Martin Scorsese’s The Color of Money continued the story of The Hustler.
The Hustler, directed by Robert Rossen and released in 1961, introduced Paul Newman as “Fast” Eddie Felson, a talented but flawed pool player. Twenty-five years later, The Color of Money brought Newman back to the character, now older and working as a liquor distributor. Eddie becomes the mentor of Vincent Lauria, a gifted young player played by Tom Cruise.
The sequel was adapted from Walter Tevis’s 1984 novel The Color of Money, while The Hustler was based on Tevis’s 1959 novel of the same name. The connection between the films is therefore both narrative and literary: Eddie Felson is the continuing character, but the second movie draws from a different book.
Newman won the Academy Award for Best Actor for The Color of Money, his only competitive Oscar win. The film also helped make tournament pool a vivid cinematic subject for a new generation.