Lady Luck (1946)A woman marries a gambler with the hopes of reforming him, but things don't quite work out the way she planned. Director:Edwin L. Marin |
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Lady Luck (1946)A woman marries a gambler with the hopes of reforming him, but things don't quite work out the way she planned. Director:Edwin L. Marin |
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| Credited cast: | |||
| Robert Young | ... |
Larry Scott
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| Barbara Hale | ... |
Mary Audrey
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| Frank Morgan | ... |
William Audrey
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| James Gleason | ... |
Sacramento Sam
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Don Rice | ... |
Eddie
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| Harry Davenport | ... |
Judge Martin
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Lloyd Corrigan | ... |
Little Joe
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Teddy Hart | ... |
Little Guy
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Joseph Vitale | ... |
Happy Johnson
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Douglas Morrow | ... |
Dan Morgan
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| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
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Robert Clarke | ... |
Carstairs, the Confederate Officer /
Messenger
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Dick Elliott | ... |
Fat Man
(scenes deleted)
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Betty Gillette | ... |
Stewardess
(scenes deleted)
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Mary now runs a bookstore in L.A. with her grandfather, whose past gambling excesses have left her hating everything about the pastime. Unfortunately she falls for Larry, who makes his living in this very line of work. He vows to change but going to Las Vegas to get married may not be the best choice for them. Indeed, Mary's forefathers all had gambling in their blood and if she does ever get to try the tables anything could happen. Written by Jeremy Perkins <jwp@aber.ac.uk>
This is the first of two pairings of Robert Young and Barbara Hale as romantic leads in a comedy. This, however, takes a slightly more serious tone than the other ("And Baby Makes Three", made three years later), although both films deal with serious subjects (gambling here, divorce there) in a lighthearted way. (The films are not related in either characters or subject.)
Hale's character, Mary Audrey, comes from a long line of "Mary Audreys" whose elder male relative (grandfather William Audrey, played in his typical lovable way by Frank Morgan) has always had a gambling problem. This is delightfully illustrated in the opening sequence depicting the gambling Audreys down through the ages. Thus, Mary despises the practice and won't have anything to do with gamblers, except, of course, her grandfather, whom she loves dearly.
Enter dashing Larry Scott (Robert Young), who unbeknown to Mary is a master gambler. Naturally, they fall in love; and when Larry learns how Mary detests gamblers, he vows to abandon his ways and proposes marriage. Mary, meanwhile, learns of his profession, but rather than reject him outright, she makes him prove his reformation before accepting his proposal. That roadblock out of the way, they go to Las Vegas to get married, and the title hints at the events that ensue.
Populated with a number of esteemed character actors of the day, most notably James Gleason, Harry Davenport, Lloyd Corrigan, and the aforementioned Frank Morgan, this film provides a delightful diversion. All in all, however, I have to admit a slight preference for Young and Hale's other flick (even though here they actually kiss).