One of the best movies of 1961

Rating: 9/10 (25 June 2014)

It was Paul Newman himself that said just a few month before he died that "he would have changed in Cool Hand Luke, as well as this film" that I consider to be a near masterpiece. The movie stars Newman as Fast Eddie Felson a pool hustler that at first thinks he in unbeatable until Minnesota Fats (played by Jackie Gleason) beats him in a 36 hour match. Director Robert Rossen made a film that I think has Paul Newman in one of his absolute best performances. Then Felson takes a break from hustling pool for a while with a girl named Sarah Packard (played by Piper Laurie), then he meets a man named Bert Gordon (played by George C. Scott) who tries to teach him how to beat Fats in a rematch. But even though there were good performances throughout there was only one that I found to be a bit over and that was from Piper Laurie. When Newman made that statement I totally disagree because I thought that his performance was top notch.