The Gambler

But the only one that fit all three criteria - the kickass trifecta, if you will - was 1974's James Caan macho masterpiece, The Gambler . Based on a semi-autobiographical screenplay by James Toback, The Gambler stars Caan as a hip college lit professor who talks about Dostoyevsky by day, but by night (and who am I kidding, also during the day) loses money hand over fist betting on roulette, blackjack, cockfighting, bingo, you name it. ... Full Review

Eventually, though, even the best streak goes bust, and it's in Caan's darkest hours that the movie shines the most. Featuring a great supporting performance from Paul Sorvino (with hair! ... Full Review

I'm surprised that this isn't a more talked-about picture.While nothing groundbreaking or powerful, "The Gambler" opens with a tense situation for the lead character and holds it over his head for the remainder of the picture. ... Full Article

From Amazon : The Gambler is one of the edgier and more interesting, if forgotten, films of the mid-1970s, the kind of studio film that rarely gets made anymore. ... Full Article

James Toback made his screenwriting debut with this taut drama, loosely adapted from the story by Dostoevsky. Axel Freed (James Caan) is an intelligent and well-respected professor of literature at a noted New York university, who uses great writing as... ... Full Article