Other mistake: When Fats makes the 7 ball after Eddie's safe play, you see the cue ball flying into the pocket before the camera changes shots.
The Hustler (1961)
1 other mistake
Directed by: Robert Rossen
Starring: Paul Newman, George C. Scott, Piper Laurie, Jackie Gleason
Factual error: In the first match between Fast Eddie and Minnesota Fats towards the beginning of the film, Eddie, right after declaring he would start to win after losing thus far, shoots the one ball into the side pocket by shooting the cue into a striped ball. Sharp eyes will notice that he actually hits THROUGH the cue and strikes the stripe into the one with his stick. While a nice trick, this is an incredibly illegal shot and would never have been allowed.
Sarah Packard: I love you, Eddie.
Fast Eddie: You know, someday, Sarah, you're gonna settle down... you're gonna marry a college professor and you're gonna write a great book. Maybe about me. Huh? Fast Eddie Felson... hustler.
Sarah Packard: I love you.
Fast Eddie: You need the words?
Sarah Packard: Yes, I need them very much. If you ever say them I'll never let you take them back.
Trivia: In the 1st match shortly after Felson comments about Minnesota Fats looking like a dancer with how deftly he moved, Gleason takes a shot, right-handed that cross courts the 12 ball into a side pocket. The shot was right-handed because his suit lapel had a carnation on the left side. In the sequence of shots that follow, in one shot the film is flipped, it looks like a left-handed shot but the carnation flips as well. The next shot Gleason shoots left-handed. The carnation gives it away.
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