# The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)

> A debt-ridden Los Angeles strip-club owner is coerced into a mob killing, forcing his fragile nightlife community into the path of violence.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/movie/20103

## Facts

- Runtime: 135 min
- Genres: Thriller, Crime, Drama
- Director: John Cassavetes
- Cast: Ben Gazzara, Timothy Carey, Seymour Cassel, Robert Phillips, Morgan Woodward, Al Ruban, Azizi Johari, Haji
- TMDB rating: 7.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074749/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Mood: brooding, smoky, intimate, late night cinephile viewing, cassavetes retrospective

## Synopsis

A gambler's desperate choices lead him into a deadly game of survival.

## Movies like The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

- [The Long Goodbye (1973)](https://ember.film/movie/1227)
- [Straight Time (1978)](https://ember.film/movie/13872)
- [The Outfit (1973)](https://ember.film/movie/16002)
- [Killing Them Softly (2012)](https://ember.film/movie/44753)
- [Cutter's Way (1981)](https://ember.film/movie/19786)
- [Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995)](https://ember.film/movie/320)
- [A Woman Under the Influence (1974)](https://ember.film/movie/18449)
- [The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)](https://ember.film/movie/20141)
- [Husbands (1970)](https://ember.film/movie/35300)
- [Prime Cut (1972)](https://ember.film/movie/16407)

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