Movies…with a little bit of obscure culture and sports mixed in
The Gambler (1975) is the 1970s version of Uncut Gems (2019). It has all the paranoia you want, anchored by a lead performance from James Caan that makes you feel as if you’re putting in a betting slip with him.
“Axel Freed is a literature professor. He has the gambling vice. When he has lost all of his money, he borrows from his girlfriend, then his mother, and finally some bad guys that chase him. Despite all of this, he cannot stop gambling.”
Director: Karel Reisz
Writer: James Toback
Starring: James Caan, Paul Sorvino, Lauren Hutton
Release Date: October 2, 1974
IMDB
Who doesn’t love a good surprise!
The Gambler (1974) is the 1970s version of Uncut Gems (2019). It has all the paranoia you want, anchored by a lead performance from James Caan that makes you feel as if you’re putting in a betting slip with him.
Axel Freed is an English professor with a nasty habit. Freed is addicted to gambling. He craves the satisfaction of winning, and the rush of knowing he might lose. Freed’s all-in mentality has him deep in the hole, owing lots of money to various different individuals. In an effort to win his way out of his debts, Freed borrows money from friends, family and unsavory types. The Gambler follows Freed as he tries to pull off the impossible. The rollercoaster ride of Freed’s emotional hedges on life highlight the danger of gambling with intoxicating thrill.
The Gambler accomplishes its mission of paranoia and acts as an outstanding time capsule for gambling in the 1970s. As a recreational (and responsible) gambler in the present day, how sports betting worked in the 1970 is a massive mystery. The efforts that Freed goes to in order to bet on games he knows nothing about is outrageous. There are easy-to-access betting trends. There aren’t online sportsbooks to check how the odds and spreads have changed. Everyone in this era is flying by the seed of their pants. You can’t even check the results easily!
There is a point in The Gambler when Freed pulls off the road, calls a bookie, and places bets on a few college basketball games. Later in a casino, Freed is riding high and winning loads. He hears that his bets are all winning at halftime, and like a fool, he counts them as winners. He thinks his bankroll is growing, and that’s a bad mindset to have. Freed has a come-to-jesus moment where all the money he was already counting vanishes in a flash. It’s a necessary fall for a movie like The Gambler, and it’s executed in a way that sets up for an exciting finale.
Freed needs to come up with a guarantee for his bookers, and the plan that is imposed on the professor crosses many moral lines. Freed uses his connections in the classroom to talk to the university’s best basketball player.After some convincing, the student-athlete agrees to take some money in order to secure a result that’d appease Freed’s looming overlords
The way in which the final basketball game unfolds is a great bit of drama. Genuinely, there is no way to feel how the results go. The viewer has watched Freed win and lose, and frankly, the viewer has no idea the result should go. Are we meant to feel remorse for the leading character? This man is making decisions that are, in a logical sense, very dumb. But it’s an addiction. Can he help it? Is the rush really that overpowering?
Additionally, The Gambler unintentionally stepped into a topic that’s remarkably relevant today. The concept of money being involved with collegiate athletics has been around for many years, but the connection has reached new audiences with the explosion of legal sports betting and NIL money. There is going to be a scandal about college athletes doing things for money sometime in the near future. Hell, there was a point shaving scandal in 1978-79 with the Boston College basketball team just three years after this movie came out. Without even knowing it, The Gambler predicted the future in a scary way.
Unfortunately, the one bit of The Gambler that veers a bit sideways is the very ending. After watching the game of his life. Axel Freed leaves the gym and goes for a stroll in a less than reputable area. He walks into an establishment, buys time with a woman, and then proceeds to act like an absolute asshole. Axel gets himself in deep shit and finds himself looking in a mirror with a nasty gash on his face.
On one end, there is the argument that the gambling gods spared him a point of flesh, so Axel felt as if he deserved to be punished in that way. He escaped having his limbs broken, or worse. However, there is still the guilt. The guilt of knowing he got away with something he shouldn’t have, and the guilt that he still wants to gamble despite the stresses it brought upon him.
On the other end, the physical violence and maniac nature of Axel is jarring after not having seen anything like it anywhere in the movie. The Gambler is a movie that thrives on vibes of paranoia and looming risk, so to see the lashing and the gash is shocking. It makes the ending memorable, and impactful. Thematically it fits the bill, but by nature of its shock value, it takes away from the lingering edge that the rest of The Gambler dances on.
The Gambler was remade in 2014 with Mark Whalberg as a differently named titular character. The movie also stars Jessica Lange, John Goodman, Brie Larson and George Kennedy.
I have not seen the 2014 version, but I can confirm that the 1975 version is worth the watch, especially for those who enjoy sports gambling. And if you really want to feel every once and anxiety possible, then watch The Gambler and follow it up with Uncut Gems.
STANKO RATING: B
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