The Baltimore Bullet

This is required viewing for any James Coburn fan.

Easily one of his best performances and perhaps one of the best "buddy" films I've ever seen. James Coburn (as Nick Casey aka The Baltimore Bullet) and Bruce Boxleitner (as Billy Joe) are excellent as a professional pool hustler and his up coming protogee'. The two have great chemistry on screen that is hard to duplicate. Omar Sharif plays "The Deacon", the ultimate pool hustler and gambler that had been serving jail time, but is now out on "Good Behavior". The movie follows Coburn and Boxleitner cross-country trying to hustle up enough money to play The Deacon who only plays for a 5-figure minimum. And a player that had his way with Coburn the last time they shot pool. Sending the Baltimore Bullet home in "nothing but his jock strap".

This movie is a laugh a minute, chock full of one-liners, that will have you watching it over and over again!

Baltimore Bullet is the best movie about pool hustlers ever produced. James Coburn is fantastic in a role that should have been nominated for an Oscar. But the absolute best in the film is the script. Great lines, always moving plot, all connected in a clever, funny and intriguing manner. Totally new stuff. (see how much directors and writers seemed to have learned from this one.) Other pool hustler movies were star showcases that gave a weak story at best, Baltimore Bullet racks em up. Anyone who watches this will enjoy the heck out of it, and watch it again, and again - I guarantee it! I just saw this for the first time and had not known it existed. At the screening, the host told us how Dolly Parton had been available for the film but the director disapproved. This should be screened at every Coburn retrospective, and also shown on AMC or TCM network. A great surprise find!

James Coburn is a pool hustler, and Bruce Boxleitner his protégée, in this enjoyable film. Coburn's living on the edge character, is not unlike his portrayal of "Speed" in "Hard Times". Omar Sharif really does not play as much of a part in this as his second billing might lead you to believe. It is a mistake to be too critical of the actual pool games. Just enjoy "The Baltimore Bullet" for what it is, a very entertaining buddy road movie, that happens to have a theme which involves pool. Michael Lerner deserves special mention, for wearing what can only be described as an abominable toupee. Seek this one out. - MERK

This is James Coburn at his finest, years before anyone realized what a terrific actor he can be. He also has a classic line: "I taught him everything he knows, but I didn't teach him everything I know." It's "The Hustler" without any Oscars.