This movie is in many ways like two different movies. One, some trivial romances and relationships that were, frankly, pretty uninteresting. And the other, about the build up to and execution of a game of high stakes poker. The poker part, believe it or not, is the best aspect of the film. In some ways, this movie reminded me of THE HUSTLER--but that was about pool,...and Paul Newman was a lot more "wet behind the ears" than Steve McQueen in this movie.
All-in-all, a time passer. I saw it because I am trying to see all the films of Edward G. Robinson. He plays a supporting part and does probably the best job of acting in the movie. Karl Malden, as always, is excellent. Look carefully and you'll see Cab Calloway as one of the players.
Decent but could use some infusion of life and energy. Also, I found the final hand between McQueen and Robinson ridiculous--one having a full house and the other a straight flush. The odds against having two hands that strong when playing head-to-head against someone is about 1224523631833491209301304031040309323882123 to 1! This didn't help the movie any as far as realism goes.
All-in-all, a time passer. I saw it because I am trying to see all the films of Edward G. Robinson. He plays a supporting part and does probably the best job of acting in the movie. Karl Malden, as always, is excellent. Look carefully and you'll see Cab Calloway as one of the players.
Decent but could use some infusion of life and energy. Also, I found the final hand between McQueen and Robinson ridiculous--one having a full house and the other a straight flush. The odds against having two hands that strong when playing head-to-head against someone is about 1224523631833491209301304031040309323882123 to 1! This didn't help the movie any as far as realism goes.