna. Morrow created the character of Raymond after meeting Kim Peek, a real-life savant; his characterization was based on both Peek and Bill Sackter, a good friend of Morrow who was the subject of Bill, an earlier film that Morrow wrote.^[1] Rain Man received overwhelmingly positive reviews at the time of its release, praising Hoffman’s role and the wit and sophistication of the screenplay.

The film won four Oscars at the 61st Academy Awards (March 1989), including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Actor in a leading role for Hoffman. Its crew received an additional four nominations.^[2] The film also won the Golden Bear at the 39th Berlin International Film Festival.^[3]

Plot

Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), a Los Angeles car dealer in his mid-twenties, is in the middle of importing four grey market Lamborghinis. The deal is being threatened by the EPA, and if Charlie cannot meet its requirements he will lose a significant amount of money. After some quick subterfuge with an employee, Charlie leaves for a weekend trip to Palm Springs with his girlfriend, Susanna (Valeria Golino).

Charlie’s trip is cancelled by news that his estranged father, Sanford Babbitt, has died. Charlie travels to Cincinnati, Ohio, to settle the estate, where he learns an undisclosed trustee is inheriting $3 million on behalf of an unnamed beneficiary, while all he is to receive is a classic Buick Roadmaster convertible and several prize rose bushes. Eventually he learns the money is being directed to a mental institution, which is the home of his brother with autism, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman), of whose existence Charlie was previously unaware. This leads Charlie to ask the question that permeates the movie: “Why didn’t somebody tell me I had a brother?”

Although Raymond has autism, he also has superb recall, albeit usually with little understanding of the subject matter, and extreme skill in mathematics. He is said to be a savant by some doctors. He is frightened by change and adheres to strict routines (for example, his continual repetition of the “Who’s on First?” sketch). Except when he is in distress, he shows little emotional expression and avoids eye contact. Numbed by learning that he has a brother and determined to get what he believes is his fair share of the Babbitt estate, Charlie takes Raymond on what becomes a cross-country car trip (due to Raymond’s fear of flying) back to Los Angeles to meet with his attorneys. Charlie intends to start a custody battle in order to get Raymond’s doctor, Dr. Gerald R. Bruner (Jerry Molen), to settle out of court for half of Sanford Babbitt’s estate so that the mental institution can maintain custody of Raymond.

During the course of the journey, Charlie learns about Raymond’s autism, which he initially believes is curable — resulting in his frequent frustration with his brother’s antics. He also learns about how his brother came to be separated from his family, as a result of an accident when he was left alone with Charlie when Charlie was a baby. Raymond also sings “I Saw Her Standing There” by The Beatles like he did when Charlie was young. Charlie proves to be sometimes shallow and exploitative, as when he learns that Raymond has an excellent memory and takes him to Las Vegas to win money at blackjack by counting cards. However, towards the end of their trip Charlie finds himself becoming protective of Raymond, and grows to truly love him.

Charlie finally meets with his attorney to try to get his share of his inheritance, but then decides that he no longer cares about the money and really just wants to have custody of his brother. However, at a meeting with a court-appointed psychiatrist and Dr. Bruner, Raymond is unable to decide exactly what he wants. Eventually, the psychiatrist presses Raymond to make the decision, upsetting him and leading Charlie to request that the doctor back off. Raymond is allowed to go back home to Cincinnati. Charlie, who has gained a new brother and mellowed considerably, promises Raymond as he boards an Amtrak train that he will visit in two weeks.

Cast

Tom Cruise as Charlie Babbitt
Dustin Hoffman as Raymond “Ray / Rain Man” Babbitt
Valeria Golino as Susanna
Jerry Molen as Dr. Bruner
Jack Murdock as John Mooney
Michael D. Roberts as Vern
Ralph Seymour as Lenny
Lucinda Jenney as Iris
Kim Robillard as Small Town Doctor
Barry Levinson (uncredited) as Doctor
Bonnie Hunt as Sally Dibbs

Effect on popular culture

Rain Man‘s portrayal of the main character’s condition has been seen as inaugurating a common and incorrect media stereotype that people on the autism spectrum typically have savant skills, and references to Rain Man, in particular Dustin Hoffman’s performance, have become a popular shorthand for autism and savantism.^[12] However, Rain Man has also been seen as dispelling a number of other misconceptions about autism and improving public awareness of the failure of many agencies to accommodate autistic people and make use of the abilities they do have, regardless of whether they are savant skills.^[13]

References

Links

• Rain Man at the Internet Movie Database
• Rain Man at the TCM Movie Database
• Rain Man at Allmovie
• Rain Man at Box Office Mojo
• Rain Man at Rotten Tomatoes
• Rain Man at Metacritic

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

Directed by Ron Shelton
Produced by Stephen Chin, Kellie Davis, David V. Lester
Written by Ron Shelton
Starring Antonio Banderas, Woody Harrelson, Lolita Davidovich, Tom Sizemore, Lucy Liu, Robert Wagner, Tony Curtis, Wesley Snipes, Mike Tyson, Kevin Costner, Rod Stewart, Jennifer Tilly, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Drew Carey
Music by Alex Wurman
Cinematography Mark Vargo
Editing by Patrick Flannery, Paul Seydor
Distributed by Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s) December 25, 1999
Running time 124 min.

Play It to the Bone is a 1999 sports/comedy-drama film, starring Antonio Banderas and Woody Harrelson, written and directed by Ron Shelton.

It follows the adventures of two boxers and best friends who travel to Las Vegas in order to fight each other for the sake of a chance to compete for the middleweight title. The film also starred Lolita Davidovich, Tom Sizemore, Lucy Liu, and Robert Wagner.

Cameo appearances include: Tony Curtis, Wesley Snipes, Mike Tyson, Kevin Costner, Rod Stewart, Jennifer Tilly, Natasha Gregson Wagner and Drew Carey.

Plot

Aging prizefighters and longtime pals Cesar Dominguez (Banderas) and Vince Boudreau (Harrelson) always regretted not getting one last shot. Out of the blue, such an opportunity comes their way — except it is to fight each other.

Boxing promoter Joe Domino (Sizemore) has a problem on his hands. The fighters scheduled to be on his undercard in Vegas, a preliminary to a main event featuring heavyweight Mike Tyson, suddenly become unavailable at the last minute. He needs replacements fast, so a call is made to a gym in Los Angeles to see if Dominguez and Boudreau would be willing to step into the ring against one another.

The boxers negotiate one condition: that the winner will be given a chance to fight for the middleweight championship. Domino agrees, although the untrustworthy promoter is not necessarily a man of his word.

Cesar and Vince have only a day to get to the fight. They decide to drive rather than fly, so they call upon their friend Grace (Davidovich) to drive them in her lime green Oldsmobile 442. Grace is a former love interest of both. Grace’s own plan is to pitch her various money-making ideas to Vegas bigshots like hotel and casino boss Hank Goody (Wagner) and raise venture capital. Along the way, they pick up a hitchhiker (Liu) whose insults finally result in Grace’s flattening her with a solid right cross worthy of her traveling companions.

The fight between the two friends is sparsely attended, ringside fans and celebrities remaining uninterested until the night’s main event. Cesar and Vince mix it up so savagely, however, beating each other to a bloody pulp, that fans in the arena begin paying more and more attention, as do commentators on TV.

When the action-packed and dramatic bout comes to an end, Cesar and Vince are paid off, but promptly spend most of their money in the casino. Grace, too, comes away bruised and empty-handed, except for her everlasting relationship between a couple of hard-headed but soft-hearted guys.

Reception

The film garnered a generally poor reception, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it an average rating of 3.9 out of 10.^[1] Professional critical reception was similar, with Empire magazine giving it just 2 stars out of 5.^[2]

References

Links

• Play It to the Bone at the Internet Movie Database

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

Directed by Sydney Pollack
Produced by Sydney Pollack, Richard Roth
Written by Judith Rascoe, David Rayfiel
Starring Robert Redford, Lena Olin, Raúl Juliá, Alan Arkin
Music by Dave Grusin
Cinematography Owen Roizman
Editing by Fredric Steinkamp, William Steinkamp
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date(s) December 12, 1990
Running time 140 min.

Havana is an independent 1990 drama starring Robert Redford, Lena Olin and Raúl Juliá, directed by Sydney Pollack and with music by Dave Grusin. In the film, an American professional gambler named Jack Weil (Redford) decides to visit Havana, Cuba to gamble. On the boat to Havana, he meets Roberta Duran (Olin), the wife of a revolutionary, Arturo (Julia). Shortly after their arrival, Arturo is taken away by the secret police, and Roberta is captured and tortured. Jack frees her, but she continues to support the revolution.

Plot

The plot is set on the Eve of the victory of the Cuban Revolution, January 1, 1959.

On the boat from Miami to Havana, Roberta Duran enlists the aid of Jack Weil (Robert Redford) in smuggling in U.S. Army Signal Corps radios destined for the Cuban revolutionary forces in the hills. Jack Weil agrees only because he is romantically interested in Ms. Duran. When they rendezvous for the “payoff”, Roberta reveals she is married, dashing Weil’s hopes.

Weil meets up with a Cuban journalist acquaintance (Tony Plana) and during a night on the town they run into Roberta Duran and her husband, Dr. Arturo Duran. Dr. Duran (Raul Julia) is a leader of the revolutionary movement. When Roberta points Weil out to him, Dr. Duran invites Weil to join them for dinner, and asks Weil for further aid to the cause. Weil turns him down, even after Duran outlines the desperate situation confronting the Cuban majority.

The next morning, after a night of debauchery for Weil, but a night of arrests of revolutionaries by the secret police, Weil reads a newspaper account of Dr. Duran’s arrest and death. In shock he continues with the planned poker game, at which he meets the head of the secret police. He learns that Roberta was also arrested and held. She was also tortured. Weil uses the debt one of the other players (a lieutenant) owes him, to obtain Roberta’s release. In shock from her husband’s death and her own experience in jail, she agrees to let him shelter her in his apartment, but that afternoon she disappears. Realizing that he is in love with Roberta, and encouraged by an old gambling friend, Weil drives into the interior of Cuba to find her at Dr. Duran’s old estate. He persuades her to return with him to Havana and to leave Cuba with him. When she asks, he explains that a lump on his arm contains a diamond he had sewn into his arm in his youth, as insurance that no matter what happens in life, one always has that diamond.

He makes arrangements for her to leave Cuba via boat, but on his return to the apartment, he is assaulted by two Cubans who inform him that Arturo demands that he get Roberta out of the country. In amazement that Dr. Duran is still alive, he wrestles with himself and pretends to Roberta that nothing is amiss. He uses the time thus bought to confirm the story with a CIA agent (Daniel Davis) whose acquaintance he had made. He obtains the information by threatening to blow the agent’s cover of gourmet magazine writer, then uses it also to make a deal with him regarding Dr. Duran. Pretending to work for the CIA, Weil goes to see Dr. Duran, who is held by the chief of the secret police (SIM). He tells the chief that Washington has new plans for Duran and wants him released, with a payoff of $50,000. He “orders” the chief to have Duran cleaned up and dressed (Duran had been tortured and was in extremely bad shape) and taken to his house. Weil goes to a doctor, then a jeweler, to sell the diamond to raise the cash for Dr. Duran’s release.

Back at his apartment, he informs Roberta, who had decided to make a life with him, that her husband is still alive. In shock she leaves on her own to find her husband. Meanwhile, Weil had blown the big game with high rollers he had been angling for since the day he arrived in Havana. The casino manager (Alan Arkin) forgives him, knowing he had made rescuing Roberta his priority.

That night, New Year’s Eve, 1958, the insurrection is won by the revolutionary forces. The upperclass, the government and the secret police all leave their lavish New Year’s Eve parties to make a mad dash to the ports and airport to leave the country. The people pour into the streets, celebrating the victory by trashing the casinos and dancing in the streets. Weil and (Arkin) agree it is a new day and time for them to go.

The next morning Weil is in a restaurant preparing to depart when Roberta shows up to wish him farewell. She discovers, by seeing the bandage on his arm, what it had cost him to save her husband for her. They hug goodbye. She remains with the Revolution, and he has been changed by it. Every year he drives down to the Florida Keys to gaze across the water toward Havana, hoping one day to see her again, but also realizing that the changes in Cuba were being echoed in the changes of the 1960s happening in America.

The closing credits, consisting of a beautiful Caribbean sunset with an equally beautiful and haunting musical finale by composer Dave Grusin, is an essential part of the movie, as is the entire bittersweet musical score. Raul Julia’s name does not appear in any of the credits.

Cast

Robert Redford as Jack Weil
Lena Olin as Bobby Durán
Alan Arkin as Joe Volpí
Tomás Milián as Menocal
Daniel Davis as Marion Chigwell
Tony Plana as Julio Ramos
Betsy Brantley as Diane
Lise Cutter as Patty
Richard Farnsworth as the Professor
Mark Rydell as Meyer Lansky
Vasek Simek as Willy
Fred Asparagus as Baby Hernández
Richard Portnow as Mike MacClaney
Dion Anderson as Roy Forbes
Carmine Caridi as Captain Potts

Links

• Havana at the Internet Movie Database

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.