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Based on the novel by Richard Jessup, Norman Jewison’s The Cincinnati Kid is as razor-sharp as the four corners on a deck of cards. Rhythmic and dynamically succinct, Jewison allows the film to breathe in the natural essence of its native soil. The film explores the seedy side of New Orleans and features some intense backroom poker playing. Lead by a subtly demanding performance by Steve McQueen, the film – originally released in 1965 – remains one of the best films about poker ever to be issued from Hollywood.
Not everyone can be a winner. Try telling that to the Eric "The Kid" Stoner (McQueen). Footloose and without a care in the world, this up-and-coming poker play spends his time wheeling and dealing the best card players around. He always wins, too. Lancey Howard (Edward G. Robinson) is in town and wants a real game to go down; one with real action, real stakes, and real players. Of course, the Cincinnati Kid takes him on and, after refusing the slip-of-the-card offerings from Shooter (Karl Malden), believes his honest skills will take him to the top of Howard’s money pile.
With absolutely on-fire performances from a young Ann-Margret, Tuesday Weld, and Joan Blondell, The Cincinnati Kid isn’t just a Males Only type of outing. Even people who don’t understand the first thing about playing poker will be drawn in to the suspense as The Kid keeps testing out the limits of his luck.
Due to its release on the heel’s of Paul Newman’s The Hustler from 1961, Jewison’s film is often and unfortunately overlooked and often dismissed as being nothing more than a repeat offering; same story, different game. Shot in color by Philip H. Lathrop, the film is steeped in the colorful flourishes of its southern setting. There’s a heavy feeling that soaks the celluloid and makes it such a rich affair. In one scene, McQueen’s steely-eyed gaze wanders up into the cascading light of a tiffany lamp above the table and provides a mood shift that is just an example of why Lathrop was so heavily used during the ‘60s and ‘70s.
Adapted by Ring Lardner Jr and Terry Southern, The Cincinnati Kid is a terse little potboiler. It doesn’t really shift gears on its audience; it’s about a card game and nothing takes away from its course. The magic is in where and how it unexpectedly whisks its audience away. The core skeleton of Jewison’s eventual dominant narrative theme is present in their work in that you have a character study – not of a man – but of how a man’s actions affect those around him. While McQueen’s performance is of note, what essentially fuels this picture are the reactions of the people around him and the consequences of his on-the-spot decisions.
The looseness of The Cincinnati Kid is echoed in his jangly stride and in the music of the jazz-filled city. It’s also echoed in some of the street corner performances adding a great depth to New Orleans and the screenplay. Don’t be caught off-guard, though. This is a deadly serious film about a man with a hard, hard lesson to learn.
MPAA Rating: This title has not been rated by the MPAA.
