The Cincinnati Kid

 SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed!

I recently watched The Cincinnati Kid (1965) for the first time in many years and decided to write about it after realizing how much talent is involved in the production. It has Steve McQueen, looking like Mr. Cool, as usual. The supporting cast includes Edward G. Robinson, Ann-Margret, Karl Malden, Tuesday Weld, Joan Blondell, Jack Weston, Cab Calloway, and Rip Torn. The story was adapted by Ring Lardner Jr., and Terry Southern. And Norman Jewison directed the film. Not too shabby.

The film opens with The Cincinnati Kid (McQueen) walking next to a New Orleans funeral, which, of course, is not a somber event, with a band playing. Does this scene symbolically predict that the Kid will be participating in his own figurative burial? He meets a young shoeshine boy who has challenged him at pitching coins before and asks for another chance. The Kid beats him and says the youth is not ready for him yet. In a subsequent scene, he bests the boy at a coin toss and says the same thing about being ill equipped to beat the Kid. At this point the Kid is an undefeated winner.

The movie is a sort of card gambling version of The Hustler, with McQueen playing the Paul Newman role and Robinson assuming the position of the Jackie Gleason character. The Kid is the upstart, a pretender to the crown worn by the best stud poker player. He has marks on everybody since he has beaten everyone, but he still lives in a lowly apartment since he hasn’t really cashed in on the big time yet. In contrast is senior citizen Lancey Howard (Robinson), the reigning poker king. He dresses stylishly and stays at a luxurious New Orleans hotel, where everybody knows his name. A one-time great player is Shooter (Malden), who is known for his honesty and ethical behavior. He is the go-between who wants his friend, the Kid, to get his shot at Lancey.

The Kid has a girlfriend, Christian (Tuesday Weld). She is not living a chaste life with the Kid, but her name is significant since she represents the possibility of the Kid leading an ethical life with her. She tells a salacious tale in which men “cared more about their lives than they did about their honor. Does that seem right to you?” His response is a selfish one as he says, “what good is honor if you’re dead.”

The story is a battle between the ethical, generous world and the selfish one. Shooter is married to the seductive Melba (Ann-Margret). (Shooter’s name suggests he is a “straight shooter, a righteous man). But he has married Melba who goes through the movie in sexy outfits and plays the archetypal Eve role, chomping on an apple. She is putting together a puzzle by trimming the pieces so they will fit. She is a cheat in more ways than one. She goes shopping with Christian, who is tempted to follow in Melba’s path. But she is reluctant to go down that road as she tells Melba that she can’t see herself wearing a provocative bathing suit.

Shooter arranges a card game with a rich, arrogant man named Slade (Torn). After he loses to Lancey, his arrogance gives birth to revenge in his mind, and he wants to pay Shooter a large sum of money to help the Kid when he plays Lancey. Shooter is very reluctant, but he knows he can’t hold onto Melba, who he already suspects of cheating on him. Indeed, she attempts to seduce the Kid, who shows some morality in not succumbing to her charms so as not to betray his friend. Shooter has business and asks the Kid to take Melba to a cock fight (a sexual reference to show Melba’s carnal nature?). The brutality of the event is repulsive as people show how ugly they can be as they bet on which bird will kill the other. After the event, the Kid brings Melba back to her place where she says she needs a drink because of “all that dust at the pit. I always feel so dirty after one of those things.” The Kid knows what type of person Melba is and says, “Brings out the best in you, Melba.” The best of the worst.

Christian, realizing the Kid loves card playing more than he could a woman, leaves him. He appears distraught by her decision, but when he hears her intention, he grabs her bag to help her on her way out. His selfishness is showcased here. Christian comes from a pastoral life and goes back to be with her parents, who are farmers. It represents the moral, upstanding life in the country as opposed to the decadence of the city. Eventually the Kid visits Christian at the farm. It’s as if he is torn between the world of spirituality and materialism and selfishness. Christian’s parents are stern and judgmental concerning their daughter’s relationship with the Kid. However, the Kid wins them over with a card trick. It’s as if he has brought trickery with its seductive aspect that has the potential to corrupt this innocent environment.

 The anticipated game between the Kid and Lancey begins. Just as with the game involving Slade, Shooter is the dealer because of his highly regarded reputation. The Kid does quite well, and at one point Lancey’s age seems to catch up with him as he almost keels over. But, he is a resilient man and keeps playing. The Kid is no dummy, and he realizes he has been getting too many good hands. He gets Shooter alone who confesses that he has been bought by Slade to swing the game. The Kid is honorable enough (despite his earlier negativity toward honor) to want to only win on his own merits. He tries to get some sleep between poker rounds. Melba slips into his bed and since his hero, Shooter, has become corrupted, he no longer values the friendship, and he has sex with Melba.

In a case of exceptionally bad timing, Christian returns to be with the Kid and arrives at the room just as Melba is leaving. She leaves too and it seems that all the Kid has left is the game. In a conversation, Lancey advises the Kid that to be the top gambler one can’t get involved in serious attachments. Lancey may be the best there is, but he is in the end a lonely man.

To keep the game above board, the Kid says Shooter was sick all night and there should be another dealer. Lady Fingers (Joan Blondell) takes over, and the game reaches a climax when Lancey has a possible straight flush and the Kid has a full house with aces on top. The Kid goes all in and loses because Lancey indeed has the straight flush.

The Kid exits the game broke and mentally defeated. The shoeshine boy asks him to play once again at coin toss. The Kid decides to compete to desperately show himself that he hasn’t turned into a loser. But the boy beats him and throws his words back at him, telling the Kid he isn’t ready for him yet. In the original version, that is the end of the film, with the Kid walking away. A subsequent version has him walk and run into Christian. She embraces him. This ending adds a redemptive quality to the story by suggesting The Kid had to undergo a Fortunate Fall, He had to reach rock bottom in order to be saved from a corrupt life.

The next film is Stand by Me.