The Color of Money (novel)

For the film, see The Color of Money.

The Color of Money is a 1984 novel by American novelist Walter Tevis. It is a sequel to his earlier novel, The Hustler and pool hustler and stakehorse Edward "Fast Eddie" Felson from Tevis' first novel, The Hustler (1959)

Plot

The novel is set twenty years after The Hustler. Fast Eddie now runs a pool hall of his own. After seeing a lookalike of Minnesota Fats on the television, he decides to go in search of the real one, whom he finds in the Florida Keys. Eddie persuades Fats to go on a national tour. He meets Arabella, an English woman, who moves in with him. The finale is set at Lake Tahoe, where Eddie manages to best a number of younger players.

Television is a major subplot. At the beginning, Eddie watches most of his pool on the television, and tends to play the game by himself.

Film adaptation

The novel was adapted into a 1986 drama film directed by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Richard Price, based on the novel. The film differs greatly from the novel in terms of plot, and does not feature the Minnesota Fats character. Although Tevis did author a screenplay for the film, having adapted the storyline directly from his novel, the filmmakers decided not to use it, instead crafting an entirely different story under Tevis' title.

The film stars Paul Newman and Tom Cruise, with Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Helen Shaver, and John Turturro. The film featured an original score by Robbie Robertson.

External links

• The Color of Money on Waltertevis dot com.
• Cue Jumping