The Name of the Game

Jack Kelly is perfectly cast as a cynical but lovable player in "The Name of the Game", one of the better stories about gambling. Sydney Pollack, before he became a memorable movie director, does a terrific job of getting into the spirit of playing craps and the psychology of the players, gamblers and casino personnel involved in this civilized blood sport.

Matching Kelly in terms of a quality acting turn is Pat Hingle, the epitome of the good ole' boy wealthy gambler who turns out to be a more complex figure than the stereotype. Equally solid is Nancy Kovack as the story's alluring femme fatale and Monica Lewis as Hingle's savvy wife.

What makes this a superb show is the wonderful and most satisfying twists that pepper the final reel, mirroring the ups and downs of Kelly's lot in life, with just a dash of sentimentality.

Jack Kelly plays a modern version of his Bart Maverick character. He is as whimsical, witty, romantic here as he was on "Maverick." He is also a professional gambler, or a "player" as he calls it, as he was on "Maverick." This actually could have been a Maverick script. Pat Hingle plays a wealthy man obsessed with breaking the bank at a casino. He sees Kelly gambling and decides that he is the man he needs to do the job. Both Hingle and Kelly do some great acting under Sidney Pollack's superb direction. Somebody mentioned the "Star Trek" connection with three future "Star Trek" actresses playing here. Of the three Nancy Kovack is really the star here, playing the love interest of Jack Kelly, as she was the love interest of William Shatner in her Star Trek episode. I would like to mention a "Batman" connection. Jack Kelly played in a couple of episodes of the 60's television series and Pat Hingle played Commissioner Gordon in the first three "Batman" movies. Thus, if you are a "Maverick," "Star Trek" or "Batman" fan, you should enjoy this episode.

This episode of "Kraft Suspense Theatre" is directed by Sydney Pollack and stars Jack Kelly as a professional gambler named Pete. He's approached by a rich guy named Ed (Pat Hingle) and is offered a really BIG stake at the gambling table. Using Pete's know-how, they're able to clean up. However, there are many complications including that Ed is a complete jerk and Pete's new girlfriend has a nasty boyfriend.

This story is only moderately interesting. The acting is good and Pollack's direction is just fine. But the story itself just isn't quite as interesting as the average episode of the series and the big twist wasn't that much of a surprise.

By the way, this episode is interesting because it has three "Star Trek" actors in it: Steve Ihnat, Nancy Kovack and Grace Lee Whitney. Only Whitney was a recurring character (Yeoman Rand) but Kovack and Ihnat are VERY memorable for their appearances as Nona ("A Private Little War") and Lord Garth ("Whom Gods Destroy").