The Cincinnati Kid

Warner | 102 minutes | 1965 | Not Rated | Directed by: Norman Jewison |
Standard DVD reviewed by: Matt Brighton

Maybe it’s the resurgence of poker as a mainstream “sport”, or maybe it’s just a good movie that’s finally getting its due on DVD. Either way you slice it, Steve McQueen held all the cards when he led an all-star cast in “The Cincinnati Kid”. McQueen, the box-office champ at the time, was riding a hot streak of films that included “The Great Escape” and “The Magnificent Seven” and this was the latest feather in his cap. I will draw a lot of comparisons to Paul Newman’s “The Hustler”, a movie I got a lot more pleasure out of, but a similar movie in tone and feel. The movie was directed by relative newcomer Norman Jewison who would go onto to direct the Best Picture “In the Heat of the Night”. Cast? Oh the cast…Edward G. Robinson, Tuesday Weld, Ann Margret (more on her and her figure later), Karl Malden and Rip Torn all coupled with Mr. McQueen. The deck was certainly stacked in “The Cincinnati Kid’s” favor but would it work and what’s it all about?

McQueen plays Eric Stoner, referred to by everyone as “The Cincinnati Kid”. The film takes place in lively New Orleans where “the kid” is anxious for his shot at the title. You see, he’s at the top of his game, has markers out on everyone in town and wants to be “The Man”. Unfortunately Lancey Howard (Edward G. Robinson) holds this title and isn’t too big on giving it up. The kid is dating Christian Rudd (Tuesday Weld), a young and naïve woman who wants his love but falls short at getting it. Shooter (Karl Malden) is unhappily married to Melba (Ann Margret), a woman who has eyes for everyone but her husband. The big game does eventually come up similar in a scene at the end of “Maverick” (another great movie about card-playing, there’s only a few) and the winner takes all. Shooter has been approached by Bill Slade (Rip Torn) to stack the deck and make sure the kid comes out on top. But when he finds out about the plan, it might just spell disaster for everyone involved.

“The Cincinnati Kid” was a very enjoyable movie with a very dated look and feel. But, before I forget, let me just say a few words about Ann Margret and Tuesday Weld. These newer movie stars don’t really hold a candle to some of the classic good looks that these two women had. Margret, buxom and revealing everything the screen would allow, dominated nearly every scene she was in. Pretty? Yes. But she could also act and shows it here. McQueen was master of the low key performance and he’s true to form here. Range of emotion certainly wasn’t one of his strengths as an actor, but his piercing blue eyes get the audience’s attention, for sure. As far as movies go, “The Cincinnati Kid” was taught and tense, with a somewhat unpredictable ending. Like “The Hustler”, don’t expect what you might see on the trailer or the back of the case. A classic movie with actors in their prime, this is one that any card player out there will want to take a look at.

Warner has certainly done a good job with the print for a movie that’s now 40 years old. The 1.85:1 anamorphic image looks fairly clean and constant throughout as I only detected a few bits of grain and dust. Edge enhancement isn’t a problem and though a few scenes looked a bit dingy, I gave the transfer the benefit of the doubt. I was pretty impressed by the level of detail and was thankful for it as well – let me say there are not enough shots of Ann Margret’s robust figure! All in all, a nice job and certainly worthy of the Warner name.

On the audio front, there’s not a whole lot to talk about. This was way before the Dolby days and the soundtrack is, for the most part, mono. There are a few ambient noises that sprinkle in from time to time but I’d have to say that this sounded just as I expected it to. As with movies of this time period, there wasn’t any “hiss” that hindered the track in any way. Suffice it to say that the audio met my expectations but certainly didn’t exceed them.

Director Norman Jewison provides a fairly insightful audio commentary with plenty of details about the cast and shoot (did you know Sharon Tate was supposed to appear in the movie nude?) It’s always nice to hear the actual director provide a commentary track, especially for a movie this old. A second, screen-specific track is provided by Dave Foley (of “The Kids in the Hall” fame) and Phil Gordon hosts of “Celebrity Poker Showdown”. Their track is a lot livelier, but with gaps in between the better of the two is by far Jewison’s. A “Vintage Featurette” is shown, which is essentially some shots of the cast behind the scenes and not a lot of information is given. It’s quite a contrast to the amount of work that goes into today’s “Behind the Scenes…” featurettes. The original theatrical trailer is also included.