Daily Dialogue — February 29, 2016

“I got a hunch, fat man, I got a hunch it’s me from here on in.”

— The Hustler (1961), screenplay by Sidney Carroll and Robert Rossen, novel by Walter S. Tevis

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Gambling, suggested by David Proenza.

Trivia: According to editor Dede Allen, an entire scene from this film was omitted after much deliberation between Allen and her director Robert Rossen. Even though both agreed that the scene, an impassioned speech by Paul Newman in the pool room, was possibly the best part of his entire performance, they had to throw it out because “…it didn’t move the story.” Newman, though Oscar-nominated, later claimed that the deleted scene most likely cost him the Academy Award.
 
Dialogue On Dialogue: The line above is delivered by Fast Eddie (Paul Newman) as he thinks he’s going to run the table and defeat the legendary Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason). His gamble backfires and sends him on a downward spiral until he hits rock bottom… then heads on the path to personal redemption.