The Color of Money (1986)

The title is a reference to the traditional green cloth (or baize) of a pool table being reminiscent of American currency notes. The Color of Money is a 1984 novel by American writer Walter Tevis, and a 1986 film semi-adaptation by the same title, continuing the story of pool hustler and stakehorse Edward "Fast Eddie" Felson, with Paul Newman reprising his role from the The Hustler (1959) and its film adaptation (1961). The sequel novel and film share as their premise the continuation of Felson's story at a point more than 20 years after the events depicted in The Hustler, and with Eddie not having been active on the pool circuit during that time. But aside from this and the title, they have little in common. Although Tevis did author a screenplay for The Color of Money that was based on his novel, the filmmakers ultimately decided not to use Tevis's story at all, and instead crafted an entirely different one for the movie,one with a large number of plot-point similarities to the earlier 1980 pool comedy, The Baltimore Bullet. In addition to Newman, the film also stars Tom Cruise as Fast Eddie's protege and rival Vincent Lauria, plus Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Helen Shaver and John Turturro. The screenplay was written by Richard Price, and the film was directed by Martin Scorsese, featuring an original score by Robbie Robertson.