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THE CINCINNATI KID opens in LA and NY. Adapted from Richard Jessup’s novel by Terry Southern and Ring Lardner, Jr., directed by Norman Jewison, replacing a fired Sam Peckinpah) Steve McQueen stars as a hot-shot, Depression-era card sharp looking to burnish his reputation by challenging the ageing reigning champion, played by Edward G. Robinson, to a marathon, high stakes winner-take-all game. Despite its striking thematic similarities to Robert Rossen’s The Hustler, McQueen’s cool charisma and a tense climactic poker game lend the film some persuasive heft. Co-starring Tuesday Weld, Ann Margaret, Karl Malden and Shelley Winters.
