The Cincinnati Kid
A gifted young card player stakes his reputation against an aging poker legend while desire, corruption, and nerve complicate the biggest game of his life.
Overview
A young poker prodigy faces off against a legendary champion in a high-stakes game of wits and skill.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- tense
- brooding
- stylized
- classic movie night
- gambling film marathon
What critics said
Critics generally praised the film's taut poker suspense, stylized realism, and performances while finding it less compelling than The Hustler and uneven in its peripheral subplots.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The poker game is rendered through intent faces, detailed player behavior, and dreamlike Metrocolor imagery rather than mere procedural play.
Eric Stoner's attempt to defeat legendary card-sharp Lancey Howard supplies the film's central dramatic conflict.
The New Orleans card game unfolds amid wealthy, vicious social figures, fixed games, sexual exploitation, and a racist social order.
The film builds tension from players' faces, integrity, nerve, and reading of one another during the high-stakes stud poker game.
Films like The Cincinnati Kid, and why
The Hustler
shared high-stakes gambling drama, masculine rivalry, and psychological tension between an emerging challenger and an established master
California Split
shared poker-centered suspense, ensemble pressure, and morally compromised gamblers in a stylized crime-adjacent drama
Rounders
shared card-game psychology, competitive male characters, and tense exploration of gambling as identity
The Thomas Crown Affair
shared period atmosphere, fatalistic ambition, and a charismatic outsider navigating corrupt social worlds
Movie Details
- Director
- Norman Jewison
- Release Date
- 1965-10-15
- Runtime
- 102 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (318)
Cast
- Steve McQueen
- Edward G. Robinson
- Ann-Margret
- Karl Malden
- Tuesday Weld
- Joan Blondell
- Rip Torn
- Jack Weston
- Cab Calloway
- Jeff Corey
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- YouTube TV
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Cincinnati Kid about?
- A gifted young card player stakes his reputation against an aging poker legend while desire, corruption, and nerve complicate the biggest game of his life.
- What is The Cincinnati Kid like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Cincinnati Kid as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Cincinnati Kid violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Cincinnati Kid as mild.
- What did critics think of The Cincinnati Kid?
- Critics generally praised the film's taut poker suspense, stylized realism, and performances while finding it less compelling than The Hustler and uneven in its peripheral subplots.
- Which films are like The Cincinnati Kid?
- Films with a similar feel include The Hustler, California Split, Rounders, and The Thomas Crown Affair.
- How long is The Cincinnati Kid?
- The Cincinnati Kid runs 102 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Cincinnati Kid?
- In United States, The Cincinnati Kid streams on YouTube TV.
