Thieves' Highway vs. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

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KingofPain
KingofPain

Both of these movies are about guys getting taken advantage of by shady folks. Lee J. Cobb plays such a slimy, underhanded bastard in Thieves' Highway that I wanted to tattoo him with a baseball bat as soon as he appeared on screen. In The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Ben Gazzara gets himself in a mess by running up a gambling debt. His plight is still unfortunate, but he makes a stupid mistake. The protagonist in Thieves' Highway is totally on the up and up, so there's a clearer contrast between good and evil. Chinese Bookie is a fine flick, but Thieves' Highway moves along smoother and is more entertaining overall.