Player without scruples

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Movie
German title Player without scruples
Original title The Gambler
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1974
length 111 minutes
Rod
Director Karel Reisz
script James Toback
production Irwin Winkler ,
Robert Chartoff
music Jerry Fielding
camera Victor J. Kemper
cut Roger Spottiswoode
occupation

Players without scruples (Original title: The Gambler ) is a film drama from 1974 , which was directed by Karel Reisz and based on the screenplay by James Toback . James Caan , Paul Sorvino and Lauren Hutton play the leading roles. Toback wrote the story by referring to his own problems with gambling. James Caan received a Golden Globe nomination for the role .

action

Axel Freed is a writer and Harvard professor of English literature who suffers from gambling addiction that he can no longer hide. In class, Freed inspires his students with the interpretation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's works, while in private he is ensnared by the beautiful Billie and appreciated by his family - his mother Naomi, a doctor, and his grandfather, a wealthy businessman.

Careless gambling, however, has left Freed in heavy debt that neither his family nor his girlfriend know about. His bookmaker Hips may like the professor, but he threatens serious consequences if he cannot pay. When Billie learns he's in the scales at Hips for $ 44,000, she questions their relationship. Freed confidently tells her that she would love the dangerousness of his life, including "the possibility of blood."

The avid gamer receives $ 44,000 from his reluctant mother. Axel then goes to Las Vegas with Billie and earns a small fortune, which he gambled away almost immediately. He's increasingly taking his anger out on Billie. He tries to borrow money from his grandfather, who turns away from him. To pay off his debt, Freed makes a deal with the star of the basketball team. Freed promises the student money if he influences the game in such a way that he can win his sports bet. His plan works, but Axel is not completely satisfied: He tells Hips that betting on unlikely winners as opposed to certain favorites brings real tension and that players actually secretly want to lose.

That same evening, Axel got into an argument with a pimp because he didn't want to pay his prostitute. The prostitute hits him in the face and blood comes out of the wound, which Axel registers with a smile in a mirror.

background

The Gambler was the first screenplay produced as a film by the author James Toback , who himself led a double life as a gambling addict on the one hand and a successful lecturer on the other. In addition, Toback, like his character, was a literary professor - in his case the City College of New York and not Harvard College, as was the case with Axel Freed . However, Toback had studied at Harvard in the 1960s. Toback was also inspired for his screenplay by the Dostoevsky novel The Gambler and first wrote down this idea as a novel before reworking the draft into a novel.

James Toback originally wanted Robert DeNiro , who was still on his way to becoming a film star, for the lead role, and who was also inclined to this role. However, director Karel Reisz finally decided on James Caan , who was much better known than DeNiro after the global success of The Godfather .

Reviews

The film service writes: “Atmospherically dense, realistic-melodramatic film adaptation of an autobiographical debut screenplay. Excellent in direction and performance. ” Cinema called the film a“ gripping character study ”.

Remake

In 2014, the remake appeared The Gambler directed by Rupert Wyatt with Mark Wahlberg in the lead role.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Nikki Finke, Nikki Finke: James Toback On 'The Gambler' Remake: “Not Possible… Rudeness And Disrespect”. In: Deadline. August 28, 2011, accessed April 15, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Player without qualms. Retrieved April 15, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Player without qualms at Cinema