March 1956

Another nice read!  Thanks again.

I wonder how strong the wrestler was...  I would not put the two together.

The blurb says this image is from the film "Bed of Fear."

That was apparently the working title for the film actually entitled "The Killing."

The following came from my old article "The Flea House Blues and Log Cabin Fever" :

The Stanley Kubrick film, "The Killing," was filmed in part at the Chess and Checker Club of New York or "the Academy of Chess and Checkers,"  later known as The Flea House.  Kubrick, a former chess hustler and frequenter of  The Flea House and other such venues, ". . . delved into his Greenwich Village experiences to flesh out characters like Maurice, the wrestler who provides a diversion during the robbery. An old chess buddy, Kola Kwarian, played him, and Kubrick set the scene where Johnny meets him at the "Academy of Chess and Checkers," based on th New York "Flea House" where Kubrick used to play." (from Stanley Kubrick by John Baxter)

        "To eke out his unemployment insurance, Kubrick began hustling chess games, a popular practice among the younger players. [Alan] Kaufman [who would later be executive director of the American Chess Foundation] and his friends would play at The Flea House until they had won enough to pay for a meal, then, after dinner, hustle enough for a movie. Kubrick preferred to play Washington Square area, near MacDougal and West 4th Streets. The fixed concrete boards were free - at The Flea House players paid by the hour and the open air offered the maximum number of kibitzers - spectators and potzers - patsies. By timing his games carefully, Kubrick occupied a shaded board by day but switched to one under a street light as night fell. He remembered a typical take for a twelve-hour day as around $3 - 'which goes a long way,' he told his friend years later, 'if all you are buying with it is food' - but he almost certainly made much more."
- also from Stanley Kubrick by John Baxter

8 languages,wow. Thats impressive.

I used to play at the flea house in the 1960s.  I played Kubrick two games there, and knew Kolya, who went by the name of nik-nik. By that time Kubrick was living in London, but I guess he travelled to New York now and then.  I also almost hit Sterling Hayden while driving late at night in Sausalito as he stumbled in front of my car while crossing Bridgeway late at night.  These three men were all amazing characters.  If you want a really good read about Sterling Hayden, check out his autobiography The Wanderer.

Great photo and article!