Pool god Fast Eddie Felson plummets from cocky kid to despairing cripple back up to contender as Robert Rossen’s monochrome green baize classic unpeels.

Newman – coached by legendary pool player Willie Mosconi – cued most of the shots himself (“I put a pool table in the dining room and Willie would come up and we’d play”) but as director Rossen always swore, “It’s not about pool, it’s about characters”.

Newman nails Fast Eddie’s mix of dark-hearted arrogance and soft-souled fragility.

Greatest moment: Stepping back into the pool hall for round two.

Also see: Hud Bannon (Hud), Luke (Cool Hand Luke), Butch Cassidy (Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid), Frank Galvin (The Verdict), Fast Eddie Felson (The Color Of Money), John Rooney (Road To Perdition)