Young girls are cheated in rigged gambling games and then forced into prostitution to pay off their debts.Young girls are cheated in rigged gambling games and then forced into prostitution to pay off their debts.Young girls are cheated in rigged gambling games and then forced into prostitution to pay off their debts.
Edward Keane
- District Attorney
- (as Ed. Keane)
Janet Eastman
- Blonde with Drunk in Bar
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe dive restaurant where Carolyn goes slumming is the same one that appears in the opening scenes of Marihuana (1936) (it also appears as a saloon in the Bob Steele western The Feud Maker (1938)). The house that Mae and her husband share also appears in Slaves in Bondage (1937) and the vanity set in Mae's bedroom also shows up in Reefer Madness (1936), where it's also owned by a character named Mae.
- GoofsDuring the police raid at the beginning of the film, a fat man hides under the bed, and is brought out by a cop. During this entire scene, the shadow of the microphone is plainly visible on the left wall of the set.
- Quotes
Attorney: There's nothing I can do.
Dr. Miller: [holding his wife's hands in his] Yes, there is! You can give me back my wife!
Attorney: I'm sorry, but that has to be decided by a judge and a jury.
- ConnectionsEdited into Teen Age (1943)
Featured review
Dark morality story
GAMBLING WITH SOULS is one of many "morality" shockers that were made in the 1930s. Ostensibly these were films designed to educate the viewing public about the dangers of drugs, vice, and sex, but in reality they were lurid little potboilers whose posters screamed sensationalism.
GAMBLING WITH SOULS is the first of these I've watched (it won't be the last) and it's a surprisingly well-made little film for the most part. Clearly this was done on a low budget, but the production values are fairly strong; there are lots of scenes set in bustling casinos and with lots of extras in the background. The narrative is well-constructed, with a mystery court-case bookending the tale told in flashback; it concerns a young woman, addicted to gambling, who is forced into prostitution in order to pay off her debts.
The cast is undistinguished but the material still holds a certain significance to this day - it's amazing how non-dated this feels, especially in comparison to the creaky likes of Lugosi's Dracula made the same decade - and it's fast-paced enough to retain the attention span of even the modern viewer.
GAMBLING WITH SOULS is the first of these I've watched (it won't be the last) and it's a surprisingly well-made little film for the most part. Clearly this was done on a low budget, but the production values are fairly strong; there are lots of scenes set in bustling casinos and with lots of extras in the background. The narrative is well-constructed, with a mystery court-case bookending the tale told in flashback; it concerns a young woman, addicted to gambling, who is forced into prostitution in order to pay off her debts.
The cast is undistinguished but the material still holds a certain significance to this day - it's amazing how non-dated this feels, especially in comparison to the creaky likes of Lugosi's Dracula made the same decade - and it's fast-paced enough to retain the attention span of even the modern viewer.
helpful•40
- Leofwine_draca
- Aug 20, 2015
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- The Vice Racket
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 10 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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