Today if you want to bet on a variety of sporting events you can simply
visit a site like
22bet.com and do it from
the comfort of your own home. Here however, we're looking at five movies
where gamblers left their homes and headed to tracks and stadiums to place
their bets.
California Split
Robert Altman's 1974 classic stars Elliott Gould and
George Segal as a pair of strangers who develop a friendship through
their mutual love of gambling. It all culminates in a climactic craps game
in Reno, Nevada, but before we see the buddies betting on a variety of
sports, including boxing and horse racing.
Let it Ride
Richard Dreyfuss delivers one of his finest comic performances in
this movie from director Joe Pytka, who was previously known for
helming award-winning documentaries and commercials. Dreyfuss plays Jay
Trotter, a cab driver who loves gambling but loses practically every bet he
makes. His luck changes when he overhears two of his passengers discussing a
doped horse that is guaranteed to win an upcoming race. Jay heads to the
historic Hialeah Park Race Track armed with this new information and finds
himself finally hitting a winning streak.
The Gambler
Czech-born British filmmaker Karel Reisz made his American debut
with this tale of a gambler facing an existential crisis.
James Caan gives arguably a career best performance as Axel Freed, an
English professor obsessed with gambling. His sport of choice is basketball,
which ends with him cutting a deal with one of his students to throw a
college basketball game so he can use the winnings to pay off his debt to
violent mobsters.