Watch The Cincinnati Kid For Free

Best movie ever!

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Cooler than thou movie star Steve McQueen is an engaging protagonist in this adaptation of the Richard Jessup novel, scripted by Ring Lardner, Jr. ("MASH") and Terry Southern. McQueen is the title character, an up and coming poker player who yearns to hit the big time. He gets his chance when he is allowed to play reigning champion Lancey Howard (Edward G. Robinson). Although an attempt is made to influence the outcome of the game, The Kid opts to play honestly, confident in his ability.Poker isn't really the most cinematic of professions, but director Norman Jewison ("In the Heat of the Night") does manage to make it visually interesting at times. While those not familiar with all the lingo and nuances of the profession may potentially get lost, there is still some tension to enjoy. The atmosphere, and portrayal of this milieu is vivid, and convincing. The jazzy score by Lalo Schifrin adds flavor, as does the theme song belted out by Ray Charles. On location shooting in New Orleans also adds a lot to the presentation.McQueen is extremely well supported by an eclectic bunch of players. Eddie G. is wonderful as the relaxed old pro, an intelligent and articulate man who acknowledges that this upstart kid just might have what it takes to knock him off his throne. Ann-Margret and Tuesday Weld are both incredibly sexy and appealing. Karl Malden, Joan Blondell, Rip Torn, Jack Weston, and singer Cab Calloway are all excellent, and there's a rich parade of character actor talent to boot: Jeff Corey, Milton Selzer, Karl Swenson, Ron Soble, Dub Taylor, Robert DoQui, Burt Mustin, etc.The picture was begun by Sam Peckinpah, only for him to get fired and replaced by Jewison.Seven out of 10.

Those into gambling and strong card playing must have loved this film. The rest of us probably did not.Steve McQueen in the up and coming card shark who is in New Orleans to play Lancy Howard, Edward G. Robinson, who I thought looked as though he was bored with the entire project. I know that others would say that Robinson projected a gambler's bluffing face.Ann Margret is her usual suggestive type, married to Karl Malden, as probably a marriage of convenience. Tuesday Weld is along for the ride, and as the girlfriend of McQueen, projects as if she is ready to return to Dobie Gillis on television.Then there is Joan Blondell as Lady Fingers, an old card hand dealer who is morbid and whose time has come and gone.Then young child always challenging McQueen represents someone ready to take your place, no matter how far that shall be.Don't really deal yourself into this one.

(Spoilers!) Steve McQueen plays Eric Stoner (the Cincinnati Kid), a young professional poker player. The Kid wants to be "the man," i.e. the best player in the country. Currently that person is Lancey Howard (Edward G. Robinson). As soon as you have this setup you know that the movie has to end with a big showdown, and all else is back-story.There is the obligatory romance between Stoner and Christian (Tuesday Weld). I did not find any chemistry between McQueen and Weld; there is little psychological depth to the relationship. Christian's pondering on the "do you love poker more than you love me" theme is exploited, but hardly of any consequence. You know the answer.Some side stories are developed. There is Stoner's friend Shooter (Karl Malden), a player who went up against the man and lost and is now relegated to dealing and just getting by. The relationship between Shooter and is wife Melba (Ann-Margaret) is more interesting than that of Stoner and Christian--they seem so mismatched in age and attractiveness that you want to know more about them. (Spoiler) But everything is just window dressing leading to the final match. Any such match is usually determined by a few crucial hands, or a single one as here. A straight flush comes up in only one hand in 72202 in five card stud, so it's not totally out of the realm of possibility that Howard would get such a hand, but would he make substantial bets on the hope of getting such? A full house comes up once in 694 hands, so the odds of a full house and a straight flush being dealt on the same hand are remote. But there had to be a dramatic climax.The setting is supposed to be 1930s New Orleans, but I thought the period detail was a little weak. McQueen looks more 1960s than 1930s. The opening scene of the parade and a later scene in a jazz bar were the two most enjoyable scenes in the movie for me.After having seen "The Hustler" with its psychological complexity, strong character development, and brilliant performances, I was insulted by "The Cincinnati Kid." Pretty much any of the poker programs on TV are more exciting to watch than the poker seen in this movie. Contemporary viewers will find five card stud particularly lacking in spectator appeal (and player appeal as far as that goes). Five card stud has not been an event in The World Series of Poker since 1974.I am surprised that there was not a sequel to this where Stoner regroups and comes back to beat Howard.

I had heard of this movie, but only just saw it tonight on TV in Tokyo (interspersed with the most hideous, God-awful commercials that you could remotely imagine). I always liked Steve McQueen, even more so since I met him when I was 13 and he was so nice to me, a real gentleman. So, I looked forward to seeing this movie with great pleasure.As the plot has been discussed here often, I'll just give my impressions.Steve McQueen had the most devastatingly beautiful blue eyes I believe I've ever seen on a man, and, for the most part, they were lit within an inch of their stone cold beauty for the majority of the film. You could just sit and watch his eyes for two hours and be mesmerized. But most of us need more... and I'm not sure this movie offers that. We learn that the "Kid" (Mcqueen) is really named "Eric" -- although we don't find that out until he backtracks through his life to go check in on his girlfriend Christian (Tuesday Weld). Yes, she was called "Christian" and sometimes "Christie." And she doesn't seem to have any other life whatsoever except to exist for the "Kid." This was sad, that such a pretty young woman would hang her star on a man who was going nowhere fast.What was consistently distracting about this film was everyone calling Mcqueen "Kid." Although he was only about 35 years old when he made this film, he looked much, much older and calling him "Kid" seemed bizarre.Certain scenes, such as the cock-fighting scene (please get your minds out of the gutter) were totally gratuitous and did absolutely nothing to further the story, but did make all of the characters seem absolutely heinous.The most interesting person in the film was Ann-Margret, who stars as "Melba"--obviously the hottest girl in town. She was at the peak of her beauty and sexuality and she goes for every moment, including a scene where she's hardly wearing anything and she reaches for an apple and takes a big juicy bite out of it. She oozes sensuality and knows it and flaunts it. But she too seems to serve absolutely no purpose except as a cock-tease (now you can put your minds in the gutter) and, inexplicably, as Karl Malden's gal pal... except, if you had a gal pal with creamy white jugs spilling out of tight tops, you wouldn't ignore her the way Karl does. But then, Melba calls "Shooter" (Karl's character) a loser-- which he most definitely is. And Karl! Come on, there is no way in hell that I can believe that 1) Karl would play someone called "Shooter," 2) that he had a reputation for being "honest" --in the gambling business?--, and 3) that he could possibly allow the Kid to overpower him (considering that Karl was bigger than Steve) and throw him against a door. I didn't buy his character for one moment. The most interesting moment in the film is when Rip Torn as "Slade," who obviously is a wealthy white Southerner who's got his fingers in a lot of dirty pies, is in bed with a black (female, of course) prostitute, and, after he finishes his phone call, she tries to snuggle with him, and he says, "Don't touch me!" -- it's all the more interesting when we meet his real wife, Midge Ware, who is the picture of Southern hospitality, and his two fake kids, one who looks like she could be his daughter, the other who looks like some blonde boy chosen from an adoption agency, and who is forced to wear some girlish pink pajamas (unless the boy was a girl--and, if so, she looked miserable and unhappy for her two minutes on screen).It's fun to see familiar faces: Joan Blondell, Edward G. Robinson, Jack Weston, and the "story" is easy to follow, since there are constant "announcements" throughout the film to make clear we know what is or what might happen. But after they took their third break during the marathon poker game, I thought to myself, "You know what? Maybe I'll hit the 'john' (as Joan called it) and get myself something to eat and then go to sleep, too! The only action in the movie comes near the beginning when one of the men the Kid is playing with accuses him of having marked cards. This results in the Kid escaping from a bathroom window and somehow being close enough to a train transfer track that he can jump on the train, walk along the side of it, and jump off on the other side. It's actually a great scene... but after that, there ain't no action, unless you call the Kid swatting Melba's ass "action." There are several moments in the film, especially during the bathtub scene with Tuesday, where Steve seems like he forgot his lines and he actually looks away from Tuesday and for a split second it seems like he's looking at a cue card so he knows what to say next. This is a fun movie if you have absolutely nothing to do some night and you want to see what some of the greats looked like. Yeah, there are some fun shots of all the eyes being lit just so as they watch the final round of the poker game, and it's fun to see Edward G all dressed up in the fiercest purple smoking jacket I've ever seen, but other than Steve's blue eyes and Ann- Margret's incredibly sexy bust and creamy white skin and sexy vibe, you aren't missing much.