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"The Cincinnati Kid" is a 1965 movie about poker players starring screen legend Steve McQueen. The film used some of Hollywood's most-talented actors and some top-notch Hollywood writers, building up to a final showdown at a backroom card table.

Steve McQueen plays a cool New Orleans poker player at a crossroads, with a chance to make his reputation against a legendary poker player. In one throwaway scene, McQueen plays a penny-pitching game against a local street kid, and teases him that he's not ready to take him on yet. But it becomes a parallel for his own story. Is he ready to take on "The Man" - the reigning kingpin of backroom poker (played by E.G. Marshall).

Richard Jessup's novel was adapted by two great American writers - Ring Lardner Jr. and Terry Southern - and they flesh out the poker game's personal stakes. It's the middle of the depression, and McQueen's character is a local hero. The players who went before him have had their pride shattered in earlier losses to "The Man." One player even urges McQueen to cheat in the upcoming games, to ensure vindication.

The film's great cast includes Ann-Margaret, Tuesday Weld, Rip Torn, and Karl Malden. But in the final scenes, they become the silent onlookers, joining the crowd that's desperate for victory. ("The old man is crumbling. The kid's gonna take him.") There's aces, a possible straight, thousand-dollar bets, and increasing tension as the cards reach the table in a six-minute sequence. While the music rises, the two men search each other's faces, Robinson's dark schemer confronting McQueen's steely gaze. McQueen triples the bet, the crowd coos, and someone's going to have to go all in for that crucial final hand.

One word of warning. I rented this movie from a local video store - which meant I've never seen its final scene. Director Norman Jewison had insisted on a sudden, meaningful freeze-frame on Steve McQueen's face, but the producer felt the film should continue on to a final scene with Tuesday Weld, according to Wikipedia. This overlooked movie is full of surprises, big and small. (It even includes a song by Ray Charles.)

But it's that final poker showdown that you'll never forget.

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