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Men of Chance

  • 1931
  • Passed
  • 1h 7m
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
256
YOUR RATING
Men of Chance (1931)
Drama

Hoping to get even with gambler/bookie Johnny Silk, racetrack owners and partners Dorval and Farley convince down-and-out Martha Preston to pose as a rich, single French countess, whom Silk ... Read allHoping to get even with gambler/bookie Johnny Silk, racetrack owners and partners Dorval and Farley convince down-and-out Martha Preston to pose as a rich, single French countess, whom Silk falls in love with and asks to marry. After the marriage Martha, who has genuinely fallen ... Read allHoping to get even with gambler/bookie Johnny Silk, racetrack owners and partners Dorval and Farley convince down-and-out Martha Preston to pose as a rich, single French countess, whom Silk falls in love with and asks to marry. After the marriage Martha, who has genuinely fallen in love with Silk, innocently feeds his inside betting information to Dorval, causing Silk... Read all

  • Director
    • George Archainbaud
  • Writers
    • Louis Weitzenkorn
    • Louis Stevens
    • Eddie Welch
  • Stars
    • Ricardo Cortez
    • Mary Astor
    • John Halliday
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.9/10
    256
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • George Archainbaud
    • Writers
      • Louis Weitzenkorn
      • Louis Stevens
      • Eddie Welch
    • Stars
      • Ricardo Cortez
      • Mary Astor
      • John Halliday
    • 12User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos7

    Mary Astor, Ricardo Cortez, and Kitty Kelly in Men of Chance (1931)
    Mary Astor and Ricardo Cortez in Men of Chance (1931)
    Mary Astor, Ricardo Cortez, and Kitty Kelly in Men of Chance (1931)
    Mary Astor and Ricardo Cortez in Men of Chance (1931)
    Ricardo Cortez in Men of Chance (1931)
    Mary Astor, Ricardo Cortez, and John Halliday in Men of Chance (1931)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ricardo Cortez
    Ricardo Cortez
    • Johnny Silk
    Mary Astor
    Mary Astor
    • Marthe
    John Halliday
    John Halliday
    • Dorval
    Ralph Ince
    Ralph Ince
    • Farley
    Kitty Kelly
    Kitty Kelly
    • Gertie
    James Donlan
    James Donlan
    • Clark
    George Davis
    George Davis
    • The Frenchman
    Herman Bing
    Herman Bing
    • Fritz Tannenbaum
    • (uncredited)
    Lynton Brent
    Lynton Brent
    • One of Johnny's Bookies
    • (uncredited)
    André Cheron
    • French Detective
    • (uncredited)
    Jean De Briac
    Jean De Briac
    • Hotel Manager
    • (uncredited)
    Tom Herbert
    • One of Johnny's Bookies
    • (unconfirmed)
    • (uncredited)
    John Larkin
    John Larkin
    • Black Horse Handler
    • (uncredited)
    Carl M. Leviness
    Carl M. Leviness
    • Bookie Customer
    • (uncredited)
    Tom McGuire
    Tom McGuire
    • Race Track Bookie
    • (uncredited)
    Harold Miller
    Harold Miller
    • Racetrack Spectator
    • (uncredited)
    Frank Mills
    Frank Mills
    • Tony - One of Johnny's Bookies
    • (uncredited)
    Edmund Mortimer
    Edmund Mortimer
    • Racetrack Spectator
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • George Archainbaud
    • Writers
      • Louis Weitzenkorn
      • Louis Stevens
      • Eddie Welch
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The 5,000 franc bet Johnny makes about what drink will be ordered next would equate to about $200 at the time, or about $3,850 in 2022.
    • Goofs
      Martha hears music being played out on the street and goes to the window and looks down. She then throws a coin down to them. The violinist goes to pick up the coin from the sidewalk. However, the coin was already there in the first shot, before Martha throws it.
    • Quotes

      Gertie: Say, listen, if you keep talkin' Greek to me Napoleon, I'm gonna knock every bone apart. Get it?

      The Frenchman: Bone apart? Oh! Napoleon Bonaparte! C'est moi! Oui! Oui!

    • Soundtracks
      El Capitan
      (1896) (uncredited)

      Music by John Philip Sousa

      Played at the racetrack

    User reviews12

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Implausible, but get a load of Mary
    She's a starving artist in a fetching studio-bound Paris, entrapped for soliciting (Implausibility #1) and bailed out by John Halliday, who sees something.unique in her and offers to set her up as a countess, a disguise nobody bothers to look into (Implausibility #2). In that guise she meets a smitten Ricardo Cortez, who falls instantly in love with her and demands that they get married (Implausibility #3), taking her best pal (a fun Kitty Kelly), who's been posing as her maid, along on the honeymoon (Implausibility #4). Cortez, who's at his most boisterous and leading-man-handsome here, is a gambler and horse aficionado, which leads to Mary innocently feeding info to Halliday that ruins Cortez, who instantly turns on her and throws her out (Implausibility #5), until she engineers a way of turning around her innocent mistake. It's not, in short, credible, but the two stars are photogenic, and Astor already owns the screen, offering a layered performance of a not very layered character. The horse racing sequences are exciting, and the horse Cortez bets it all on is a real beauty; the scene between him and the horse is truly touching. I'd expected this to be Warners, but it's RKO, and it's a good-looking, lively early talkie. With many implausibilities.
    helpful•7
    0
    • marcslope
    • Feb 2, 2022

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 8, 1932 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Exposed
    • Filming locations
      • Hippodrome de Longchamp, Route des Tribunes, Bois de Boulogne, Paris 16, Paris, France(horse race track - archive footage)
    • Production company
      • RKO Radio Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 7 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.20 : 1

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