Excellent Film

Rating: 8/10 (13 November 2016)

I love this film. It was the second film I saw starring Paul Newman. "Somebody Up There Likes Me" (1956) was the first, which is the biopic of legendary middleweight boxer Rocky Graziano. My older brother used to work in a billiards hall, and was a very good straight pool player as well. In straight pool, the table is larger and the pockets are smaller; which makes it quite difficult. It also makes you a much better player on a standard size table. In addition, a very close friend of mine's father played Willie Mosconi in an exhibition game. Mosconi, who was one of the greatest pool players of all time, does the one trick shot in the film (known as a masse shot). Other than that, Jackie Gleason (who is a brilliant player himself) and Paul Newman did all their own shots in the film.