''Three Card Monte'' is a 1978 Canadian crime drama film directed by

Les Rose Les Rose was a Canadian film and television director. He was most noted for the film ''Three Card Monte'', for which he received a Canadian Film Award nomination for Best Director at the 29th Canadian Film Awards in 1978. Rose began his career ma ...

and starring

Richard Gabourie Richard Gabourie (April 30, 1939 – October 11, 2004) was a Canadian actor, screenwriter and film producer, most noted for winning the Canadian Film Award for Best Actor in 1978 for ''Three Card Monte''. Born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Gabouri ...

as Busher, a small-time

con man A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have def ...

who meets and becomes a father figure to a runaway kid named Toby (

Chris Langevin Christopher Langevin (born November 27, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward (ice hockey), forward. He played twenty-two games in the National Hockey League with the Buffalo Sabres between 1983 and 1985, scoring three goals a ...

)."Richard Gabourie: Electric confidence". ''

Cinema Canada ''Cinema Canada'' (1972–1989) is a defunct Canadian film magazine, which served as the trade journal of record for the Canadian film and television sector. The magazine had its origins in the Canadian Society of Cinematographers (CSC), which beg ...

'', January/February 1979.

Jay Scott Jeffrey Scott Beaven (October 4, 1949 – July 30, 1993), known professionally by his pen name Jay Scott, was a Canadian film critic."Critic Jay Scott, 43 among world's best". ''Toronto Star'', July 31, 1993. Early life Scott was born in Lincol ...

, "$1.95 Monte is a game bluff". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', September 19, 1978. The film was written by Gabourie. It premiered at the 1978 Festival of Festivals. At the

29th Canadian Film Awards The 29th Canadian Film Awards were held on September 21, 1978 to honour achievements in Canadian film. They were the last Canadian Film Awards ceremony to be held before the program was taken over by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, ...

in 1978, the film garnered 11 nominations, including

Best Feature Film Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

(Rose), Best Actor (Gabourie) and Best Supporting Actress ( Lynne Cavanagh). Gabourie won the award for Best Actor, as well as the

Wendy Michener Award The Wendy Michener Award was a Canadian film award, presented by the Canadian Film Awards from 1969 to 1978 as a special achievement award for outstanding artistic achievements in film.Paul Townend"Wendy Michener Award" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia' ...

in honour of his all-around achievement as a virtual unknown who successfully wrote, coproduced and starred in his own debut film. The film was dismissed by ''

'' film critic

as being "in the respected tradition of naturalistic, manic-depressive Canadian cinema", and as "less valuable for what it is than for what it indicates that the people involved with it might be able to do under other, more agreeable circumstances." Other critics were more charitable, with both Bruce Kirkland of the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' and Ian Haysom of the ''

Ottawa Journal The ''Ottawa Journal'' was a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, from 1885 to 1980. It was founded in 1885 by A. Woodburn as the ''Ottawa Evening Journal''. Its first editor was John Wesley Dafoe who came from the ...

'' calling it a good but not perfect film. Rose and Gabourie subsequently collaborated on the 1979 film ''

Title Shot ''Title Shot'' is a Canadian crime drama film, directed by Les Rose and released in 1979.Gerald Pratley, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 219. Rose's second collaboration with writer and actor Richard Gabourie following 197 ...

'', which was more poorly received than ''Three Card Monte''.

, "Title Shot misses both of its targets". ''

'', September 11, 1979.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0131065 1978 films Canadian crime drama films English-language Canadian films Films scored by Paul Zaza Films directed by Les Rose 1970s English-language films 1970s Canadian films