MASS MoCA brings the classic 1961 film, The Hustler, to the big screen on Friday, August 3, at 9 pm. Paul Newman shines as arrogant hustler Fast Eddie bent on beating Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason), the kingpin who hasn't lost a game in 15 years. The film won two Oscars and earned nine Oscar nominations, including one for each of the four stars, Newman, Gleason, Piper Laurie, and George C. Scott.
Paul Newman plays Fast Eddie Felson, a charismatic and talented pool hustler whose fundamental flaw, arrogance, causes a series of mistakes. It's not enough just to win; his opponent must concede that he's the best. In a rare dramatic role, Jackie Gleason's Minnesota Fats uses that to hustle this hustler out of everything he's got. A dejected Eddie walks away from his long-time manager and friend, Charlie and falls for an alcoholic would-be writer and sometime prostitute Sarah played by Piper Laurie (Carrie, Children of a Lesser God, Twin Peaks). Then he falls under the spell of Bert Gordon, played by George C. Scott, a successful gambler who offers to teach Edie how to play in the big time. Pool champ Willie Mosconi makes a cameo appearance and provides Fast Eddie's best shots. Jackie Gleason shot his own game in the film.
Paul Newman scored his second of eight Academy Award nominations for Best Actor for The Hustler. He finally won the Oscar for The Hustler's sequel The Color of Money. Though Newman has gradually moved away from Hollywood, he continues to be a prominent public figure through extensive charitable work, including the Scott Newman Foundation which he founded after the drug-related death of his son and "Newman's Own" the gourmet foodstuffs products with all profits going to various charities.
Jackie Gleason broke into show business by winning an amateur-night contest at age 15 and then performing in vaudeville, carnivals, nightclubs, and roadhouses. He performed in several Broadway shows before becoming known as "The Great One" for starring in The Life of Riley, The Honeymooners, and The Jackie Gleason Show. Gleason is also well known for his role as the sheriff in the Smokey and the Bandit film series. Though Gleason is well known as a comedian dramatic roles are rare for him and The Hustler brought Gleason his only Academy Award nomination.
George C. Scott spent four years in the Marines before beginning his acting career. He received an Academy Award for starring in Patton and declared that he would not accept, insisting that the Oscars were "a meaningless, self-serving meat parade." He later won and refused to accept an Emmy for his work in the TV production of Arthur Miller's The Price.
Piper Laurie received Oscar nominations for her portrayal of the religious fanatic mother in Carrie and her part in Children of a Lesser God as well as her role in The Hustler. She also received an Emmy nomination for her role in David Lynch's cult TV series Twin Peaks.
The Hustler at MASS MoCA is sponsored by Legacy Banks. The Cinema Classics series is sponsored by Holiday Inn Berkshires.
Lickety Split will serve full dinners or snacks starting at 8 pm when the doors open. There will also be a full bar. In case of rain the film will move indoors where the Hunter Center will have been transformed into a full movie palace.
Tickets for The Hustler are $5. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA Box Office off Marshall Street in North Adams from 10 am until 6 pm daily. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 during Box Office hours or purchased on line at www.massmoca.org.
MASS MoCA, the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the United States, is located off Marshall Street in North Adams on a 13-acre campus of renovated 19th-century factory buildings.
MASS MoCA 1040 MASS MoCA Way North Adams, Mass. 01247 413.MOCA.111 www.massmoca.org
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
No Comments
Snow, 'Freezing Drizzle' Forecast for Berkshires
Staff Reports
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The day before the day before Christmas is shaping up to be a messy mix of rain and snow.
A winter weather advisory has been issued by the National Weather Service office in Albany, N.Y., through 7 a.m. on Wednesday for Berkshire County, and eastern Rensselaer County in New York.
Patchy snowfall was expected to begin Tuesday morning over the region and through the afternoon, before turning to freezing drizzle in the evening. The region could see total accumulations of 2 to 5 inches of snow and a glaze of ice.
WTEN Channel 10 in Albany has North County and Southern Vermont getting up to 6 inches.
Heavier snow is forecast beginning after midnight along with gusty northwesterly winds. According to NWS, "The combination of gusty winds and falling snow will likely reduce visibility and lead to difficult travel."
Christmas Eve will be cold and breezy and Christmas Day cloudy with highs in the upper 30s, but turning frostier in the evening. Friday will be in the 20s with a chance of snow.
Most schools are either already out this week for the holiday vacation or have half-days Tuesday or Wednesday.
The city has lifted a boil water order — with several exceptions — that was issued late Monday morning following several water line breaks over the weekend. click for more
The bridge had been closed to all vehicle traffic since March 2023 after being deemed structurally deficient by the state Department of Transportation. click for more
