Hustle Down the Road ***

Rating: 7/10 (12 March 2006)

The true feeling of the pool room and the people there are well depicted in "The Hustler."
The first half hour is rather tedious with Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) and Fast Eddie (Paul Newman) hitting their strides at the pool table.
Eddie is ahead by $11,000 but throws it all away.
The story begins to really take hold and we see further character development when Piper Laurie enters the film. As a drunk, daughter of a rich man who abandoned her, Ms. Laurie showed tremendous depth in a fine performance. Lonely, desperate for love, and a desire to be wanted, she depicted a memorable portrait of desperation.
As a vicious hustler himself, George C. Scott turned in a powerhouse performance. How he and Jackie Gleason could have both been nominated for best supporting actor is beyond me. The nomination only belonged to Scott here.
Eddie is finally shown as a man who can think about more than pool when tragedy strikes.
The film is structured well. We have the pool sequence followed by a body of story development before finally returning to the game itself.
Murray Hamilton and Myron McCormick both shine in brief performances, especially McCormick who tries to act in a father role to our hustler hero, but ultimately fails.