The Gambler and the Lady (1952)

A social-climbing American with a business in illegal gambling falls in love with a blue blood, but gangsters and a jealous ex-girlfriend stand in the way of happiness.

Directors:

Patrick Jenkins, Sam Newfield

Writer:

Sam Newfield

Stars:

Dane Clark, Kathleen Byron, Naomi Chance

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dane Clark	...	Jim Forster
Kathleen Byron	...	Pat
Naomi Chance	...	Lady Susan Willens
Meredith Edwards	...	Dave Davies
Anthony Forwood	...	Lord Peter Willens
Eric Pohlmann	...	Arturo Colonna
Enzo Coticchia	...	Angelo Colonna
Julian Somers	...	Licasi - Club Manager
Anthony Ireland	...	Richard Farning
Thomas Gallagher	...	Sam
Max Bacon	...	Maxie
Mona Washbourne	...	Miss Minter
Jane Griffiths	...	Lady Jane Greer
Richard Shaw	...	Louis
George Pastell	...	Jacko Spina

Storyline

A greedy but successful professional gambler wants to join the British Establishment when he falls in love with a blue-blooded lady. But first he must mend his ways and then dump his nightclub singer girl friend. She's not so easy to get rid of, neither is his past.

---

Plot Keywords:

gambler | gambling | illegal gambling | bounced check | pantomiming a cigarette | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama

---

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 December 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

Morte di un gangster

Filming Locations:

Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Film Productions, Lippert Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

72 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Happy Birthday To You"
(uncredited)
Written by Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill

User Reviews

noir-like drama from Hammer films

There were lots of movies like "The Gambler and the Lady" back in the '50s: low-budget British noir-like films, sometimes detective stories, starring an American second or third-stringer, with the rest of the cast British. Often they're quite entertaining.

"The Gambler and the Lady" is one such film from 1952, produced by Hammer Film, and stars Dane Clark, Kathleen Byron, Naomi Chance, and Anthony Forwood. Forwood, by the way, was a very handsome man who was married to Glynis Johns and then became Dirk Bogarde's partner and manager for 30-plus years.

Clark plays Jim Forster, an American running an illegal gambling houses in England. The story is told in flashback - when the film begins, we see Forster being hit by a car.

Forster, a little rough around the edges, is a social climber, and in fact is taking lessons in social niceties so he can rub elbows with the mucky-mucks. He is dating a dancer at his club, Pat (Byron), who seems to want to get more serious than Forster. One night, she loses her temper at him and he walks out and won't have anything to do with her again.

At his club, he meets Lady Willens (Chance), and though her brother (Forwood) who bounced a check at Forster's club is against him, she starts to see him. Pat becomes jealous and attempts to warn her off.

That's on the personal end. On the professional end, some thug-types want to take over his clubs. When Lady Willens' father talks about a mining deal that promises to be lucrative, Forster thinks he's found a way into the social strata and out of illegal gambling.

Dane Clark had a very prolific 45-year career which, once the '50s hit, was mostly in television. He started out in films as an ersatz John Garfield but never hit those heights. He is well cast in this. Naomi Chance was effective and beautiful as the society woman; she did a lot of this type of movie during her career. The patrician-looking Kathleen Byron (who appeared in "Saving Private Ryan") made a good shrew. Interestingly, all of the lead actors had long, very active careers.

Hammer Films are low budget, yes, but they usually are atmospheric, as this one was, and entertaining. They attempted to copy the American films done by, say, RKO in the '40s, and while not entirely successful, you may enjoy this one.