The Tevis novel had been optioned several times , including by Frank Sinatra , but attempts to adapt it for the screen were unsuccessful . Director Rossen 's daughter Carol Rossen speculates that previous adaptations focused too much on the pool aspects of the story and not enough on the human interaction . Rossen , who had hustled pool himself as a youth and who had made an abortive attempt to write a pool @-@ themed play called Corner Pocket , optioned the book and teamed with Sidney Carroll to produce the script .