The Cincinnati Kid

1965
TV-14
1h 42m

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

19K

YOUR RATING

Ann-Margret, Steve McQueen, and Tuesday Weld in The Cincinnati Kid (1965)

Play trailer6:13

2 Videos

96 Photos

Drama

An up-and-coming poker player tries to prove himself in a high-stakes match against a long-time master of the game.An up-and-coming poker player tries to prove himself in a high-stakes match against a long-time master of the game.An up-and-coming poker player tries to prove himself in a high-stakes match against a long-time master of the game.

Directors
- Norman Jewison
- Sam Peckinpah
Writers
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

19K

YOUR RATING

Directors
- Norman Jewison
- Sam Peckinpah
Writers
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win & 2 nominations total

Videos2

Photos96

+ 88

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Edward G. Robinson wrote in his autobiography, "In the film I played Lancey Howard, the reigning champ of the stud poker tables...I could hardly say I identified with Lancey; I was Lancey. That man on the screen, more than in any other picture I ever made, was Edward G. Robinson with great patches of Emanuel Goldenberg [his real name] showing through. He was all cold and discerning and unflappable on the exterior; he was ageing and full of self-doubt on the inside....Even the final session of the poker game was real...I played that game as if it were for blood. It was one of the best performances I ever gave on stage or screen or radio or TV, and the reason for it is that is wasn't a performance at all; it was symbolically the playing out of my whole gamble with life."

Goofs
The trailer for this movie ends with the title of the movie and the copyright statement: (C) MCMXLV BY METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER, INC. The Roman numerals are for 1945, not the film's 1965 release year.

Quotes
Lancey Howard: Gets down to what it's all about, doesn't it? Making the wrong move at the right time.
Cincinnati Kid: Is that what it's all about?
Lancey Howard: Like life, I guess. You're good, kid, but as long as I'm around you're second best. You might as well learn to live with it.

Alternate versions
In 2005, the BBFC cut this release further compared to the previous 1993 edits. UK cinema release in 1970 and early video versions were cut by 38 seconds to a scene featuring a cockfight (scenes involving cockfights are always cut by the BBFC). The 2005 wide-screen version substituted some scenes though the cuts were lengthened to 1 min 4 secs.

Connections
Edited into Ann-Margret: Från Valsjöbyn till Hollywood (2014)

Soundtracks
The Cincinnati Kid
Music by Lalo Schifrin
Lyrics by Dorcas Cochran
Theme song of "The Cincinnati Kid"
Sung by Ray Charles

User reviews135

Review

Featured review

7/10

Song More Memorable Than The Story

Well, I've always enjoyed poker; Steve McQueen and Edward G. Robinson are two of my all- time favorite actors and I thought Tuesday Weld and Ann-Margaret were two of the most beautiful women in their day.....so why don't I love this movie?

Don't get me wrong: I like it, but I should have liked it a whole lot more. It's a bit too slow, for one thing, becoming more like a soap opera in parts and the movie drags for much too long. The story doesn't have much spark until the poker showdown at the end of the movie. That ending is an excellent one, too, but one has to wait too long to get there.

Robinson is good to watch, as he almost always was in his great acting career. He plays the only classy person in the film.

Watching this late in December of 2009 on some high-def equipment, I discovered how beautifully-filmed this movie appears.

What has stuck with me all these years, since I saw it in the theater in 1965, wasn't the story but the title song by Ray Charles. I have never been able to get "The Cincinnati Kid" song out of my head.