A fondly remembered film from my youth, I re-watched it recently this time with my critical faculties more fully engaged. I still like the film, but can see now its flaws in characterisation, plotting and depiction. It's been said before that this is McQueen's "The Hustler", like Newman's character before, a young, there's no better word for it, hustler with eyes on the prize, the top stud poker player around. To achieve this, he has to take down "The Man", Edward G Robinson's Lancey Howard. Culminating in a tense face-off between the two rivals, McQueen's Kid finds out if he has what it takes to be the man, or whether he has to accept second best. In actual fact, for me, the screen relationship between the two lead characters mirrors that of the actors themselves, young punk McQueen trying to upstage old established Robinson and it has to be said that the outcome there too is in favour of the older man. Whilst I'm an admirer of McQueen, he at times appears to be putting on his coolness, whereas with the veteran Robinson, it's all effortless poise. Solid dependable Karl Malden does his solid dependable thing in the main supporting role as the card-dealer too obviously on the Kid's side, but you can never believe that Ann Margret as the sexy young harpy could ever have married him or that he'd be stupid enough to encourage McQueen to chaperone her around. Tuesday Weld is very lightweight as McQueen's real love interest as the curiously named Christian, who lives up to her name by improbably forgiving her man's transgressions at the film's conclusion. You sense director Jewison straining for that naturalness between the two that Newman struck up on a pedal-bike with Katharine Ross, raindrops falling on their heads in "Butch Cassidy", but the lovers' pastoral scene fails to convince and simply passes by. There are a few attempts to place the movie in its milieu of 30's America but again they seem false, not helped by the fact McQueen doesn't even look as if he's wearing the correct clothing for the age. After a fine opening sequence where McQueen engineers a thrilling escape from gamblers he's bested, the movie fails to really lift again until the card-playing climax. In between there are too many uninvolving sub-plots but the showdown itself is well executed, leaving McQueen at the end familiarly slouching into a crouch, a la "The Great Escape's" "Cooler King" but this time in abject defeat rather than spirited doggedness. In conclusion a film that has dated poorly, (not helped by a tricksy soundtrack) and can't really be placed in the top rank of the best movies of the 60's, but a good watch nonetheless, particularly for Edward G's performance.
Review of The Cincinnati Kid
