The Killing of a Chinese Bookie Poster Image
Rated
R
Runtime 135 min
Ratings
71% TMDB
79% critics Rotten Tomatoes
82% audience Rotten Tomatoes
Where to Watch
HBO Max (Subscription), HBO Max Amazon Channel (Subscription), Criterion Channel (Subscription), Amazon Video (Rent), Apple TV (Rent), Fandango At Home (Rent)
Streaming availability powered by JustWatch. View more options at TMDB.
Genre Crime, Drama, Thriller
Release 02/15/76
Actors Ben Gazzara, Timothy Carey, Seymour Cassel
Directors John Cassavetes
Cosmo Vitelli owns the Crazy Horse West, a strip joint in Los Angeles. He's laconic, vet, and a gambler. When we meet him, he's making his last payment on a gambling debt, after which, he promptly loses $23,000 playing poker. The guys he owes this time aren't so friendly, pressuring him for immediate payment. When he's not able to do so, they suggest he kill a Chinese bookie to wipe away his debt. Vitelli and the film move back and forth between the double-crossing, murderous insincerity of the gamblers and the friendships, sweetness, and even love among Vitelli, the dancers, a dancer's mother, and the club's singer, Mr. Sophistication.
Genre Crime, Drama, Thriller
Release 02/15/76
Actors Ben Gazzara, Timothy Carey, Seymour Cassel
Directors John Cassavetes
Cosmo Vitelli owns the Crazy Horse West, a strip joint in Los Angeles. He's laconic, vet, and a gambler. When we meet him, he's making his last payment on a gambling debt, after which, he promptly loses $23,000 playing poker. The guys he owes this time aren't so friendly, pressuring him for immediate payment. When he's not able to do so, they suggest he kill a Chinese bookie to wipe away his debt. Vitelli and the film move back and forth between the double-crossing, murderous insincerity of the gamblers and the friendships, sweetness, and even love among Vitelli, the dancers, a dancer's mother, and the club's singer, Mr. Sophistication.