The Great Sinner (1949)

A young writer goes to Wiesbaden to write about gambling and gamblers, only to ultimately become a compulsive gambler himself. Losing all his wealth, as well as his moral fibre, he commits ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Siodmak

Writers:

Ladislas Fodor (screenplay), Christopher Isherwood (screenplay)

Stars:

Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Melvyn Douglas

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gregory Peck	...	Fedja
Ava Gardner	...	Pauline Ostrovsky
Melvyn Douglas	...	Armand de Glasse
Walter Huston	...	General Ostrovsky
Ethel Barrymore	...	Grandmother Ostrovsky
Frank Morgan	...	Aristide Pitard
Agnes Moorehead	...	Emma Getzel
Friedrich von Ledebur	...	Casino Secretary (as Frederick Ledebur)
Ludwig Donath	...	Doctor
Curt Bois	...	Jeweler / Money Lender
Ludwig Stössel	...	Hotel Manager
Ernö Verebes	...	Hotel Valet (as Erno Verebes)

Storyline

A young writer goes to Wiesbaden to write about gambling and gamblers, only to ultimately become a compulsive gambler himself. Losing all his wealth, as well as his moral fibre, he commits the ultimate degradation of robbing a church poor box in order to feed his compulsion.

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Plot Keywords:

gambler | compulsive gambler | writer | gambling | train | 

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Taglines:

Possessed by a power more devastating than the seven deadly sins!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 June 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Gamblers

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,075,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,041,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Deborah Kerr was initially scheduled to co-star with Peck. Then Lana Turner was slotted for the role, and then withdrawn from the production due to her extended European honeymoon with Henry J. Tipping. Finally, Ava Gardner was cast.

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Goofs

On numerous occasions during the long Roulette game when the "No more bets" call is made, the wheel is shown to be turning pretty slowly; yet immediately afterwards as the ball is getting ready to drop into the slot, the wheel is suddenly turning much more rapidly.

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Quotes

Pauline Ostrovsky: Oh, you can count on my vanity. No matter what you say I'll regard it as a compliment.
Fedja: All right, if you insist. To one of the most corrupt women I've ever met.
Pauline Ostrovsky: Corrupt?
Fedja: Corrupt, confused, frustrated, and empty.
Pauline Ostrovsky: But in a charming sort of way, you'll admit.
Fedja: Well charm, my dear is your gambling capital. You toss it on the table like money, like everything else, even a dying grandmother.
Pauline Ostrovsky: When a man takes the trouble to be so rude to a woman, he is usually falling in love with her.
Fedja: You're not a ...
[...]

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Connections

Featured in Some of the Best: Twenty-Five Years of Motion Picture Leadership (1949)

User Reviews

Hollywood reworking of Dostoyevsky's "The Gambler"

At first glance, the writers of this unusual Hollywood film took the characters, location, period and premise of Dostoyevsky's novel "The Gambler" and reworked them in outrageous fashion in order to bring even more sex, moralizing guilt, titillation, debauchery and fun into the mix. It works and is very entertaining on that level. Anyone curious about the real thing might want to check out the French film "Le Joueur" by Claude Autant-Lara (1958), starring Gérard Philipe, which actually names it source, and its innumerable remakes. On the plus side, it gives Ava Gardner one of her most articulate roles and composer Bronislau Kaper a chance to incorporate a record number of light classics into his score.