The Cincinnati Kid ***** (1965, Steve McQueen, Ann-Margret, Edward G Robinson, Karl Malden, Joan Blondell, Tuesday Weld) – Classic Movie Review 2,227

Director Norman Jewison’s classic 1965 gambling suspense thriller film The Cincinnati Kid stars Steve McQueen and Edward G Robinson as poker game opponents in a gripping, haunting battle royale with a bunch of iconic Sixties actors on scintillating form.

McQueen is the clever, tough, young stud poker player who travels from one big game to the next and Robinson the calm, cultured old one, legendary champion card-sharp Lancey Howard. They battle it out at a high-stakes poker game in 30s New Orleans to see who is ace of the pack in Jewison’s lovely movie that effectively mixes character study with thriller. It takes the long, fascinating scenic route, then climaxes in a great, tensely staged poker marathon.

For the first time in his career, McQueen really dominates a film, apart from his shared scenes with Robinson, who proves he’s a worthy antagonist for the hero and ultimately that he’s still the master. Karl Malden and Joan Blondell score strongly too as Shooter and Lady Fingers, and indeed Blondell was Golden Globe nominated as Best Supporting Actress, though Ann-Margret and Tuesday Weld have a tougher time to do much more than look gorgeous in less interestingly written roles as the love interests Melba and Christian.

The Cincinnati Kid is little bit lighter in tone and weight than the 1961 film The Hustler that it resembles in many ways, but none the worse for it. You don’t have to know about poker to enjoy the minutiae of the plot of the movie, though it certainly does help. In an interesting, quite attractive colour experiment with the visuals, Jewison has encouraged cinematographer Philip Lathrop to bleach out the reds, greens and blues.

This is an engrossing grown-up cult movie entertainment that is especially valuable for seeing McQueen on his best form, battling it out for acting honours with on-form old-timers Robinson, Malden and Blondell. Also impressing in the iconic cast are Rip Torn, Jack Weston, Cab Calloway, Jeff Corey and Karl Swenson. A couple of cult names in Ring Lardner Jr and Terry Southern make a grand, tense and diverting job of the screenplay, adapting the novel by Richard Jessup. And Lalo Schifrin’s score is another essential asset.

Sam Peckinpah was originally slated to direct but he and producer Martin Ransohoff quarrelled and Ransohoff fired Peckinpah. They got the cast just right after a series of accidental adjustments when Weld replaced Sharon Tate, Robinson replaced an ailing Spencer Tracy and Blondell replaced Mitzi Gaynor.

[Spoiler alert] The odds of the two hands appearing in the same deal are said to be worse than 45million-to-one.

Canadian film director Norman Jewison was nominated for the Best Director Oscar three times in separate decades for In the Heat of the Night (1967), Fiddler on the Roof (1971) and Moonstruck (1987). He is also remembered for The Cincinnati Kid, The Russians Are Coming, The Thomas Crown Affair, Jesus Christ Superstar and Rollerball (1975).

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2,227

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