Paul Newman, pool, danger. What a combination.

Rating: 10/10 (10 May 2020)

Not the most modern film you are going to see, it was filmed in 1961 black and white but one that has reminated with me for hours.
It tells the story of a U.S. pool hustler, "Fast Eddie" Felson (Paul Newman) who survives from fleecing men of thousands across the pool rooms of the country before being recognised and having to move to the next city.
Pool, a great sport it is, is not the only message of the film. Eddie gets into a relationship with someone facing her own demons in alcoholism, Sarah Packard (Piper Laurie) who has to adapt to Eddie's dangerous lifestyle including being attacked.
Director Robert Rossen made the film after times dominated by Mccarthyism in the U.S. and brought socially bankrupt issues to the screen such as pool hustling, gambling, alcoholism and suicide. (Packard commits suicide).
Look out for great performances by Jackie Gleason as fellow pool player "Minnesota Fats". What a name, that was used by a real pool player in the 1970s and Eddie's domineering "manager/gambler" Bert Gordon (George C. Scott).
I made the error of watching Newman's mediocre 1980s follow up The Color Of Money (1986) which isn't a patch on this.
As for Fast Eddie. The film like his hustling is a great up and down picture of his antics on and off the table. Highly recommended.