The Color of Money



"Hey, I’m BACK!"

- Fast Eddie

A 1984 novel by Walter Tevis, The Color of Money was the sequel to his classic debut novel, The Hustler. Its 1986 film version, directed by Martin Scorsese, brought back Paul Newman along with new co-star Tom Cruise. Newman, who was nominated for the Academy Award for the original 1961 film, actually won the Oscar this time around.

Twenty-five years after he abruptly retired from the world of pool, Fast Eddie Felson (Newman) is now a liquor salesman. One day, he meets aspiring pool player Vincent (Cruise) and his girlfriend, Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). Seeing Vincent as himself as a young man, Fast Eddie takes him up as a protégé. Unexpectedly, this inspires Fast Eddie to take up the pool stick once again.

The above paragraph describes the heavily rewritten film version of the Novel. The novel itself deals with Fast Eddie’s comeback to take on his former archrival, Minnesota Fats.

The movie version is also known for inspiring John Carmack to pick the title Doom for his medium-altering video game.


 * He's Back
 * In Name Only: The film version.
 * One-Scene Wonder: Forest Whitaker as Amos.