The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie is a crime drama written and directed by John Cassavetes. It was released on October 8, 1977. The movie stars Ben Gazzara as Los Angeles strip club owner Cosmo Vitelli. In order to pay a debt owed to gangster Mort Weil, played by Seymour Cassel, Vitelli kills a Chinese bookie.

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie tells the story of Los Angeles strip club owner Cosmo Vitelli (Ben Gazzara), who owes $20,000 in gambling debts to gangster Mort Weil (Seymour Cassel). To pay off his debt, Vitelli is forced to kill a Chinese bookie. What Vitelli doesn't realize is that this is all a setup by mobsters in attempts to kill him and take over his nightclub.

• Ben Gazzara as Cosmo Vitelli

• Timothy Carey as Flo

• Robert Phillips as Phil

• Morgan Woodward as John

• John Kullers as Eddie-Red

• Seymour Cassel as Mort Weil

"This is my favorite John Cassavetes movie, perhaps because it's the most appealingly sleazy."—Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloidhttp://www.combustiblecelluloid.com/classic/killchin.shtml

"As much an indictment of modern filmmaking as the delusional nature of macho posturing, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie is a complex and fascinating document."—Dan Jardine, Apollo Guidehttp://www.apolloguide.com/mov_fullrev.asp?CID=2305