Jagged Edge / The Cincinnati Kid

JAGGED EDGE, 1985, Sony Repertory, 108 min. Director Richard Marquand and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas create a well-oiled, complex engine of suspense that keeps us guessing till the very last shot. Did Jeff Bridges murder his heiress wife in their San Francisco beach house? Or was it someone else? Bridges convinces attorney Glenn Close, who no longer takes criminal cases, to defend him, and Close finds herself gradually falling in love with her client. Making matters more contentious, there is evidence to support both Bridges’ guilt and innocence, and Close is afraid D.A. Peter Coyote may be suppressing exculpatory evidence.

THE CINCINNATI KID, 1965, Warner Bros., 102 min. Dir. Norman Jewison. Steve McQueen is perfectly cast as an ambitious young gambler poised to triumph over master poker player Edward G. Robinson at a high stakes game in Depression-era New Orleans.