The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
1976·United States·135 min.
Available on
Cosmo Vitelli owns the Crazy Horse West, a strip joint in California. He's laconic, a Korean War vet, and a gambler. When we meet him, he's making his last payment on a gambling debt. Then, he promptly loses $23,000 playing poker at an illegal local casino. The guys he owes this time aren't so friendly, pressuring him for immediate payment. Then they suggest that he kill a Chinese bookie to wipe off the 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 and the people around him.
DirectorJohn Cassavetes
ScreenwriterJohn Cassavetes
MusicBo Harwood
CastBen Gazzara·Timothy Carey·Seymour Cassel·Azizi Johari·Virginia Carrington·Meade Roberts·Alice Friedland·Donna Gordon·Al Ruban
Original titleThe Killing of a Chinese Bookie