Fails the Bechdel test
The Hustler
1961. Directed by Robert Rossen, written by Sidney Carroll and Robert Rossen and Walter Tevis.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
0 / 3
Fails
-
No
1. At least two women
Fewer than two women characters. -
No
2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 0 out of 3.
The film
"Fast" Eddie Felson is a small-time pool hustler with a lot of talent but a self-destructive attitude. His bravado causes him to challenge the legendary "Minnesota Fats" to a high-stakes match, but he loses in a heartbreaking marathon. Now broke and without his long-time manager, Felson faces an uphill battle to regain his confidence and his game. It isn't until he hits rock bottom that he agrees to join up with ruthless and cutthroat manager Bert Gordon who takes him on the road to learn the ropes. But Felson soon realizes that making it to the top could cost him his soul, and perhaps his girlfriend. Will he decide that this is too steep a price to pay in time to save himself?
- Released
- 26 Sep 1961
- Genres
- Drama, Sport
- Rated
- Approved
- IMDb
- 7.9 / 10
- Metascore
- 90 / 100
- Awards
- Won 2 Oscars. 13 wins & 21 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Eddie 396 lines, man
- Bert 145 lines, man
- Sarah 139 lines, woman
- Charlie 63 lines, man
- Fats 41 lines, man
- Findley 30 lines, man
- Young Man 16 lines, man
- Bartender 14 lines, man
- Big John 12 lines, man
- Player 7 lines, man
Full cast, 37 people
- Paul Newman as Eddie Felson
- Jackie Gleason as Minnesota Fats
- Piper Laurie as Sarah Packard
- George C. Scott as Bert Gordon
- Myron McCormick as Charlie Burns
- Murray Hamilton as Findley
- Michael Constantine as Big John
- Stefan Gierasch as Preacher
- Clifford A. Pellow as Turk
- Jake LaMotta as Bartender
- Gordon B. Clarke as Cashier
- Alexander Rose as Score Keeper
- Carolyn Coates as Waitress
- Carl York as Young Hustler
- Vincent Gardenia as Bartender
- Willie Mosconi as Willie (uncredited)
- William Adams as Old Doctor (uncredited)
- Tom Ahearne as Bartender (uncredited)
- Charles Andre as Waiter at Parisien Restaurant (uncredited)
- Don Crabtree as (uncredited)
- Gloria Curtis as Girl with Fur Coat (uncredited)
- Robert Daget as (uncredited)
- Don De Leo as Another Player (uncredited)
- Charles Dierkop as Pool Room Hood (uncredited)
- William Duell as Billy (uncredited)
- James Dukas as Kibitzer (uncredited)
- Brendan Fay as Player (uncredited)
- Larry Gaynes as Extra in Poolroom (uncredited)
- Jack Healy as Hotel Proprietor (uncredited)
- Hoke Howell as Bit Part (uncredited)
- Don Koll as Racetrack Ticket Clerk (uncredited)
- Charles McDaniel as Reservation Clerk at Louisville Hotel (uncredited)
- Charles Mosconi as Second Man (uncredited)
- Art Smith as Old Man Attendant (uncredited)
- Sid Raymond as First Man (uncredited)
- Paul Stevens as Maître d' at fancy restaurant (uncredited)
- Blue Washington as Limping Attendant at Ames Billiards (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 2% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 90
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 to 4 | 0 | 20 |
| 5 to 6 | 0 | 25 |
| 7 to 8 | 0 | 36 |
| 9 to 10 | 0 | 35 |
| 11 to 12 | 0 | 3 |
| 13 to 14 | 0 | 10 |
| 15 to 16 | 0 | 9 |
| 17 to 18 | 0 | 3 |
| 19 to 20 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 to 22 | 0 | 20 |
| 23 to 24 | 0 | 31 |
| 25 to 26 | 0 | 1 |
| 27 to 28 | 10 | 11 |
| 29 to 30 | 24 | 29 |
| 31 to 32 | 3 | 1 |
| 33 to 34 | 0 | 1 |
| 35 to 36 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 to 38 | 0 | 13 |
| 39 to 40 | 9 | 9 |
| 41 to 42 | 21 | 68 |
| 43 to 44 | 9 | 8 |
| 45 to 46 | 0 | 19 |
| 47 to 48 | 0 | 63 |
| 49 to 50 | 0 | 30 |
| 51 to 52 | 0 | 12 |
| 53 to 54 | 4 | 3 |
| 55 to 56 | 2 | 3 |
| 57 to 58 | 0 | 0 |
| 59 to 60 | 11 | 12 |
| 61 to 62 | 4 | 30 |
| 63 to 64 | 6 | 7 |
| 65 to 66 | 8 | 10 |
| 67 to 68 | 4 | 19 |
| 69 to 70 | 5 | 23 |
| 71 to 72 | 8 | 10 |
| 73 to 74 | 5 | 38 |
| 75 to 76 | 0 | 14 |
| 77 to 78 | 0 | 34 |
| 79 to 80 | 0 | 1 |
| 81 to 82 | 4 | 22 |
| 83 to 84 | 5 | 12 |
| 85 to 86 | 0 | 2 |
| 87 to 88 | 0 | 23 |
| 89 to 90 | 0 | 31 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 16 are women's.
142 lines from women, 757 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
2 women and 23 men in the cast. 2 women and 16 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 206 of 915.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 205 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 15% of the words (1,354), men 85% (7,408). Women have 16% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.
Exhibit D: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
0
Two men
43
Exhibit E: behind the camera
2 of the 10 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 12% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Robert Rossen (man)
- Written by
- Robert Rossen (man), Sidney Carroll (man)
- From the novel by
- Walter Tevis (man)
- Produced by
- Robert Rossen (man)
- Shot by
- Eugen Schüfftan (man)
- Edited by
- Dede Allen (woman)
- Music by
- Kenyon Hopkins (man)
- Production design by
- Harry Horner (man)
- Costumes by
- Ruth Morley (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
0 women, 7 men, 1 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 3 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 3 men
-
Art
0 women, 3 men
-
Costume & Make-Up
1 women, 1 men, 1 not listed
-
Writing
0 women, 3 men
-
Other crew
0 women, 2 men
-
Editing
1 women, 0 men, 1 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 29 on average. Men: 38 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Piper Laurie 29
Men
Clifford A. Pellow 32, George C. Scott 33, Michael Constantine 34, Stefan Gierasch 35, Paul Newman 36, Murray Hamilton 38, Jake LaMotta 39, Jackie Gleason 45, Myron McCormick 53
Exhibit G: the money
It made 3.8 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $2 million
- Box office
- $7.6 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 90 scenes and 915 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
