In real life, James Caan is an itsy bitsy guy, but in reel life, he often plays the roughest of tough guys. Everybody remembers him as the hot-tempered Sonny in THE GODFATHER (1972), but in two smaller films he wears equally tough skins. In THE GAMBLER, he’s a college prof who bets on the side. Actually, teaching is what he does on the side – gambling is his life and his addiction. He lays huge bets on anything, no matter how long the shot, and he just keeps getting in deeper and deeper until no one can save him – not his mother, girlfriend, bookie or wealthy uncle. In THIEF, Caan's character is also addicted – to mining diamonds from safes (on the side, he owns a used car lot and bar). Life is good – until he gets himself wedged between the Mob and the Law and is forced to take drastic action that includes bullets, bombs, and in the end, the will to walk away from his cushy life.
Watch these two films back to back for an evening of highly Caan-centrated entertainment. (Trivia note: Is the never-explained scar on Can’s cheek in THIEF perhaps homage to the face-slashing he got in THE GAMBLER?)
