"Hustling the Hustler" followed in the wake of Paul Newman's "The Hustler," a film that revived the dying tradition of the pool hall to make it more popular than ever by the end of the decade. THE TWILIGHT ZONE starred Jonathan Winters and Jack Klugman in "A Game of Pool," SANFORD AND SON did "A House is Not a Pool Room" in 1973, while Carl Reiner covered the bases with this believable comic statement about how a family can be embarrassed by the antics of a black sheep hustler, here casting Phil Leeds in one of his earliest television roles, a beloved performer familiar to millions right up to his 1998 death. Buddy receives a visit from 'black sheep brother' Blackie Sorel (Leeds), not seen since his exile to South America due to a reputation of luring Buddy's associates into a 'friendly' game of billiards, now a legitimate real estate agent in Rio De Janeiro determined to prove he's turned over a new leaf to make amends to Buddy. Rob's timely arrival offers Blackie an opportunity to take full advantage of a new pigeon, after Mr. Petrie reveals that he has a pool table in his basement ("Laura gave it to me to keep me off the streets!"). A dinner of boiled frankfurters gives way to a demonstration, not by Minnesota Fats but 'Illinois Skinny' (as Laura calls Rob), soon to get serious with a small bet that grows into a $300 deficit for Blackie, double or nothing on one final rack. At this point, Blackie gets out his hand powder to dry his palms, cunningly outmaneuvering his opponent into a dazzling display of billiard showmanship (''this won't take long, Mr. Petrie!") that will prove to be the needed ice breaker for long estranged brother Buddy. Even Mary Tyler Moore gets to show off like Steve Mizerak for a final sequence 3-shot that leaves her spouse in disbelief: "wait till my mother finds out I married a pool shark!"
Review of Hustling the Hustler
