My personal recommendations for lovely pool and storytelling are marked (*)
Pool Sharks (1915) with W.C. Fields, Bud Ross
Bad Boy (1935) with Dorothy Wilson
*The Hustler (1961) Starring Paul Newman
En Este Pueblo No Hay Ladrones ["In This Town There Are No Thieves"] (1964 – Mexican film)
The Player (1971) with Minnesota Fats, Jerry Como
Hagiga Ba'Snuker ["Party at the Snooker"] (1975 – Israeli film)
*The Baltimore Bullet (1980) with James Coburn, Omar Sharif
The Desperate Prodigal (1981 – Chinese film edited and re-released as “Equals Against Devils”)
Io, Chiara e lo Scuro ["Me, Chiara and the Dark"] (1983 – Italian film) aka The Pool Hustlers
Number One (1984 – TV Movie) with Bob Geldof, Alfred Molina
*The Baron And The Kid (1984 – TV Movie) Starring Johnny Cash
Billy The Kid and the Green Baize Vampire (1985)
*The Color of Money (1986) with Paul Newman, Tom Cruise
*Kiss Shot (1989 – TV Movie) with Whoppi Goldberg, Dennis Franz
Lemon Tree Billiards House (1996)
Il Tocco: La Sfida ["The Touch: The Challenge"] (1997 – Spanish film)
Klassik (1998 – Russian film)
Chalk (2000)
Running Out (2001)
Stickmen (2001)
Poolhall Junkies (2002) with Rod Steiger, Christopher Walken
Behind the Nine (2003)
Pakners [“Partners”] (2003) with Efren Reyes, Candy Pangilinan
Up Against the 8 Ball (2004)
Shooting Gallery (2005) aka Pool House Prophets with Freddie Prinze Jr., Ving Rhames
Kisses and Caroms (2006) aka American Pool
Carombola (2007 – Spanish available with English subtitles)
Turn the River (2007) with Famke Janssen
9-Ball The Movie (2009?) Starring Karen Corr
And rounding out the list are some movies that show a bit of pool, some more prominently than others. Can you find the pool table in M*A*S*H*, for example? Guys and Dolls (1955) with Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra
Goldfinger (1964) Starring Sean Connery and Honor Blackman
The Music Man (1962) with Robert Preston, Shirley Jones
The Cincinnati Kid (1965) with Steve McQueen, Ann Margaret
M*A*S*H* (1970) with Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould
Fight Club (1999) with Brad Pitt, Ed Norton
The World Is Not Enough (1999) Starring Pierce Brosnan and Denise Richards
A-list actors make brief but memorable appearances at pool tables in Carlito’s Way (Al Pacino), Devil In A Blue Dress (Denzel Washington), Heaven’s Gate (Kris Kristofferson), Oceans Eleven and Robin and the 7 Hoods (Frank Sinatra and The Rat Pack), Racing With The Moon (Nicholas Cage), Shamus (Burt Reynolds), Steelyard Blues (Jane Fonda), Tin Men (Danny DeVito), My Geisha (Shirley MacLaine)... to name but a select few.
What are your favorites to add to this list? Send them in.
