Sharks of the big city

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Movie
German title Sharks of the big city
Original title The Hustler
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1961
length 130 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Robert Rossen
script Sidney Carroll ,
Robert Rossen
production Robert Rossen
music Kenyon Hopkins
camera Eugen Schüfftan
cut Dede Allen
occupation
chronology

Successor  →
The color of money

Sharks of the Big City is an American feature film from 1961 based on a novel by Walter Tevis . It was directed by director Robert Rossen with Paul Newman in the lead role .

action

Eddie Felson is a young pool player known by the name "Fast Eddie" . Among other things, he lives from ripping off inexperienced players by first letting them win and then taking them out properly. His only goal is to compete against the famous veteran Minnesota Fats . After 40 hours of play, however, he succumbs miserably and loses several thousand US dollars . The rich, cynical and criminal bettor Bert Gordon draws his attention to the fact that a lack of character was the reason for his defeat, not a lack of talent. At this point, Eddie refuses Gordon's offer to manage him, as Gordon demands a 75% share of future profits.

At the same time, a tragic love story develops between Eddie Felson and the alcoholic Sarah Packard, whom Eddie meets after his loss to the Minnesota Fats . The two try to develop a relationship with each other, but this fails because of Eddie's obsession with billiards and Gordon's greed. Without Bert Gordon's support, Fast Eddie tries to get back on his feet in smaller games against clearly inferior players. The attempt ends dramatically when his angry losers break both thumbs, probably on the orders of Gordon. Eddie then makes the deal with Gordon. He organizes a carom game for Eddie, in which Eddie clearly loses at first. Sarah asks Eddie to stop playing, but Eddie refuses and persuades Gordon to continue funding him. So it is possible for Eddie to earn $ 3000. After the game, Sarah is harassed by Bert Gordon in her hotel room. When Eddie enters the hotel room, he sees that Sarah has committed suicide. Eddie then separates from Gordon.

In the finale of the film, the humanly matured Eddie defeats Minnesota Fats in the second lineup, but has to say goodbye to the pool scene because he refuses to pay Bert Gordon, who insists that he is still Eddie's manager , an appropriate commission . He uses his victory to morally settle accounts with Gordon in a monologue. The film ends with Eddie Felson and Minnesota Fats assuring each other of their mutual respect.

background

  • With the exception of a particularly complicated shot by Willie Mosconi , fourteen-time world champion from 1941 to 1957 , all billiard shots were performed by Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason themselves. Mosconi himself has a cameo in the film .
  • In 1986 the film received a sequel called The Color of Money . Directed by Martin Scorsese , Paul Newman played the aged Eddie Felson, who takes a young player played by Tom Cruise under his wing.
  • The players play the variant of 14 and 1 endlessly , in which the balls are pocketed one after the other regardless of their number and each ball counts one point.

Awards

  • The film won two Academy Awards . Eugen Schüfftan received the trophy for the best camera in a black and white film, Harry Horner and Gene Callahan were awarded for the best production design. Other nominations were Paul Newman for Best Actor, Piper Laurie for Best Actress, George C. Scott for Best Supporting Actor and Jackie Gleason for Best Supporting Actor. Robert Rossen was nominated for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. The film itself was nominated for best film.
  • At the British Film Academy Awards , Haie der Großstadt won the award for best film. Paul Newman won for Best Foreign Actor. Piper Laurie was nominated for Best Foreign Actress.
  • At the Golden Globes , Paul Newman was nominated for Best Actor in a Drama, Jackie Gleason and George C. Scott for Best Supporting Actor.
  • The film won three Laurel Awards . Paul Newman for Best Acting Performance in a Drama, Eugen Schüfftan for Best Black & White Camera and Jackie Gleason for Best Supporting Actor.
  • Robert Rossen won the Best Director award at the NYFCC Awards.
  • In 1997 the film was included in the famous National Film Registry .
For further awards see

Reviews

“An extremely dense, depressing film from the world of American billiards gamers in terms of the milieu drawing. With the 'Hustlers' it is important to play better than the opponent, but to deceive them with clever ' understatement ' until large sums are at stake. Excellent cast, captivatingly staged, also remarkable in terms of lighting and image structure. "

- Lexicon of international film

"[...] Paul Newman wins, suffers and matures every second of the film [...] George C. Scott acts as an inhumanly greedy wetthai in stark contrast to Newman's strong emotions cold and merciless [...] 'The Hustler' is considered the first real 'player -Film ', which shows a milieu study of human drama in stylish black and white pictures. In its core statement, the most diverse attitudes of all morals are put to the test, but not necessarily condemned. As true development in the game, as in life, the character is of crucial importance. "

- zelluloid.de

additional

In the movie The Wanderers , professional bowlers rip off semi-criminal bowlers and are brutally injured by them. One of the film characters makes explicit reference to the film Sharks of the Big City . A similar scene can be seen in the billiards film Der Abstauber .

literature

  • Walter Tevis : The sharks of the big city (Original title: The Hustler ). German by Bernd Müller. Bastei-Verlag Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1987, 191 pages, ISBN 3-404-13091-X

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Certificate of Approval for Sharks of the Big City . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , July 2011 (PDF; new evaluation, formerly FSK 16; test number: 26 735 V).
  2. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054997/trivia
  3. ↑ IMDb / awards
  4. ↑ Sharks of the Big City. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 5, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  5. ↑ Michael Denks: Sharks of the Big City. In: zelluloid.de. Archived from the original ; accessed on September 1, 2016 .