The Kid sounds less than convinced when he responds with a question: “Is that what it’s all about?” “Like life, I guess,” continues the Man, somewhat inscrutably. “Making the wrong move at the right time.” “Gets down to what it’s all about, doesn’t it?” says Lancey, looking more than a little devilish as he lights a cigar. That point gets emphasized in the final scene when Lancey delivers a series of memorable lines to Eric, including one in which he refers to the last hand of five-card stud the pair played.

The two characters’ nicknames unsubtly suggest one of the film’s more obvious themes - the “coming of age” story in which the younger Eric is shown to learn a lesson of sorts after going up against the experienced Lancey. “the Kid,” who after an extended period of dominating poker games against locals is eager to challenge the player known as “the Man,” Lancey Howard, portrayed by Edward G. Fifty years ago today - on Octocame the premiere of a film that a half-century later remains one of the best poker movies ever made, The Cincinnati Kid.īased on a short, pulp novel by Richard Jessup, the film directed by Norman Jewison stars Steve McQueen as poker player Eric Stoner, a.k.a.