The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of, Part III

DVD REVIEW

California Split, Directed by Robert Altman, Starring Elliott Gould, George Segal 1972

Okay, to keep things straight Dashiell Hammet’s Maltese Falcon was Part I, John Huston’s Treasure of the Sierra Madre was Part II, and here with Robert Altman's California Split we have Part III of the age old dream of humankind to get rich without having to work, or do much of it. Or is there something else that also holds life (and these films together)? The business at hand in each case is the quest- for the damn bird in Maltese, the damn pot of gold in Treasure or the damn gambling jackpot for our two friends here. The end of this film, fittingly in its own way, tells it all.

After finishing up on a winning streak to end all winning streaks our duo when it is time to divvy up the cash finds there is no closure. That is the message; still it is nice to think of getting the payoff without having to work for it. After all, humankind has spend many millennia organizing itself and creating labor –saving devices for just such a condition. Except someone forgot to tell the few greed heads that this social product should be for the benefit of every one.

The early to mid 1970’s was the heyday of the male ‘buddy’ film out of Hollywood. The films of Robert Redford done with Paul Newman like The Sting and Butch Cassidy come to mind. Here Elliot Gould (as Charley) and George Segal (as Bill) two compulsive gamblers who will bet on anything at any time make a run for the roses in Reno. Along the way they get beat up, taken, and every other imaginable scenario before they get their stake for the run. Today such a scenario would include some time in a twelve step program but that is neither here nor there.

These two certainly have some chemistry working off each other roles. Segal is the moody, enigmatic one; Gould is the classic hustler of the literary imagination. He would find congenial company in a Damon Runyon story. I might add that the so-called romance of gambling for a livelihood certainly gets a workout here. My experience at race tracks and betting parlors has not included these wholesome types. Usually, one is either desperately waiting to get the next bet down or the next stake. Not pretty in either case. But enough, see this movie.