cincinnkid

I don’t know anything about playing cards. I confess, I can barely play basic Poker and have
forgotten the rules to “Go Fish.” Yeah, I’m that lame with cards. Still, it doesn’t mean that a film
about card playing is lost on me. A great movie gives you the essence of the game, and in some
instances the rules, through careful atmosphere and exposition. I mean, I can’t stand watching
baseball on television, but films about baseball make everything seem interesting. Same thing
goes for “The Cincinnati Kid.”

Steve McQueen plays a stud poker prodigy living in New Orleans. His friend and mentor, Karl
Malden, is a has-been player who never attained true greatness but knows everyone in the poker
underworld of professional gambling. One day, Malden tells McQueen that the master of stud
poker, the legendary champion known as “The Man” is coming into town to play and Malden
promises to set McQueen up for a game with him.

Boil it down and it’s the story of Steve McQueen’s quest to be “The Man,” as if he even has to try.

As always, McQueen plays the film as a cool cat. His is an acting style that expresses all the
needed information with simple looks. Dialogue is minimal and yet nothing is left wanting for his
character. See "Bullitt" for the best example of this kind of acting by McQueen.

Malden is his jittery and somewhat spineless friend, married to a very young and attractive vamp of
a woman, played by Ann-Margret. Edward G. Robinson (“Little Caesar”) plays “The Man,” the
veteran going up against the young new thing in town.

“The Cincinnati Kid” is less about cards and more about intense character studies. Malden is a
pathetic cuckold and in debt up to his ears. McQueen is a risk taker and will compete for anything,
but his invincibility complex gets him into trouble with everyone, including his girlfriend, played by
Tuesday Weld.

Director Norman Jewison focuses the camera on cards and faces. The eyes convey much in this
largely sedentary film that centers on card tables in smoky dives. The unspoken performances
between Robinson and McQueen are as intense as any modern gunfight or car chase. There’s a
lot to lose here for McQueen, and he risks everything for a shot at the top.

While I refuse to give away the ending, I will say that this movie has some real moxie in its
storytelling. “The Cincinnati Kid” entertains but also sends a clear message that I hope you’re
prepared for.