Born to Win

88 minutes | 1 December 1971 | United States

Born to Win is the grimly ironic title of this jet-black comedy about heroin addicts. George Segal plays Jay Jay, an ex-hairdresser who struggles to support his expensive drug habit. To avoid arrest, Jay Jay turns ‘narc’, informing on his fellow junkies. Eventually Jay Jay’s sense of self-hatred threatens to overwhelm him. Also released as Born to Lose and Addict, Born to Win was the first American film for Czech director Ivan Passer.’

Director: Ivan Passer
Producer: Philip Langner
Writers: David Scott Milton (story and screenplay), Ivan Passer (screenplay)
Starring: George Segal as Jay Jay, Karen Black as Parm, Paula Prentiss as Veronica, Héctor Elizondo as Vivian, Jay Fletcher as Billy Dynamite, Robert De Niro as Danny, Ed Madsen as Detective
Music: William S. Fischer
Cinematography: Richard C. Kratina, Jack Priestley
Editor: Ralph Rosenblum
Production Company: Les Films H. Roussillon, Productions Arys
Distributor: United Artists

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