The Gambler (1974 film)
| The Gambler | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Karel Reisz |
| Produced by |
Irwin Winkler Robert Chartoff |
| Written by | James Toback |
| Starring |
James Caan Paul Sorvino Lauren Hutton |
| Music by | Jerry Fielding |
| Cinematography | Victor J. Kemper |
| Edited by | Roger Spottiswoode |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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111 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Gambler is a 1974 American crime drama film written by James Toback and directed by Karel Reisz. It stars James Caan, Paul Sorvino and Lauren Hutton. Toback wrote it as a fictional story using his own teaching career and gambling addiction as inspiration.
Caan was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance.
Axel Freed is a New York City Harvard University–educated English professor and author with a gambling addiction that begins to spiral out of control. In the classroom, Freed inspires his college students with his interpretations of Fyodor Dostoevsky's work. In his personal life, Axel has the affection of the beautiful Billie and the admiration of his family, including his mother Naomi, who is a doctor, and his grandfather, a wealthy businessman.
Unbeknownst to them, Axel's reckless gambling has left him with a huge debt. His bookie, Hips, likes the professor personally but threatens grave consequences if he does not pay up. When Billie, having been informed by Axel that he owes $44,000, questions the wisdom of her associating with him, Axel confidently tells her she loves his life's dangers, including "the possibility of blood".
After obtaining the $44,000 from his mortified mother, Axel goes with Billie to Las Vegas and gambles it into a small fortune, only to blow it all again on basketball bets. He takes out his anger on Billie, who does not appreciate having loan sharks come to their apartment in the middle of the night. Expecting help from his grandfather, Axel gets nothing but the older man's disappointment and disgust.
Axel's only way to avoid the debt is to lure one of his students, a basketball star, into accepting a bribe from Axel's creditors to shave points in a game. He does so. When the game has ended in accordance with the plan, Axel says good-night to Hips by wandering off into a black ghetto near the gymnasium where the game has been played; he ignores a warning from Hips that the area is a jungle.
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Wikipedia