Le Kid de Cincinnati

Steve McQueen's answer to Paul Newman's huge success with The Hustler isn't quite as good as the earlier classic; but it's still a damn fine movie. Poker is a fascinating game, and it therefore makes a great base for a film. The Cincinnati Kid capitalises on that fact and it draws all of it's excitement from the game at it's centre. The type of poker played in this movie is 5 card stud; and as a Texas Hold'Em fan, I was a little disappointed by this as stud simply isn't as good; but poker is poker, and 5 card stud is still an admirable base for a film. As implied, the film is at it's best when we're watching the action on the table; and it's easy to liken the structure of this movie to that of a disaster movie, in that it's central theme is the focus and the plot is then bulked out by human drama. The drama side of the story follows Eric Stoner (McQueen), a gambling man who's been honing his skills and working his way up to a game with 'The Man' (Edward G. Robinson). However, things are never that simple as when there's money involved; there's always someone willing to force it to go their way.

Steve McQueen makes a great leading man. His cocky swagger and charisma are always a delight to watch, but this combines with his off-screen personality, and when watching him I cant help but think about his big headedness when it comes to film billing and the like. However; he's not the star of this movie in my eyes, as it's Edward G. Robinson that takes that honour. Robinson is a fantastic actor, and one that rarely gets his dues when it comes to deciding the greatest actors of all time. Here, he adds great believability to his role as the top poker player and he ensures that the atmosphere around his player is one of confidence and authority. And that's how it should be - he is the man. The Cincinnati Kid is exciting throughout; but never more so than on the build up to it's conclusion. The ending is one of my favourite of all time, and Robinson's line shortly after the end stands up with the greatest lines ever written for cinema. While this film is no Hustler; it's still a damn good movie, and one that I hugely recommend. Especially if you're a poker player!

This fine film chronicles a tense, dramatic marathon game of poker between a rising young star and a cagey old pro. Steve McQueen is the cool, detached hot shot and Edward G. Robinson displays nerves of steel, razor sharp instincts and a veteran's poise as the two players probe each other, searching for openings and seeking any advantage, however subtle. Both men are excellent and have good support from a solid cast of veteran actors. Ann-Margret is nice as a siren who just can't sit still when she and the Cincinnati Kid are in the same room. She slinks her way through her interpretation as the sluttish wife of a compromised card dealer who figures prominently in the grand game. The romantic angle between the Cincinnati Kid and his girlfriend doesn't ring true, although Tuesday Weld is pleasing as a vulnerable, love-struck girl. The cinematography shows a grim, gray, seedy side of New Orleans that brings realism to the story. The music has a jazzy score and nice vocals by Ray Charles.

Edward G. Robinson as Lancey Howard has been King of the Poker Players for a good long time. But as that eminent American philosopher Ric Flair says, "to be the man, you got to beat the man." And there's a kid from Cincinnati played by Steve McQueen who thinks he can do it.

McQueen's up for a fair and square game, but Robinson's developed a bad enemy in Rip Torn. Torn is this rich hotshot who thinks he's good, but he gets in a game with Robinson who guts Torn good and proper. No markers for Torn, he's rich enough to write out a check and pay it up front. But Torn's looking to get even and he ain't too squeamish about what he has to do.

The action of The Cincinnati Kid takes place over a three day period in New Orleans and in the French Quarter which was left fairly intact after Hurricane Katrina. It's fitting and proper the story location should be there, a city with a rich gambling tradition.

There's a couple of nice women's parts, kind of a coming of age for two young actresses who played virginal teenagers up to then, Tuesday Weld and Ann-Margret. Ann-Margret is the nymphomaniac wife of dealer Karl Malden, the Nathan Detroit of the piece. After The Cincinnati Kid, Ann-Margret never played innocents again.

Torn is a slick and malevolent villain who tries to compromise Karl Malden in his quest for vengeance against Robinson. Malden has a great part as a man who's caught by the short hairs.

Originally Spencer Tracy was to do the Lancey Howard role, but according to The Films of Steve McQueen, Tracy thought his role subordinate to McQueen's and bowed out. Other sources have said it was health reasons. Probably both are true. Anyway Robinson is a wily and wise old soul who goes to the poker table like most of us go to the office, to work.

This is one of Steve McQueen's four or five best screen roles, he's an ultimate rebel hero here. He's got what it takes to win, but he'll win it on his own terms.

This film is always called The Hustler at a card table. Like The Hustler, the last climatic scene of the poker showdown with McQueen and Robinson crackles with tension. Who's going to pull it out.

Don't think you can guess the outcome and all its ramifications. Not by a jugful

Well, I've always enjoyed poker; Steve McQueen and Edward G. Robinson are two of my all- time favorite actors and I thought Tuesday Weld and Ann-Margaret were two of the most beautiful women in their day.....so why don't I love this movie?

Don't get me wrong: I like it, but I should have liked it a whole lot more. It's a bit too slow, for one thing, becoming more like a soap opera in parts and the movie drags for much too long. The story doesn't have much spark until the poker showdown at the end of the movie. That ending is an excellent one, too, but one has to wait too long to get there.

Robinson is good to watch, as he almost always was in his great acting career. He plays the only classy person in the film.

Watching this late in December of 2009 on some high-def equipment, I discovered how beautifully-filmed this movie appears.

What has stuck with me all these years, since I saw it in the theater in 1965, wasn't the story but the title song by Ray Charles. I have never been able to get "The Cincinnati Kid" song out of my head.

Thoroughly entertaining gambler's flick has Steve McQueen well-cast as stud-poker player involved in sweat-inducing winner-take-all poker tournament in New Orleans; Edward G. Robinson is the card-playing master who is Steve's main competition, Tuesday Weld is Steve's innocent squeeze, Ann-Margret is a sultry flooze. Great acting fuses a screenplay that seems cobbled together from different styles. It's hard-boiled at times, cartoony pulp at others. Ann-Margret is mostly used for visual flair (or as a punchline: while doing a jigsaw puzzle, she files down the pieces to make them fit at whim), though she's still quite a presence on the screen. Weld is very lovely, and the sequence where Steve shows up at her parents' house and does card-tricks is a little miracle of film-making: perfect writing, directing and acting all coming together wonderfully. Flaws and all, a slick genre piece and well-worth the viewing. *** from ****