I'm on this big Paul Newman jag, ever since I saw Road to Perdition, and this is one of his movies that I never saw as a young otter.

What a movie! Shot in black and white, beautifully filmed, with a wonderful performance from Newman, Jackie Gleason as Minnesota Fats doing an excellent job, Piper Laurie as Newman's self-hating alcoholic girlfriend, and best of all, George C. Scott back when he was really good, as the guy who takes over Newman's life to get him into the big leagues...wow is all I can say.

The gritty, low rent pool halls, the streets, the moves that Newman makes (successfully or not, depending), the backgrounds, it's all great, believable, realistic...like watching a train wreck, you just can't look away.

If you haven't seen this dark and fascinating film, run to the nearest emporium of movie rentage and get it, it's well worth watching.

20 years later, they made an OK sequel to this movie: The Color of Money