:
Ben Gazzara,
Timothy Carey,
Azizi Johari,
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:
John Cassavetes
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: 
: Geneon
: Neo Noir, Classic Crime, Crime, Classic Crime
: 109 min.
: English
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This title is currently out of print.
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John Cassavetes takes a contemporary film noir turn (which he would return to in Gloria) after exploring domestic melodrama in A Woman Under the Influence with The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. Ben Gazzara plays Cosmo Vitelli, the owner of a sleazy Los Angeles strip joint, who loses $20,000 at a mob gambling club owned by a small time gangster (Seymour Cassel). Since Cosmo doesn't have the $20,000, he is forced to murder a Chinese bookie in order to clear his debt to the mob. What Cosmo doesn't know is he's part of a set-up. The bookie is actually a West Coast mob boss protected around the clock by bodyguards. The mobsters figure that Cosmo will be killed in an impossible hit and they can take over his nightclub. But Cosmo proves luckier than the mobsters think -- he manages to kill his target, and now the mobsters have to track down Cosmo and kill him. Initially, at 133 minutes, the movie was subsequently re-edited by Cassavetes to 109 minutes. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Click here to rent the 1976 or here to rent the 1978 cut of the film.
You might also enjoy:
Faces
One of Cassavetes' best, a searing drama on the disintegration of a middle-aged couple
Opening Night
Cassavetes and Gazzara teamed up again for this powerful film; Gena Rowlands is unforgettable in the lead
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(Average 6.77)
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