MovieChat Forums > Hustle (1975) Discussion > Questions (spoilers)

Questions (spoilers)

posted 14 years ago by WarpedRecord
6 replies | jump to latest

This is an excellent '70s noir from Robert Aldrich with an amazing cast of players from various golden ages of film. And damn that Freddie Krueger!

A few issues seem unresolved, but that's probably the point of the film. Nonetheless, can anyone shed light on this points:
1) How did Gaines have the hunch that Marty Hollinger wasn't the slain woman's father? Did he do the math when he was questioning Paula Hollinger, or was he just testing her?
2) Are we to assume that Colleen did indeed kill herself, or is this never fully explained?
3) Did Gaines indeed die at the end, and if so, how did Belgrave know to meet Nicole at the airport? It certainly appears that he died, but if so, he must have been conscious enough to tell Gaines to break the news. This is probably dramatic license on Aldrich's part.

Thanks to anyone who has any thoughts on this superb and underseen film.

[–] RugGuy 13 years ago

I share the first question about Collen's parentage.
I think Colleen did kill herself.
Dramatic license is my guess.

My questions are was Santoro (Borgnine) aware of leo's involvement before the two detectives? Was he talking to Leo on the phone before they came into his office the first time? Was he the third person at the sec party (not the rock and roller)? Tho a fair movie I couldn't sit thru a second time to look for answers,

[–] WarpedRecord 13 years ago

Thanks for the perspective. I think Aldrich took a lot of dramatic license in this film, but I probably liked it more than you did. Unfortunately, it's been more than a year since I've seen it, so I'm at a loss to answer your question about Santoro. Sorry about that. Anyone else?

[–] RugGuy 13 years ago

Thing's i liked about HUSTLE:
Eddie Albert's acting
Catherine D's looks
the death was not a murder but a result of her choices
the father wanting to find out what happened to his daughter and investigating her her world

I wonder if Paul Schrader saw this movie, picked up on the last two points, and made HARDCORE

[–] WarpedRecord 13 years ago

Interesting point about Paul Schrader and "Hardcore." That's certainly a possibility. Another one is that Paul was "investigating" the porn world himself and wanted to make a film about what he saw in that world. (I'm just picking that up from discussions on the "Hardcore" board from a few years back – not trying to raise innuendo here.)

The main problem I see with "Hardcore" is Schrader doesn't really develop the father-daughter bond – so I didn't see as much urgency in them reuniting. Anyway, that's "Hardcore" and this is "Hustle," but you make an excellent comparison about a father investigating his daughter's involvement in a seedy underworld.

[–] josephturner1975 11 years ago

I don't think it was murder or suicide. It was an accidental overdose.

~~~~~~~~~
what is the purpose of this really?

[–] ChrisCuda 9 years ago

He was sitting in Gaines Mustang with his window down right outside the phone booth listening to his conversation about their trip...he overheard the time as well as meeting at the TWA counter. When Freddy Krueger offs Gaines, he knows she'll be waiting at the airport for him.