The color of money
The color of money —The Color of Money, by its original English title- is a contemporary novel written by the famous and late American author Walter Tevis, most recently known for the successful adaptation of his work Lady's Gambit. The book to be reviewed was published by Ediciones Versal in 1984, becoming a phenomenon that illuminated the career of the writer and inspired one of the most talented and respected filmmakers in the cinematographic world.
That creator was the director Martin Scorsese, who filmed a homonymous film in 1986. This featured the participation of Tom Cruise, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Paul Newman, an actor who received an Academy Award for his portrayal of Eddie "Lightning" Felson, the mythical protagonist of this story.
Synopsis of The color of money
The formation of a pool legend
In 1959, Walter Tevis wrote a novel that was also made into a film: The Hustler —known in Spanish as The hustler o The bold—. Both plays star Eddie Felson (The Quick One), a young con man who makes a living betting on pool and overthrowing the odd braggart who thinks he can take down the game's up-and-coming hero. The boy scours the country looking for men to pick the pockets of, but more than that, he searches for his own worth as a human being.
Just when he's at the point of thinking he'll never be able to find a real challenger, he meets Minnesota Fats, a legendary player who seems to be on his level. The ante is upped quickly as the two face off in an epic battle of egos. Sometimes, critics have commented that the main character of Walter Tevis could have been written by Ernest Hemingway himself if he hadn't died earlier.
The return from the shadows
Twenty years have passed since Eddie "The Quick" Felson conquered the circuit of illegal bets related to billiards. After all this time, he is no longer who he was in his youth: the protagonist faces the failure of his marriage, which came to term for all the secrets that the man kept from his wife, including renting a pool hall.
In this context, fed up with having become a failure, Eddie decides to return to the arena of competitions. However, the competitive environment is not what it was when The Quick one held his own as the best of players.
The billiards environment has turned into a public party, and the new generation of contenders is on a par with celebrities who will not hesitate to destroy their reputation. Now, the only thing left to discover is whether the legendary Eddie Felson (The fast) have enough skill to overcome the vicissitudes of their adventures.
About the movie
In Scorsese's film, the title role is played by Paul Newman, the same actor who brought him to life in The Hustler. The tape develops in a very similar way to the original material.
after twenty years, Eddie "Lightning" Felson returns to his old ways after meeting a young man named Vincent Lauria (Tom Cruise). Eddie sees in this talented gambler a reflection of himself, and does everything possible to take care of Julian (John Turturro), his protégé, whom Lauria humiliates at pool.
Nevertheless, the similarity between Vincent Lauria and Eddie Felson leads the latter to adopt him as his pupil. Together, they ride the protagonist's old balabushka to head to the highways of the United States and relive the glory days of the one who has not ceased to be the king of clandestine games.
About the author, Walter Stone Tevis
Walter Tevis
Walter Stone Tevis was born in 1928, in San Francisco, California, United States. When he was seventeen years old he served as a Navy mate on the USS Hamilton. In 1945, after receiving his discharge, he studied and graduated from Model High School. Subsequently He enrolled at the University of Kentucky, where he earned a BA in English literature.
A curious fact about that season is that the author worked in a pool hall. The place inspired him to write a story that he presented at the university, in one of the classes of AB Guthrie Jr, writer of the novel Big Sky. His literary career began in the Kentucky Highway Department. At the same time, he worked as a teacher at Science Hill, Hawesville, Irvine, and Carlisle, where he taught physical education, English, and science classes.
The author wrote short stories for various national magazines. Many of these stories have multiple editions. Although he is well known for his short works, he is even more so for his novels, which have crossed the boundaries of print on a variety of occasions. His first long title, The man who came from the starsWas taken to the cinema in 1976. . The production was directed by Nicolas Roeg and starred by David Bowie.
Other books by Walter Tevis
Novels
- The Man Who Fell to Earth — The Man Who Came from the Stars / The Man Who Fell to Earth (1963);
- Mockingbird — Mockingbird/ The Mockingbird (1980);
- The Steps of the Sun (1983);
- The Queen's Gambit — Queen's Gambit/ Queen's Gambit (1983);
Collections
- far from home (1981)
Short stories
- The Best in the Country (1954);
- The Big Hustle (1955);
- Misleading Lady (1955);
- Mother of the Artist (1955);
- The Man from Chicago (1956);
- The Stubbbornest Man (1957);
- Operation Gold Brick (1957);
- The IFTH of OOFTH (1957);
- The Big Bounce (1958);
- Sucker's Game (1958);
- First Love (1958);
- Far From Home (1958);
- Alien Love (1959);
- A Short Ride in the Dark (1959);
- Gentle Is the Gunman (1960);
- The Other End of the Line (1961);
- The Machine That Hustled Pool (1961);
- The Scholar's Disciple (1969);
- The king is dead (1973);
- rent control (1979);
- The Apotheosis of Myra (1980);
- Echo (1980);
- out of luck (1980);
- sitting in limbo (1981);
- Daddy (1981);
- A Visit from Mother (1981)