Directed by Phil Karlson
Produced by Helen Ainsworth (associate producer), Stirling Sillphant, John Barnwell
Written by Stirling Sillphant, William Bowers, John Barnwell, Jack Finney (magazine story), Frank Tashlin (uncredited)
Starring Kim Novak, Brian Keith
Music by George Duning
Cinematography Lester White
Editing by Jerome Thoms
Distributed by Columbia Pictures Corporation
Release date(s) June 10, 1955
Running time 84 minutes
Country United States

5 Against the House is a 1955 American heist film starring Kim Novak, Guy Madison and Brian Keith, directed by Phil Karlson and based on a story by Jack Finney. It centers on a fictional robbery of what was a real Nevada casino, Harold’s Club.

Plot summary

During a weekend side-trip to Reno, Nevada, college friends Brick (Keith), Al (Madison), Ronnie (Kerwin Matthews) and Roy (Alvy Moore), visit the famous casino Harold’s Club.

After an hour spent gambling and socializing, the group prepares to leave. Ronnie, however, has lost money playing roulette, and must cash in a check at the cashier’s window. He is accompanied there by Roy, but, unbeknownst to either of them, the cashier is being threatened by a man with a gun. Using a concealed security alarm, the cashier alerts casino officials who then converge on the window believing that Roy and Ronnie are also involved in the attempted robbery. All three are apprehended. Outside the casino moments later, Al persuades the police to release Roy and Ronnie, but the inquisitive Ronnie has already become obsessed with the concept of a spectacular robbery, especially a robbery of a casino like Harold’s Club, and he begins forming his own plans to rob Harold’s Club after he overhears a bystander lament, “There’s no way it (a robbery) can be done.”

Once back at college, the incident is seemingly forgotten, though Ronnie immediately begins developing his plans in earnest whilst the others are preoccupied by the beginning of the new term. Al is also preoccupied by his desire to reestablish his relationship with his girlfriend, Kaye (Kim Novak), who has recently become a singer at a local nightclub. Determined to see her perform, Al takes Brick, Roy and Ronnie to see one of Kaye’s first shows. After the performance, Brick, a Korean War veteran, is provoked into fighting a fellow student over a former girlfriend, and, afterward, he suffers from the effects of a dissociative psychotic episode due to an ongoing battle with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Later in the night, Al encourages a distraught Brick to return to a veteran’s hospital for treatment, but he refuses, and, together, the two agree to move on.

Some time later, Ronnie finalizes an actual plan to rob Harold’s Club. Claiming that the robbery would be an adventurous “first” [experience] in their otherwise ordinary lives, Ronnie reveals the plan to Brick and Roy. Ronnie then maintains that if the robbery were a success, all the stolen money would be returned, thereby ensuring that no one involved would be guilty of a prosecutable crime. Though initially skeptical, Brick and Roy gradually abandon their misgivings. The wealthy Ronnie then uses his personal inheritance funds to purchase an untraceable trailer and car and fabricate a wooden cart that is identical to the cash carts used at Harold’s — the most important component of the heist.

Though his preparations are complete, Ronnie determines that the robbery can only go ahead if Al is present for it, since he maintains that at least four people will be needed for the dangerously complex operation. But Brick, Roy and Ronnie agree that Al will not go along with the robbery if he is made aware of it beforehand. Coincidentally, the day before the robbery, Al proposes to Kaye, and they decide to go to Reno with the others to celebrate their engagement.

On the way to Reno, Al recognizes the cart’s design while riding in the trailer and inadvertently triggers play of a sinister audio recording somehow connected to a button on the cart’s handle and played through a small reel-to-reel recorder hidden inside the cart itself. The message reveals Ronnie’s robbery plans to Kaye and Al. Shocked, they refuse to participate.

Brick then intervenes. Pulling a hidden revolver from his baggage, Brick seizes control of the robbery. Fearing a life of destitution and confinement, the increasingly disturbed Brick explains that the robbery will go ahead as intended, despite Al and Kaye’s objections, but with one significant exception: the money will not be returned to the casino. Additionally, Brick promises to kill Al if anyone attempts to sabotage the plan.

Once they arrive at the casino, the robbery is carried out efficiently as Reno’s casino district is filled with costumed partiers celebrating a distracting cowboy-themed fête, and, in the chaotic festivities, the disguised Brick, Ronnie and Al blend into the crowd, going unnoticed by casino security while convincing a cart operator (William Conrad) to retrieve cash from the casino’s money room through a clever ploy — using the prerecorded message on the tape recorder inside the counterfeit cart to frighten the man into playing along.

After the final moments of the robbery, Brick leaves the others behind and escapes with the money, but he is pursued, by Al, into a casino parking structure. Kaye, having alerted police, follows them, and a tense standoff takes place. Al manages to make Brick give himself up peacefully and the gathered police officers escort Brick from the scene while promising to treat him fairly. No one else is arrested, and, in the final shot, Al and Kaye embrace on a crowded street.

Cast

Kim Novak as Kaye Greylek
Brian Keith as Brick
Guy Madison as Al Mercer
Kerwin Matthews as Ronnie
Alvy Moore as Roy
William Conrad as Eric Berg
Jack Dimond as Francis Spiegelbauer
Jean Wills as Virginia

Reception

The film was praised upon its release by the New York Times, which cited, “brisk direction, crisp, idiomatic and truly comic dialogue” as being chief among its positive qualities, but held reservations about the film’s development of characters and back-story.^[1] Contemporary reviewer Richard Harland Smith has reported that Kim Novak received, “favorable, albeit condescending reviews” for her portrayal of “night-club chanteuse” Kaye Greylek, which improved her status at Columbia Pictures.^[2]

Significance

Released in 1955, 5 Against the House is an early example of a filmed heist, and an early film depiction of casino-robbery, to be later typified by, among others, Ocean’s 11, its remake and sequels. Martin Scorsese has thus specifically indicated that his 1995 film Casino was influenced by Karlson’s own production.^[3] And, though not her film debut, the film was one of future-star Kim Novak’s first screen appearances; Novak was one of the last film stars to be signed to a studio contract and to be recruited through the “old studio system” by producer Harry Cohn.^[4]

DVD Releases

On November 3, 2009, Sony Pictures released the film on standard-definition DVD as a part of their collection Film Noir Classics, Volume I with other early noir films The Big Heat, The Lineup, Murder by Contract, and The Sniper. The DVD includes film introductions and commentaries by notable filmmakers Martin Scorsese, Michael Mann, Christopher Nolan and authors Eddie Muller and James Ellroy.^[5]

References

Links

• 5 Against the House at the Internet Movie Database
• 5 Against the House at AllRovi
• 5 Against the House at the TCM Movie Database

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

Directed by Daniel Mann
Produced by Jack Rose
Written by A. Rose (book), Jack Rose
Starring Dean Martin, Lana Turner, Eddie Albert, Walter Matthau
Music by George Duning
Nita Talbot
Cinematography Joseph Ruttenberg
Editing by Howard A. Smith
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s) December 25, 1962
Running time 93 min.
Country U.S.A.
Language English

Who’s Got the Action? (1962) is a comedy film about a man suffering from an addiction to gambling starring Dean Martin, Lana Turner, Eddie Albert, and Walter Matthau. The film was written by Alexander Rose and Jack Rose, and directed by Daniel Mann.

Plot

The gambling habit of lawyer Steve Flood (Dean Martin) is beginning to get on the nerves of his wife Melanie (Lana Turner), who initially suspects him of marital infidelity. When she learns about the gambling, Melanie talks Steve’s law partner Clint Morgan (Eddie Albert), an old flame, into helping her act as a fictitious horse race bookie offering unusually attractive terms to clients.

The plan is for Steve to lose enough money to permanently rid him of the betting habit, but it goes awry when he suddenly begins winning bets on a number of long-shot horses. Flood’s winning streak attracts the attention of two horse-playing judges, Boatwright (Paul Ford) and Fogel (John McGiver), who persuade Flood to place bets for them with his mysterious “bookie.” Melanie and Morgan are astounded when the judges begin winning large wagers as well.

The make-believe bookmaking activity arouses the ire of syndicate mobster Tony Gagoots (Walter Matthau), who is furious to know who’s “getting the action.” Gagoots’s mistress, a nightclub singer named Saturday Knight (Nita Talbot), happens to be the Floods’ next-door neighbor, and assists Melanie in raising cash for the gambling payoffs by purchasing various furnishings from the Floods’ apartment (using Gagoots’ ill-gotten money).

The source of the mysterious “bookmaking” is traced to the Floods’ apartment by Gagoots through an illegal telephone wiretap. He and a team of thugs descend upon the apartment, where they are surprised to find all the defecting gamblers assembled. They are thunderstruck when a coercive interrogation reveals that Melanie Flood is the “bookie” they have been seeking.

Steve Flood ultimately convinces Gagoots to forgive all of their gambling debts by arguing that only by marrying his mistress Saturday can he avoid the risk of incriminating testimony. In one stroke this fulfills Saturday’s long-sought goal, saves the Floods’ marriage, insulates Gagoots from future prosecution and clears Melanie’s $18,000 gambling payoff burden.

Evaluation

Who’s Got the Action? doesn’t rank as a landmark comedy, it is thoroughly entertaining and well worth seeing. The principal cast members (Martin, Turner, Albert) give creditable performances, but the film benefits much more from knockout performances by the supporting cast (Talbot, Matthau, Ford, McGiver, Glass, various others). The musical score is also excellent. Many of the scenes were filmed on location in Flood’s/Knight’s luxurious penthouse apartments in the historic Talmadge building on Los Angeles’ Wilshire Boulevard; much of the automobile driving shown runs up and down Wilshire. The pace of the action is very fast, with the gag lines (some good, some dull) coming every few seconds. An amusing sideline is the occasional views of Gagoots’ s huge, light-flashing Univac computer, which keeps track of the syndicate’s illegal bookmaking operations.

Movie Origins and Design

The storyline is based on the 1960 novel Four Horse Players Are Missing by Alexander Rose, who also plays a minor role in the film (“Mr. Goody”). This novel, in turn, was closely related to the book Little Miss Marker (1934) by Alexander Hall.

At the detail level, producer/script writer Jack Rose took many liberties to make use of the screen reputations of the cast members. For example, Dean Martin at the “Blue Slipper” night club maintains his boozer image by telling a waiter, “Pour scotch all over us”; in the film’s opening scene he grabs someone else’s cocktail on his way to the phone booth. Straight-laced John McGiver explains that he bets on horses only because “it annoys my wife.”

Matthau’s tour de force portrayal of mobster Tony Gagoots includes a parade of humorous cracks and incongruous actions (drinking from a glass of milk on his desk; biting loudly into apples; ordering his thugs to bring along the artillery “unless you object on religious grounds”; telling Mrs. Flood that he has a deal with Bennett Cerf – “He doesn’t take horse bets, I don’t publish books.”

Famous pin-up model June Wilkinson has no spoken lines, but appears in a bizarre scene in Judge Boatwright’s chambers as a young bride preparing to marry an octogenarian groom. One curious anomaly: Judges Boatwright and Fogel show up in person at a local horse racing track (Hollywood Park) to witness the running of an elderly mare named “Sadness”; this raises the question of why, if the judges could make it to the track, they did not place legal pari-mutuel wagers there instead of making illegal bets through Flood’s mysterious bookie (actually Mrs. Flood). The song performed by Nita Talbot at the night club (“The Lady’s In Love With You”) was of her own composition.

Cast

Dean Martin as Steve Flood
Lana Turner as Melanie Flood
Eddie Albert as Clint Morgan
Walter Matthau as Tony Gagouts
Paul Ford as Judge Boatwright
Nita Talbot as Saturday Knight
John McGiver as Judge Fogel
Jack Albertson as Hodges

Links

• Who’s Got the Action? at the Internet Movie Database
• Who’s Got the Action? at AllRovi

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

Directed by Stephen Kessler
Produced by Jerry Weintraub
Written by Screenplay: Elisa Bell
Story: Elisa Bell, Bob Ducsay
Characters: John Hughes
Starring: Chevy Chase, Ethan Embry, Marisol Nichols, Beverly D’Angelo, Randy Quaid
Music by Joel McNeely
Cinematography William A. Fraker
Editing by Seth Flaum
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) February 14, 1997 (USA)
Running time 93 min.
Language English
Gross revenue $36,429,528 (USA)

Vegas Vacation is a 1997 comedy film. It is the fourth film in the original Vacation film series centering around the fictitious Griswold family, following Vacation, European Vacation, and Christmas Vacation. Chevy Chase reprises his starring role as Clark W. Griswold, the patriarch of the family. The film opened at #4 at the box office and grossed over $36.4 million domestically.^[1] This is the only theatrical Vacation film not to be sponsored by National Lampoon.

Plot

At work, Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) has invented a long life food preservative, earning him a large bonus check. Clark announces to his family that he is taking them on vacation. Enthusiasm wanes, however, when Clark says they are headed to Las Vegas, Nevada.

His wife, Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo), and teenage daughter, Audrey (Marisol Nichols) have their doubts, as Las Vegas is not known for its family-friendly atmosphere, while teenage son Rusty (Ethan Embry) appears to be more eager, even asking if prostitution is legal there.

Upon arriving in Vegas, the family embarks upon a series of mishaps and adventures. Clark crosses paths with Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid), the husband of Ellen’s cousin Catherine (Miriam Flynn). Eddie and his family now live in the desert just north of Las Vegas, on what used to be an H-bomb test site.

While on a group tour of the gigantic Hoover Dam, Clark foolishly leaves the group after accidentally creating a leak in the dam’s inside walkways, and is forced to climb the scaffolding to the very top of the dam to get out, because his cries for help cannot be heard over the roaring water of the spillway.

During the vacation in Las Vegas, Clark becomes addicted to gambling (mostly Blackjack, which he usually loses), Rusty gets a fake ID and becomes a winning high roller (taking on the pseudonym ‘Nick Pappagiorgio’), Audrey starts hanging out with Eddie’s wild stripper daughter Vickie (Shae D’Lyn) (and hanging out with impersonators of The Beatles as well), and Ellen becomes addicted to Wayne Newton (playing himself), who may have feelings for Ellen, and it’s making Clark jealous.

After Clark gambles away the family’s $22,600 bank account, Eddie—who has money buried in his front yard—tries to come to the Griswold family’s rescue in return for everything the Griswolds have done for him and his family over the years.

Ultimately, the family begins to fall apart, thanks to Clark’s obsessive gambling, Ellen’s infatuation with Wayne Newton, Rusty’s new winning lifestyle, and Audrey’s desire to engage in exotic dancing with Cousin Vicki rather than spend time with her family.

The Griswolds must learn how to come together as a family, or “Sin City” just might destroy their very fabric.

Near the climax of the film, the Griswolds gamble their last two dollars on a game of Keno. They take a seat next to an older man (Sid Caesar in a cameo) who compliments Clark on his lovely family, and hints that he’s been lonely all of his life. Out of guilt, Clark tells the man to consider himself part of the Griswold family for the night. The man happily accepts Clark’s kind words, and both parties begin the game. At first, the Griswolds are hopeful, but as they realize they’ve already lost the game, they sadly sit for moments in silence. Suddenly, the man next to them ecstatically declares that he’s won the game. As he continues to express joy, he suddenly begins to slip in and out of consciousness while Ellen sends Rusty for help. He awakens one last time and whispers a message to Clark, before dropping his winning ticket and falling one final time. Clark, puzzled, tells Ellen that the man said “take the ticket”. When the casino security guards and paramedics arrive, they declare the man officially dead. They tell the Griswolds his name was Mr. Ellis, and commented on how sad his loneliness was to them. As Mr. Ellis is carried away, a janitor approaches with a vacuum cleaner; walking straight for the winning ticket on the floor. Though it appears Clark is going to allow it to be lost, he at the last moment pulls the ticket out of the path of the vacuum.

Clark and Ellen remarry at the end. Afterwards, Clark hands Eddie a large pile of cash (Eddie can be overheard saying $5000 after counting it) and explains by telling him that “we were very fortunate last night”. Rusty tells Clark of the four cars he had won, a Dodge Viper, a Ford Mustang, a Hummer H1, and a Ford Aspire. Clark takes all the keys away from Rusty, but instead of confiscating them, he gives the keys to each family member. The movie rolls credits as the Griswolds are shown on Interstate 15, driving back home to Chicago.

Cast

Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold
Beverly D’Angelo as Ellen Griswold
Marisol Nichols as Audrey Griswold
Ethan Embry as Russell “Rusty” Griswold
Randy Quaid as Cousin Eddie
Miriam Flynn as Cousin Catherine
Shae D’Lyn as Cousin Vicki
Wallace Shawn as Marty
Julia Sweeney as Mirage Reception Person

Cameos

Wayne Newton as himself
Siegfried & Roy as themselves
Toby Huss as young Frank Sinatra impersonator/fake i.d. salesman
Christie Brinkley as “Girl in the Red Ferrari” from the first film
Sid Caesar as Mr. Ellis
Jerry Weintraub as “Gilly from Philly”

Production

The Mirage Resort on the Las Vegas Strip was a major filming location for this movie. It was filmed during the busy tourist season, from mid-June, through late September 1996. Several sections of the movie are filmed at Shenandoah, the home of entertainer Wayne Newton, who also appears in the film.

Nichols and Embry became the fourth different set of actors to play the Griswold children, Audrey and Rusty. This fact is referenced early in the film when Clark Griswold comments that he hardly recognizes his children anymore. The role of Huss was similar to a number of MTV commercials from the early 1990s that featured Huss as a Vegas crooner.

This was the first (and only) theatrical Vacation film in the series to receive a PG rating. The first Vacation film was rated R, while European Vacation and Christmas Vacation received PG-13 ratings. As a result the language, and vulgar/sexual situations as in the previous films do somewhat exist but are much more mild and toned down than the other installments.

Critical reception

The film has received mostly mixed to negative reviews. The film has garnered a “Rotten” rating of 14% on Rotten Tomatoes^[2] and a weighted average score of 20 out of 100 on Metacritic.^[3] However, the film has received a C+ rating at Box Office Mojo and a score on 5.5 on Internet Movie Database.

Despite mixed reviews, Vegas Vacation has found success on DVD and on television.

References

Links

• Vegas Vacation at the Internet Movie Database
• Vegas Vacation at Allrovi

Acest articol este licentiat sub GNU Free Documentation License. Foloseste materiale din Wikipedia.

Directed by Leena Yadav
Produced by Ambika A. Hinduja
Screenplay by Leena Yadav, Shiv Kumar Subramaniam
Story by Leena Yadav, Shiv Kumar Subramaniam
Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Ben Kingsley, R. Madhavan, Saira Mohan, Raima Sen, Shraddha Kapoor, Tinnu Anand, Mahesh Manjrekar
Music by Salim-Sulaiman
Cinematography Aseem Bajaj
Editing by Hughes Winborne, Kaushik Das
Distributed by Serendipity Films
Release date(s) February 26, 2010
Running time 140 mins.
Country India
Language Hindi

Teen Patti (Hindi: तीन पत्ती) is a 2010 Bollywood film directed by Leena Yadav who had previously directed the Sanjay Dutt-Aishwarya Rai starrer Shabd in 2005. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Ben Kingsley, R. Madhavan, Raima Sen, Shraddha Kapoor^[1] and is produced by Ambika Hinduja under the banners Hinduja Ventures and Serendipity Films. The film is about a mathematics professor, played by Amitabh Bachchan, who is trying to write a thesis on probability and relates it to the Indian card game of Teen Patti.

Plot

The story begins with Venkat Subhramaniam (Amitabh Bachchan), a professor of mathematics, software engineering, and a genius, teaching math in his village to kids when a postman comes with a letter. The letter is from Perci Trachtenberg (Ben Kingsley), widely regarded as the world’s greatest living mathematician, who invites Venkat to a high rolling casino in London. Venkat tells Perci about an equation that could not only change the dialogue on mathematics forever, but one that has already left an indelible impression of guilt – for many painful reasons – on Venkat’s life. It is shown in the past that the reclusive genius Venkat has cracked a theory that could redefine the principles of probability and randomness. Venkat tries to use this experiment in a game called Teen Patti, (a poker game) which he plays on the internet. According to this experiment if a player playing Teen Patti knows all the 3 cards with one of the players (except him) he/she can guess the other cards with the rest of the players and therefore can guess who is going to win with the theory of probability.

Venkat succeeds on his theory and submits his report to the institute where he teaches but they reject his report. But Venkat is sure about his theory and wants to try out in reality with real players. So he talks with a younger professor Shantanu (R. Madhavan) about his theory and tells him to get three students to try out this experiment. Shantanu arranges three students- Sid (Siddharth Kher)- the college rockstar, Aparna or Apu (Shraddha Kapoor)- the studious geek who has a crush on Sid and Vikram or Vikku (Dhruv Ganesh)- the boy next door. They come together and start playing the game and Venkat’s theory like the last time proves to be successful. Venkat tells that after a few more games he’ll be sure to crack his equation and even be able to study it better. Shantanu tells him that he should try using his theory in the real world, where there are people who actually gamble and play Teen Patti i.e. in underground dens or ‘addas’.

Although Venkat has no interest in the money that could come from practicing his equation to crack Teen Patti, he eventually succumbs to Shantanu’s charismatic persuasion. Soon, with the help of his new students, they explore the addas (underground gambling dens) of wild Bombay. Later another student from the institute, Abbas (Vaibhav Talwar)- the rich spoiled brat joins the gang and arranges for them parties in casinos, private clubs etc. But what starts out as an experiment between a charismatic young professor and an eccentric older one soon descends into a game neither of them can control. The money they earn gets stolen; someone is blackmailing them; they get greedy about money and in the course of time they change into different people and even start betraying each other. The story tells that money is nothing but hunger; it leads to greed, deception, betrayals which have disastrous consequences in the end.

Cast

Amitabh Bachchan as Venkat Subramanium
Ben Kingsley as Perci Trachtenberg
R. Madhavan as Shantanu Biswas
Dhruv Ganesh as Bikram
Shraddha Kapoor as Aparna
Siddharth Kher as Sid
Vaibhav Talwar as Abbas
Saira Mohan as K.
Raima Sen
Ajay Devgan as Sunny
Jackie Shroff as Tony Milano
Mahesh Manjrekar as Dagdu
Ranjeet
Shakti Kapoor as Prem London
Tinnu Anand as Billu
Siddharth Shanghvi
Nonita Kalra
Bibhu Mohaptra
Eden Shyodhi
Rubina Khan as Sadasas
Maria Gopez as Dancer in Niyat Song

Production

The film is shot in India except for a few parts that in England, for which production designer Ayesha Punvani, created gambling dens (adda) in places like abandoned train yards, dockyards, abandoned factories, mills that have been shut down and an ice factory, and in all 80 sets were created ^[2]

Reception

Teen Patti had a poor opening, being beaten out by My Name Is Khan in the first place and Karthik Calling Karthik in the second place. Even Amitabh Bachchan’s appearance could not help the film to go on. The film was rated as a Box office disaster in its first week. The critical reception was extremely poor as well, receiving almost universally bad reviews. Well known film critic and author Anupama Chopra called it “a train wreck of a movie”.^[3]

References

Links

• Official website
• Teen Patti at the Internet Movie Database
• Teen Patti Reviews

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 Steven Soderbergh
Produced by Jerry Weintraub
Written by George C. Johnson, Jack G. Russell, Harry Brown, Charles Lederer, Scott Corwon, Ted Griffin
Starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy García, Julia Roberts, Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Elliott Gould, Eddie Jemison, Shaobo Qin, Carl Reiner
Music by David Holmes
Cinematography Steven Soderbergh
Editing by Stephen Mirrione
Studio Village Roadshow Pictures, JW Productions
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) United States & Canada December 7, 2001, Australia January 10, 2002, United Kingdom February 15, 2002
Running time 116 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $85,000,000
Gross revenue $450,728,529
Followed by Ocean’s Twelve

Ocean’s Eleven is a 2001 comedy-crime caper and remake of the 1960 Rat Pack caper film of the same name. The 2001 film was directed by Steven Soderbergh and features an ensemble cast including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Andy García, and Julia Roberts. The film was a success at the box office and with critics. Soderbergh directed two sequels, Ocean’s Twelve in 2004 and Ocean’s Thirteen in 2007. George Clooney stated in November 2007 that there will not be any additional sequels.^[1]

Plot

Shortly after being released from East Jersey State Prison, Danny Ocean (George Clooney) breaks parole and travels to Los Angeles to meet up with his former partner in crime and close friend Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) to propose a scheme he has in mind. The two head to Las Vegas to pitch the plan to wealthy friend and former casino owner Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould). The plan consists of robbing the Bellagio, The Mirage, and the MGM Grand casinos. Tishkoff’s familiarity with casino security makes him very reluctant to get involved, but when he begins to think of it as a good way to get back at his rival, Terry Benedict (Andy García), who owns the three casinos, Tishkoff agrees to finance the operation. Because the casinos are required by the Nevada Gaming Commission to have enough cash on hand to cover all their patrons’ bets, the three predict that, on the upcoming night of a highly anticipated boxing match, the Bellagio vault will contain more than $150 million. Ocean and Ryan recruit eight former colleagues and criminal specialists, including Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon), a young and talented pick-pocket thief. Several of the team members carry out reconnaissance at the Bellagio to learn as much as possible about the security, the routines and behaviors of the casino staff, and the building itself. Others create a precise replica of the vault with which to practice maneuvering through its formidable security systems. During this planning phase, the team discovers that Ocean’s ex-wife, Tess (Julia Roberts), is Benedict’s girlfriend. Ryan urges Ocean to give up on the plan, believing Ocean incapable of sound judgement while Tess is involved, but Ocean refuses.

When the plan is put in motion, Ocean goes to the Bellagio in order to be seen by Benedict, who, as expected, has him locked in a storeroom to be beaten by a bouncer called Bruiser. Ocean, however, knows Bruiser, and he allows Ocean to leave through a ventilation shaft, to meet with his team in the vault. Linus Caldwell poses as a gaming commission agent, confronts Benedict on hiring Frank Catton as an ex-con, and in the process lifting the security code to the vault from Benedict. From there Caldwell and Catton staged a faux confrontation to allow Linus to slip away into the vault after the incident. Yen is smuggled into the vault by the Malloy brothers, to assist in triggering the explosive from the inside. Saul Bloom sneaks explosive into the casino vault by posing as an international arms dealer needing especially secure safekeeping for his valuables, and then stages a heart attack that was treated by Ryan posing as a doctor.

The team activates a stolen pinch device to temporarily disrupt the casino’s electrical power, allowing them to breach the vault undetected. As Benedict attempts to restore order following the power outage, Ryan anonymously calls him on a cell phone that Ocean had earlier planted in Tess’s coat. Ryan tells him that the vaults are being raided, and that all the money will be destroyed if Benedict does not cooperate in loading half the money into a van waiting outside. Benedict observes video footage of the vault that confirms Ryan’s claims, and complies in moving the money, but orders his men to follow the van after it departs, and calls a S.W.A.T. team to secure the vault. The S.W.A.T. team’s arrival results in a shootout which causes the incineration of the half of the money left in the vault. After assuring Benedict that the casino is secure, the officers depart.

Terry realizes that the vault video feed was faked when he notices that the floors shown in the video lacked Bellagio logos, which had only very recently been added to the floors in the vault. The men following the van discover that it is being driven remotely, and that, instead of money, it contains duffel bags full of flyers advertising prostitutes. A flashback reveals that Ocean had used the vault replica to create the fake video Benedict had seen; the rest of the team posed as S.W.A.T. officers, and took all of the money in the vault when responding to Benedict’s call for police assistance. Benedict then returns to the room where he left Ocean and finds him still there, leaving him with no way to connect Ocean to the theft. Ocean offers to assist Benedict in finding the money on the condition that he give up Tess, to which Benedict agrees. It is then revealed that his team had routed live footage of this conversation to Tess’s suite. Angry at being used by Benedict, she leaves him and returns to Ocean. Benedict tips off the police, who arrest Ocean for violating parole, and Ocean spends some months in prison. When he is released, he is met by Ryan and Tess, and the three drive off, closely followed by Benedict’s bodyguards.

Cast

Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy García, Julia Roberts, and Steven Soderbergh in December 2001

Ocean’s Eleven

In order of recruitment:

George Clooney as Danny Ocean – “The Idea Man” (Conman)
Bernie Mac as Frank Catton – “The Inside Man” (Card Dealer)
Brad Pitt as Rusty Ryan – “The Detail Man” (Ace Card-Sharp)
Elliott Gould as Reuben Tishkoff – “The Bankroll” (Casino Mogul)
Casey Affleck as Virgil Malloy – “The Getaway” (Frontman)
Scott Caan as Turk Malloy – “The Getaway” (Frontman)
Eddie Jemison as Livingston Dell – “The Eye In The Sky” (Surveillance man)
Don Cheadle as Basher Tarr – “The Basher” (Explosives Expert)
Shaobo Qin as “The Amazing” Yen – “The Grease Man” (Chinese Acrobat)
Carl Reiner as Saul Bloom – “The High Roller” (Retired Thief)
Matt Damon as Linus Caldwell – “The Rookie” (Pickpocket)

Others

Andy García as Terry Benedict – “The Target” (Casino Magnate)
Julia Roberts as Tess Ocean – “The Wild Card” (Museum Curator)

Cameos

Five television actors make cameos as themselves, being taught how to play poker by Rusty:
* Holly Marie Combs
* Topher Grace
* Joshua Jackson
* Barry Watson
* Shane West
Steven Soderbergh as one of the bank robbers with Basher
Siegfried and Roy as themselves
Wayne Newton as himself
Henry Silva and Angie Dickinson as themselves (both appeared in the original)
Vitali Klitschko as himself
Lennox Lewis as himself
Jerry Weintraub as a high-roller gamblera[›]

Cons described

In the beginning of the film, when they begin to work on the plan for the casino heist, Rusty (Pitt) says to Danny (Clooney),

This list of cons was created by director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Ted Griffin to describe the type of people and cons needed to knock over the three casinos.^[2]

References

Links

• Official website
• Ocean’s Eleven at Allmovie
• Ocean’s Eleven at the Internet Movie Database
• Ocean’s Eleven at Rotten Tomatoes

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

Directed by Preston Sturges
Produced by Paul Jones, Buddy G. DeSylva (uncredited)
Written by Monckton Hoffe (story), Preston Sturges
Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda
Music by Phil Boutelje, Charles Bradshaw, Gil Grau, Sigmund Krumgold, John Leipold, Leo Shuken (all uncredited)
Cinematography Victor Milner
Editing by Stuart Gilmore
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s) February 25, 1941 (NYC)
March 21 (general)
Running time 94 minutes
Country United States
Language English

The Lady Eve is a 1941 American screwball comedy film.^[1][2] It is about a mismatched couple who meet on a luxury liner, written by Preston Sturges based on a story by Monckton Hoffe, and directed by Sturges, his third directorial effort, after The Great McGinty and Christmas in July. The film stars Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck and features Charles Coburn, Eugene Pallette, William Demarest and Eric Blore.

In 1994, The Lady Eve was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

Plot

Jean Harrington (Barbara Stanwyck) is a beautiful con artist. Along with her equally larcenous father, “Colonel” Harrington (Charles Coburn) and his partner Gerald (Melville Cooper), she is out to fleece rich, naive Charles Pike (Henry Fonda), the heir to the Pike Ale fortune (“The Ale That Won for Yale”). Pike is a woman-shy snake expert just returning from a year-long expedition up the Amazon. Though surrounded by ladies desperate for his attention, Charles is putty in Jean’s hands.

But even the best laid plans can go astray. First, Jean falls hard for Pike and shields him from her card sharp father. Then, when Pike’s suspicious minder/valet Muggsy (William Demarest) discovers the truth about her and her father, Pike dumps her. Furious at being scorned, she re-enters his life masquerading as the posh “Lady Eve Sidwich”, niece of Sir Alfred McGlennan Keith (Eric Blore), another con man who’s been swindling the rich folk of Connecticut. Jean is determined to torment Pike mercilessly – as she explains, “I’ve got some unfinished business with him — I need him like the axe needs the turkey” – and it doesn’t hurt that Pike’s wealthy businessman father (Eugene Pallette) is impressed by English nobility and eager to promote a marriage between his son and her ladyship. When Pike meets “Eve”, he immediately recognizes her, but is so bewildered he constantly trips and falls over himself. Although Muggsy tries to convince him “she’s the same dame”, Pike reasons that Jean would never come close to his home without at least disguising herself, so he concludes the resemblance is only a coincidence. After a brief courtship, they marry, and on the train to their honeymoon, “Eve” begins to confess her past, dropping name after name after name of old boyfriends and lovers. Pike finally gets fed up and jumps off the train. Now separated, Jean’s con team urges her to close the deal, saying she’s got him over a barrel and can make a killing in a settlement. While Charles’ father and lawyers are on the phone with her pleading to settle quickly, she says she doesn’t want any money at all, just for Pike to tell her it’s over to her face. Pike refuses, and instead gets on a ship back to the Amazon. On the boat, Jean “bumps into” Pike, just as they met before, and they instantly dash to his cabin where they mutually confess their love for each other and the fact they are both married. Muggsy escapes the room, muttering, “Definitely the same dame…”

Henry Fonda from the trailer for the film

Cast

• Barbara Stanwyck as Jean Harrington
• Henry Fonda as Charles Poncefort Pike
• Charles Coburn as “Colonel” Harrington
• Eugene Pallette as Horace Pike
• William Demarest as Muggsy, aka Ambrose Murgatroyd
• Eric Blore as Sir Alfred McGlennan Keith
• Melville Cooper as Gerald
• Martha O’Driscoll as Martha
• Janet Beecher as Janet Pike
• Robert Greig as Burrows
• Dora Clement as Gertrude
• Luis Alberni as Emile, Pike’s chef

Cast notes:

• Aside from William Demarest, members of Sturges’ unofficial “stock company” of character actors who appear in The Lady Eve include Al Bridge, Jimmy Conlin, Robert Dudley, Robert Greig, Arthur Hoyt, George Melford, Torben Meyer, Frank Moran, Victor Potel, Harry Rosenthal, Julius Tannen and Robert Warwick.
• This is the fifth of ten films written by Preston Sturges that William Demarest appeared in.^[3]

Production

The 19-page story by Monckton Hoffe which The Lady Eve was loosely based on was called “Two Bad Hats,” which was also the working title for the film. Sturges was assigned to write a script based on Hoffe’s story in 1938, with Claudette Colbert expected to be the star. Sturges and Paramount producer Albert Lewin had some written disagreement in 1939 about the development of the script, with Lewin writing to Sturges “”the first two-thirds of the script, in spite of the high quality of your jokes, will require an almost one hundred percent rewrite.” Sturges objected, and eventually Lewin gave in, writing: “Follow your witty nose, my boy; it will lead you and me and Paramount to the Elysian pastures of popular entertainment.”^[4][5]

The censors at the Hays Office initially rejected the script that was submitted to them, because of “”the definite suggestion of a sex affair between your two leads” which lacked “compensating moral values.” A later, revised, script was approved.^[4]

The casting of the lead roles for Eve went through some changes. At some point the studio wanted Brian Aherne for the male lead,^[5] and Joel McCrea, Madeleine Carroll and Paulette Goddard were under consideration as of July 1940, but in August 1940 Fred MacMurray and Madeleine Carroll were announced as co-stars. In September, Darryl Zanuck lent Henry Fonda to co-star with Paulette Goddard, who was then replaced by Barbara Stanwyck.^[4]

The Lady Eve was in production from 21 October to 5 December 1940.^[6] According to Donald Spoto in Madcap: The Life of Preston Sturges, Sturges “invariably paraded on [the] set with a colorful beret or a felt cap with a feather protruding, a white cashmere scarf blowing gaily round his neck and a print shirt in loud hues…the reason for the peculiar outfits, he told visitors, was that they facilitated crew members’ finding him amid the crowds of actors, technicians, and the public.” Barbara Stanwyck compared Sturges’ set to “a carnival”. In his biography of Stanwyck, author Axel Madsen wrote that “The set was so ebullient that instead of going to their trailers between setups, the players relaxed in canvas chairs with their sparkling director, listening to his fascinating stories or going over their lines with him. To get into mood for Barbara’s bedroom scene, Sturges wore a bathrobe.”^[5]

Location shooting for the opening jungle scene took place at Lake Baldwin of the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Arcadia, California.^[4][7] In that scene, Henry Fonda’s character refers to “Professor Marsdit”, whose last name is an anagram of that of Raymond L. Ditmars of the American Museum of Natural History, a well-known reptile expert and popular science writer of the time.^[8]

The film premiered in New York City on 25 February 1941, and went into general release on 21 March of that year.^[6] It was marketed with a number of taglines, including When you deal a fast shuffle… Love is in the cards.^[9] The film ranked as one of the top ten films of that year in box office sales.^[4]

The Lady Eve was released on video in the U.S. on 12 July 1990, and was subsequently re-released on 30 June 1993.^[10]

Analysis

Barbara Stanwyck from a trailer for The Lady Eve

The clearest theme, and easiest to pick out very early in the film is gender inversion. Jean Harrington is clearly in control of the situation for the majority of the film, until her feelings get in the way of her previous, dubious intentions. Until she realizes that she loves him, there was little sense of the struggle between equals that typifies most romantic comedies.^[11]

The film has been lauded for a unique blend of slapstick and satire.^[12] We see the “fall of man” implied by the title of the film in many ways. First is that literal, that being Pike continuously falling down in various situations, and his “fall from innocence” as he is sucked into the deceptive plots laid out by Jean.^[13]

Sturges also uses deceptiveness in appearance profusely throughout the film. Things as small as the distinction, or lack thereof, between beer and ale to the various disguises of Jean Harrington add depth to the plot line. Even most of the characters have two names (Charles=Hopsie, Jean=Eugenia/Eve Sidwich). This lack of recognition sets the stage for the storyline.

Sturges repeatedly suggests that the “lowliest boob could rise to the top with the right degree of luck, bluff and fraud.”^[14]

Awards and honors

Monckton Hoffe, who wrote the original story for The Lady Eve, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Story. In that same year, the National Board of Review nominated the film for “Best Picture,” and the New York Times named it as the best film of the year in their “10 Best Films of 1941″ list.^[15]

In 1994, The Lady Eve was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

American Film Institute recognition

• 2000: AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Laughs #55
• 2002: AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Passions #26

Remake

In 1956, the plot of The Lady Eve was recycled for the movie The Birds and the Bees, starring George Gobel, Mitzi Gaynor and David Niven. Preston Sturges received a co-writer credit for the film, although he did not actually participate in the project.^[16]

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Coursodon, Jean-Pierre, American Directors: Volume I, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1983
• Nochimson, Martha, “The Lady Eve and Sullivan’s Travels”, Cineaste, Summer 2002, Vol. 27, Issue 3
• Rowe, Kathleen, The Unruly Woman, Austin: University of Texas Press, 1995
• Sarris, Andrew, The American Cinema, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1968

Links

• The Lady Eve at the Internet Movie Database
• The Lady Eve at the TCM Movie Database
• The Lady Eve at Allmovie
• Criterion Collection essay by James Harvey

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

Directed by Jack Smight
Produced by Jerry Gershwin, Elliott Kastner
Written by Robert Carrington
Starring Warren Beatty, Susannah York, Clive Revill
Music by Stanley Myers
Cinematography Christopher Challis
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date 1966
Running time 103 min.
Country United Kingdom
Language English

Kaleidoscope is a 1966 British crime film starring Warren Beatty and Susannah York.^[1] Though not credited as such, the film is an adaptation of Ian Fleming’s novel Casino Royale, albeit with the James Bond character removed.

Plot

The plot involves a plan to break into a playing card manufacturer to mark the cards and then break the bank at every European casino.

Cast

Warren Beatty as Barney Lincoln
Susannah York as Angel McGinnis
Clive Revill as Inspector ‘Manny’ McGinnis
Eric Porter as Harry Dominion
Murray Melvin as Aimes
George Sewell as Billy
Stanley Meadows as Dominion Captain
John Junkin as Dominion Porter
Larry Taylor as Dominion Chauffeur
Yootha Joyce as Museum Receptionist
Jane Birkin as Exquisite Thing
George Murcell as Johnny
Anthony Newlands as Leeds

References

Llinks

• Kaleidoscope at the Internet Movie Database

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

Directed by Robert Rossen
Produced by Edward G. Nealis
Written by Story: Milton Holmes
Screenplay: Robert Rossen
Starring Dick Powell, Evelyn Keyes, Lee J. Cobb
Music by George Duning
Cinematography Burnett Guffey
Editing by Al Clark
Warren Low
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) January 23, 1947 (U.S.A.)
Running time 85 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Johnny O’Clock (1947) is a American crime film noir written and directed by Robert Rossen, based on a story by Milton Holmes. The drama features Dick Powell, Evelyn Keyes, and Lee J. Cobb.^[1]

Plot

Harriet Hobson (Nina Foch), a hat-check girl at an illegal gambling casino, apparently commits suicide using gas. Her sister Nancy (Evelyn Keyes) shows up and becomes attracted to Johnny O’Clock (Dick Powell), a junior partner in the gambling den. They eventually learn from Police Inspector Koch (Lee J. Cobb) that Harriet was killed by poison.

Harriet was dating Chuck Blayden (Jim Bannon), a crooked cop who is trying to persuade Johnny’s longtime partner, Guido Marchettis (Thomas Gomez), to let him take Johnny’s place. When Blayden also turns up dead, Koch suspects that either Johnny or Marchettis is responsible.

Though Johnny tries to resist, little by little, he falls for Nancy. Meanwhile, Marchettis’s wife Nelle (Ellen Drew) is still in love with her former boyfriend, Johnny. When Marchettis finds out, he tries to have his rival killed, but Johnny survives.

Johnny decides to leave town with Nancy, but not before cashing in his share of the casino. When Marchettis objects, they shoot it out; Marchettis is killed and Johnny wounded. Afterward, Nelle offers to testify it was self-defense, but only if he will come back to her. He refuses, so she lies to Koch, telling him it was murder. Johnny’s first instinct is to run away, but Nancy and Koch convince him to give himself up.

Cast

Dick Powell as Johnny O’Clock
Evelyn Keyes as Nancy Hobson
Lee J. Cobb as Inspector Koch
Ellen Drew as Nelle Marchettis
Nina Foch as Harriet Hobson
Thomas Gomez as Pete Marchettis
John Kellogg as Charlie
Jim Bannon as Chuck Blayden
Mabel Paige as Slatternly Woman Tenant
Phil Brown as Phil, Hotel Clerk

References

Notes

Links

• Johnny O’Clock at the Internet Movie Database
• Johnny O’Clock at Allmovie
• Johnny O’Clock at the TCM 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.

Directed by Karel Reisz
Written by James Toback
Starring James Caan, Paul Sorvino, Lauren Hutton
Music by Jerry Fielding
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s) October 1974 (USA)
Running time 111 min.
Language English

The Gambler is a 1974 movie starring James Caan, Lauren Hutton, and Paul Sorvino.

The film is loosely based on the short novel The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoyevsky^[1][2] and was filmed at a time when leading actor James Caan was battling his own addiction to cocaine. Caan was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance.

Plot

Axel Freed is a New York City English professor with a gambling addiction that begins to spiral out of control. In the classroom, Freed inspires his college students with his interpretations of Dostoevsky. In his personal life, Axel has the affection of the beautiful Billie and the admiration of his family, including his mother Naomi, a doctor, and his grandfather, a wealthy businessman.

Unbeknownst to them, Axel’s reckless gambling on basketball games has left him with a huge debt. His bookie Hips likes the professor personally but threatens grave consequences if he doesn’t pay up.

Axel’s descent into addiction requires him to extort a hefty $44,000 from his mortified mother to repay what he owes. He goes away with Billie to a casino where he makes a small fortune, only to blow it all again on basketball bets.

He takes out his anger on Billie, who doesn’t appreciate having loan sharks come to their apartment in the middle of the night. Expecting help from the grandfather who loves him, Axel gets nothing but the older man’s disappointment and disgust.

The only solution left is to lure one of his students, a basketball star, into accepting a bribe to deliberately shave points in a game so that Axel can pay off his debts. Having corrupted a previously innocent youth, Axel is so appalled by his own behavior that he masochistically confronts a dangerous man who leaves him with a bloody and permanent reminder of his actions.

Cast

James Caan as Axel Freed
Paul Sorvino as Hips
Lauren Hutton as Billie
Morris Carnovsky as A.R. Lowenthal
Jacqueline Brookes as Naomi Freed
Burt Young as Carmine

References

Links

• Rotten Tomatoes
• The Gambler at the Internet Movie Database

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

Directed by Norman Jewison
Produced by Stan Margulies
Written by Story: Damon Runyon
Screenplay: Marion Hargrove
Starring Tony Curtis, Suzanne Pleshette, Larry Storch
Music by Mort Lindsey
Cinematography Joseph MacDonald
Editing by Marjorie Fowler
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date(s) 31 December 1962 (USA)
Running time 106 min.
Country United States
Language English

40 Pounds of Trouble is a 1962 film directed by Norman Jewison and marks his directorial debut. The film was shot on location at Disneyland and Lake Tahoe.^[1] It is a retelling of Damon Runyon’s story Little Miss Marker.^[2]

Plot

Tony Curtis plays a casino manager who must take care of an 8 year old girl.

Principal cast

Critical reception

Bosley Crowther of The New York Times sums up the film:

References

Links

• 40 Pounds of Trouble at the Internet Movie Database
• 40 Pounds of Trouble at Allmovie

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

Directed by: Robert Altman
Produced by: Joseph Walsh, Robert Altman
Written by: Joseph Walsh, Starring George Segal, Elliott Gould, Ann Prentiss, Gwen Welles
Music by: Phyllis Shotwell
Cinematography: Paul Lohmann
Editing by: O. Nicholas Brown, Lou Lombardo
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Release date: August 7, 1974
Running time: 108 minutes
Country: United States
Language: English

California Split is a 1974 film directed by Robert Altman and starring Elliott Gould and George Segal as a pair of gamblers. It was the first non-Cinerama movie to use eight-track stereo sound.

Plot

The film is less concerned with plot than behavior as a friendship develops between Bill Denny (George Segal) and Charlie Waters (Elliott Gould) over their mutual love of gambling. Charlie is a wisecracking joker and experienced gambler constantly looking for the next score. Initially, Bill isn’t as committed a gambler (he works at a magazine during the day) but he’s well on his way.

As the film progresses and the two men hang out more, Bill starts to become more addicted to the gambling lifestyle. He goes into debt to his bookie, Sparkie (Joseph Walsh). Eventually, Bill hocks some of his possessions to fund a trip to Reno, where Bill and Charlie pool their money to stake Bill in a poker game (where one of the players is former world champion “Amarillo Slim”, portraying himself). Bill wins $18,000, but doesn’t quit; he is convinced he is on a hot streak. He plays blackjack, then roulette and finally craps, winning more and more money, eventually cashing out $82,000.

But something happens at the craps table. When he finally stops, he is drained, almost apathetic. After they split their winnings, he tells Charlie he’s quitting and going home. Charlie doesn’t understand it, but sees that his friend means what he says, and they go their separate ways.

Cast

George Segal as Bill Denny
Elliott Gould as Charlie Waters
Ann Prentiss as Barbara Miller
Gwen Welles as Susan Peters
Edward Walsh as Lew
Joseph Walsh as Sparkie
Bert Remsen as Helen Brown
Jeff Goldblum as Lloyd Harris

Trivia

• In the bar scene where Charlie and Bill first share a drink, Charlie overhears a conversation during which a man wonders if the Knicks will win the NBA finals. Charlie butts in and says the Celtics are going all the way. Charlie’s prediction comes true, the Celtics were the NBA champions in 1974. Since the movie was filmed in early 1974 and the finals weren’t until June, Charlie really does pick the winner ahead of time.
• The original ending actually spilled outside the casino. Bill leaves Charlie and hails a cab when Charlie suddenly comes out and decides to go with him so as to prove that he can walk away from gambling. However, a couple of people climb out of the waiting cab and ask Charlie how the action is, and he is drawn right back in and thus Bill leaves alone.

The DVD

The film was released on DVD in 2004, but music rights problems forced Sony/Columbia to exclude almost three minutes of footage and make several soundtrack changes. The DVD is already out of print, leading to speculation that a re-release is imminent with the missing footage restored.

Links

• California Split at the Internet Movie Database
• California Split at Allmovie
• California Split at Rotten Tomatoes

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

Directed by: Harold French
Produced by: Harold French
Written by: Noel Langley (story), George Barraud, Nicholas Phipps, Lesley Storm
Starring: Stewart Granger, Jean Simmons
Release date: May 31, 1949 (1949-05-31)
Running time: 70 minutes

Adam and Evelyne, released in the U.S. as Adam and Evelyn, is a 1949 romance film starring Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons. According to Robert Osborne, host of Turner Classic Movies, this suited the stars, as they were romantically involved at the time, despite their age difference. They married the next year.

Plot

When jockey Chris Kirby (Fred Johnson) is fatally injured in a horse race, he gets his best friend, gambler Adam Black (Stewart Granger), to promise to take care of his teenage daughter, Evelyne (Jean Simmons), who has been raised apart from her father. Unbeknownst to Adam, Evelyne had been led to believe that Adam is her father in correspondence between parent and child. Adam is unable to tell her the truth; his butler and friend Bill Murray (Edwin Styles) tries and fails as well. Finally, Adam’s sometime girlfriend Moira (Helen Cherry) breaks the news to the girl.

Adam sends Evelyne to an exclusive boarding school. When she has grown up, she reappears unexpectedly in his life. Because of the hatred she has for gambling, Adam does not reveal that he stages illegal gambling sessions; instead he tells her that he makes his money on the stock exchange. She begins casually dating Adam’s no-good brother Roddy (Raymond Young).

When Adam tells Moira that he is getting out of the business, she accuses him of being in love his “ward”. Roddy has his own grudge against his brother – Adam refuses to finance a shady deal – and the two of them tip off the police about Adam’s last operation. Roddy also brings Evelyne to see what Adam really does for a living.

Shocked, she quarrels with Adam and leaves. A kindly gambler, Colonel Bradley (Wilfred Hyde-White), gives her some sage advice and convinces her to reconcile with Adam.

Cast

• Stewart Granger as Adam Black
• Jean Simmons as Evelyne Kirby
• Edwin Styles as Bill Murray
• Raymond Young as Roddy Black
• Helen Cherry as Moira
• Beatrice Varley as Mrs. Parker, a gambler
• Joan Swinstead as Molly
• Wilfred Hyde-White as Colonel Bradley
• Fred Johnson as Chris Kirby
• Geoffrey Denton as Police Inspector Collins

Links

• Adam and Evelyne at the Internet Movie Database

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

Directed by: Henry Hathaway
Produced by: Joseph H. Hazen
Written by: Marguerite Roberts
Starring: Dean Martin, Robert Mitchum, Inger Stevens
Music by: D.H. Doane, Maurice Jarre, F.C. Van Al Styne
Cinematography: Daniel L. Fapp, Editing by Warren Low
Release date: July 31, 1968
Running time: 103 minutes
Country: United States
Language: English

5 Card Stud is a 1968 Western, released by Paramount Pictures. Directed by Henry Hathaway, the script, based on a novel by Ray Gaulden, was written by Marguerite Roberts, who also wrote the screenplay of True Grit for Hathaway the following year. The film features Dean Martin and Robert Mitchum.

Plot

In the 1880 town of Rincon, Colorado, a gambler is caught cheating at a five-card stud poker game. One of the players, Van Morgan, tries to prevent the others from administering frontier justice, but is unable to stop the man’s lynching. Morgan leaves town, but later returns when he hears that a couple of the other players from that ill-fated game have been murdered.

The town has a new resident, a stern preacher named Reverend Rudd. As more members of the lynch mob are killed off one by one, it becomes clear that someone is taking revenge and it is up to Morgan to solve the mystery. Finally, only he is left. He discovers the identity of the killer just in time.

Cast

Dean Martin as Van Morgan
Robert Mitchum as The Rev. Jonathan Rudd
Inger Stevens as Lily Langford
Roddy McDowall as Nick Evers
Katherine Justice as Nora Evers
John Anderson as U.S. Marshal Al Dana
Ruth Springford as Mama Malone
Yaphet Kotto as Little George
Denver Pyle as Sig Evers
Bill Fletcher as Joe Hurley
Whit Bissell as Dr. Cooper
Ted de Corsia as Eldon Bates
Don Collier as Rowan
Roy Jenson as Mace Jones

Links

• 5 Card Stud at the Internet Movie Database

DVD reviews

• DVD Savant review by Glenn Erickson
• DVD Verdict review by Eric Profancik
• digitallyOBSESSED! review by Mark Zimmer

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