That part that I didn’t get is why and how did Zosch hide her phony crippled condition from Frankie and everyone else? She couldn’t have perpetrated that scam from childhood, so how was she able to get over on Frankie?
What I didn’t get was why being a “dealer” (of cards, not drugs) was such an inescapable yet highly specialized skill.
Frankie and Zosch had an unhappy marriage, then they got into a car accident when Frankie was driving. Zosch was injured and unable to walk at first, and used a wheelchair. She gradually recovered, but to get Frankie not to leave her, she played on his guilt by continuing to pretend she was unable to walk.
Thanks, that makes sense. Is this a detail which I missed in the movie version, or would I have to have read the book to pick up on it?
That’s from the novel by Nelson Algren. I have seen the movie, but I forget how much back story is given in dialogue.