George Segal just died. He's good in this as addicted gambler, Elliott Gould good too as his more upbeat partner in crime. I thought Altman's use of multi-layered audio tracks would be confusing - it wasn't. He's zooming in subtly as was his custom in his films of this era.
Also good are escorts Ann Prentiss and Gwen Welles.
Joseph Walsh wrote this, his only published screenplay. It's often very funny, and sweet (they are genuinely pleased to see one another), becomes exceedingly tense towards the end. And then that ending - Segal just goes home. (In my head, he's going home to sort things out, pay off his debts.. wasn't there something about an ex wife and former home?)
Lou Lombardo cut the film (with son Tony assisting), Kay Rose edited the sound. Paul Lohmann shot it.
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You think of comedies with Segal - he was also good in No Way to Treat a Lady, The Owl and the Pussycat, Where's Poppa?, A Touch of Class, Too Many Chefs, but my favourite of his films is The Quiller Memorandum which is a great vehicle for his cynical weariness, and that comes over loud and clear here too.
As one of the reviewers noted, it's also an intriguing snapshot into various bits of America in 1974. I don't know why, but I think that song 'Basketball Jones' was absolutely everywhere.
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