Review of The Gambler (1974) by Tonypolito — 14 Aug 2010

The ingredients are all here - talent roster, gambling, suspense/drama, Vegas, gritty 1970s New York City - but not in sufficient quantity/quality to bake up a truly tasty cake.

James Caan, as a Harvard-educated professor lecturing world literature, ventures deep into the belly of the beast that is the neurosis of compulsive gambling. Caan's on a losing streak, scrambling to make his deep-in-the-red ledger good with da' boys by Thursday - or else.

Clock ticking, Caan plays his mother, his grandfather, all his bookies, the green felts of Vegas and any basketball game outcome he feels in his gut. All while his bankroll swings back-and-forth several times from "all debts covered and back in the black" to "just enough cash for a one-way cab ride to the Hudson." At fin, Caan settles up - then places the ultimate bet, proving just how addicted he truly is to the masochistic 'juice' that risk provides.

The script does deliver a higher understanding of what drives such self-destructive behavior, but without talent of Caan's caliber at the helm, this film would be all but forgotten.

Lots of budding talent on tap: Lauren Hutton playing pure eye-candy, Paul Sorvino showing some promise, James Woods in a very early bit-part as a bank clerk, Burt Young ("Rocky," "Back To School") provides the bookie's muscle, M. Emmet Walsh as Caan's Vegas bar-buddy.

Backstory here is mildly interesting. Caan's academic characterization is based upon the film's then-neophyte screenwriter James Toback. Caan lectures on Dostoyevsky's novel "The Gambler," written to pay off the author's own debts from compulsive gambling.

Barely average image quality. No extras.

RECOMMENDATION: Unless the viewer's especially interested in the film's actors, topics or content, it's a bad bet.