bob the gambler (melville, 1956)

a clever film with fantastic characters who for one reason or another were not engaging. this movie is so close to being great, but in the end it isn't gripping. it has all of the elements of an amazing heist movie, but it plays to its weaknesses instead of its strengths. an A for effort; an F for execution. or maybe it's an F for effort, an A for execution? or somewhere in between?

classics scale: 6.5/10

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047892/

(...a few weeks later)
NOTE: i just read this chapter in melville on melville, and he explains that he had help on the writing of this, especially the dialogue.