Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

The Gambler

 The Gambler
type
 TVTItem
 The Gambler
label
 The Gambler
 The Gambler
page
 TheGambler
 The Gambler
comment
 The Gambler is a 1974 American film directed by Czech-British Karel Reisz from a script by James Toback. James Caan, Lauren Hutton, Paul Sorvino, and Jacqueline Brookes lead the cast; with Luise Rainer in the role of a secondary character.Axel Freed (Caan) is a literature professor, engaging and popular with his students. He is also an out-of-control gambling addict. At the start of the film, he has a spectacularly bad night at the craps tables, enough for affable bookie Hips (Sorvino) to be concerned. He goes to his doctor's mother (Brookes) for help, and she reluctantly fronts him enough money to get out of trouble. He takes his girlfriend Billie (Hutton) to Las Vegas to build on his fortune. After what initially seems to be a hot night for him, his luck goes bad again and he once more lacks the money to pay off his debt. While he hopes that his grandfather (Morris Carnovsky) will bail him out, the chief loan shark (Vic Tayback) informs him that the old man has already refused. That leaves him with basketball star Spencer (Carl W. Crudup) as his last hope.Toback’s screenplay is officially original but bears resemblance to a story of the same name by Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Dostoevsky’s work is discussed in Axel’s class.
 The Gambler
fetched
 2024-02-28T05:14:50Z
 The Gambler
parsed
 2024-02-28T05:14:50Z
 The Gambler
isPartOf
 DBTropes
 The Gambler / int_11630eaa
type
 The Gambling Addict
 The Gambler / int_11630eaa
comment
 The Gambling Addict: Axel is a very self-aware version, even telling Hips that he knows gamblers like him actually want to lose.
 The Gambler / int_11630eaa
featureApplicability
 1.0
 The Gambler / int_11630eaa
featureConfidence
 1.0
 The Gambler
hasFeature
 The Gambler / int_11630eaa
 The Gambler / int_38b48685
type
 Born in the Wrong Century
 The Gambler / int_38b48685
comment
 Born in the Wrong Century: A speech Axel gives at his grandfather’s birthday party suggests that he’s actually envious of the hardships the older man faced coming up in the world.
 The Gambler / int_38b48685
featureApplicability
 1.0
 The Gambler / int_38b48685
featureConfidence
 1.0
 The Gambler
hasFeature
 The Gambler / int_38b48685
 The Gambler / int_3d23c418
type
 Closet Shuffle
 The Gambler / int_3d23c418
comment
 Closet Shuffle: The guy Carmine goes to collect from hides in the closet while his wife tells Carmine that he’s out of town.
 The Gambler / int_3d23c418
featureApplicability
 1.0
 The Gambler / int_3d23c418
featureConfidence
 1.0
 The Gambler
hasFeature
 The Gambler / int_3d23c418
 The Gambler / int_6654b17b
type
 Facial Horror
 The Gambler / int_6654b17b
comment
 Facial Horror: Axel picks a fight with a pimp and the hooker he’s with slashes his face to defend said pimp. Axel actually looks happy about this once he escapes.
 The Gambler / int_6654b17b
featureApplicability
 1.0
 The Gambler / int_6654b17b
featureConfidence
 1.0
 The Gambler
hasFeature
 The Gambler / int_6654b17b
 The Gambler / int_95b7c400
type
 Faux Affably Evil
 The Gambler / int_95b7c400
comment
 Faux Affably Evil: While Hips is as nice a guy as you can be when your job is shaking money out of gamblers, enforcer Carmine (Burt Young) acts friendly but clearly enjoys hurting people on behalf of his employer, and he drags Axel along to get a look at what he can expect.
 The Gambler / int_95b7c400
featureApplicability
 1.0
 The Gambler / int_95b7c400
featureConfidence
 1.0
 The Gambler
hasFeature
 The Gambler / int_95b7c400
 The Gambler / int_ba112560
type
 Throwing the Fight
 The Gambler / int_ba112560
comment
 Throwing the Fight: Downplayed Trope. One lets Axel off the hook in exchange for bribing Spencer to shave enough points in a game so that his team doesn’t beat the spread. It barely works, as the coach takes him out of the game when he starts missing.
 The Gambler / int_ba112560
featureApplicability
 1.0
 The Gambler / int_ba112560
featureConfidence
 1.0
 The Gambler
hasFeature
 The Gambler / int_ba112560
 The Gambler / int_bebb370
type
 Gratuitous Italian
 The Gambler / int_bebb370
comment
 Gratuitous Italian: Hips drops Italian into his collection calls because he knows his marks don’t speak it and it make him sound more intimidating.
 The Gambler / int_bebb370
featureApplicability
 1.0
 The Gambler / int_bebb370
featureConfidence
 1.0
 The Gambler
hasFeature
 The Gambler / int_bebb370
 The Gambler / int_c3c18143
type
 Hope Spot
 The Gambler / int_c3c18143
comment
 Hope Spot: Axel goes to bed in Vegas thinking he’s won big in a Harvard-Brown basketball game. As it turns out Brown totally turned things around after halftime.
 The Gambler / int_c3c18143
featureApplicability
 1.0
 The Gambler / int_c3c18143
featureConfidence
 1.0
 The Gambler
hasFeature
 The Gambler / int_c3c18143
 The Gambler / int_db2f3581
type
 All Girls Want Bad Boys
 The Gambler / int_db2f3581
comment
 All Girls Want Bad Boys: Billie is clearly attracted to Axel’s spontaneous, dangerous nature. He pushes her past the line, though.
 The Gambler / int_db2f3581
featureApplicability
 1.0
 The Gambler / int_db2f3581
featureConfidence
 1.0
 The Gambler
hasFeature
 The Gambler / int_db2f3581
 The Gambler / int_fb5ab090
type
 Loan Shark
 The Gambler / int_fb5ab090
comment
 Loan Shark: Whom Axel ultimately owes money to. A lot of it.
 The Gambler / int_fb5ab090
featureApplicability
 1.0
 The Gambler / int_fb5ab090
featureConfidence
 1.0
 The Gambler
hasFeature
 The Gambler / int_fb5ab090
 The Gambler / int_name
type
 ItemName
 The Gambler / int_name
comment
 The Gambler / int_name
featureApplicability
 1.0
 The Gambler / int_name
featureConfidence
 1.0
 The Gambler
hasFeature
 The Gambler / int_name
 The Gambler / int_name
itemName
 The Gambler

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 The Gambler
hasFeature
 Loan Shark / int_aca0d13
 The Gambler
hasFeature
 The Gambling Addict / int_aca0d13
 The Gambler
hasFeature
 Titled After the Song / int_aca0d13