Gambling on the High Seas

It's evident that 'Gambling on the High Seas' was filmed on the fly by Warner, as a double-feature movie for cinema theaters. They just took a successful movie from 5 years before ('Special Agent') and adapted it with really no pretensions.

The story is very good, for starters, about Jim, a crusader-reporter, engaged to end with the gang of Morella, spreading terror in their big town of New England.

The crooks are running a casino-cruiser in nearby international waters, so it's impossible for the authorities to catch them.

Beyond the premise, 'Gambling on the High Seas' is riddled with mistakes in the continuity of the events, in the names of the characters (one of the gangsters ended up played by two different actors), and in its many goofs.

Nonetheless, both technically and about the cast involved, the movie still flaunts all the expertise of Hollywood, and it's very entertaining.

Wayne Morris stars with Jane Wyman and Gilbert Roland in "Gambling on the High Seas," a 1940 second feature from Warner Brothers.

Morris plays a reporter, Jim Carter, and Roland is Morella, a crook who runs a gambling ship with rigged tables. The authorities haven't been able to get enough evidence to convict him.

Carter approaches Morella's secretary, Laurie, who knows plenty. Carter wants proof of the fixed games and also evidence that Morella had his partner, Max Gates, murdered.

Wayne Morris had all kinds of problems with Warner Brothers, and even lost out on the Burt Lancaster role in "The Killers" because Warners wouldn't lend him out. It's a shame - he was cute, had a nice, light presence, and was very boyish. He became well known for westerns until his untimely death.

Wyman is blond, young, and beautiful, and does a good job as Laurie. Gilbert Roland is incredibly handsome as the cruel Morella and is also very good.

Nice cast, very short film, decent story.

Jim Carver, ace reporter, announces his intention to go out and bring down the notorious gambler Morella. His boss tells him: "If you can, Jim, it'll be the greatest story the Journal ever had. But it'll be dangerous!"

Subtle dialog is not among this picture's strengths, but a decent energy level and an interesting cast keep it entertaining.

Gilbert Roland is quite smooth as Morella, the professional criminal who has set up an offshore gambling ship just outside the three-mile police enforcement limit. Everybody knows that Morella is a crook—and is behind at least one murder—but nobody can prove it.

Wayne Morris is big and smiley as reporter Jim; although likable enough, Morris is so cheerful and spouts that good corny dialog with such eagerness that sometimes it's hard not to laugh. For example, when his girlfriend is kidnapped: "I got Laurie into this mess, and if I ever expect her to become Mrs. Jim Carver, I gotta get her out of it."

Jane Wyman is Laurie, the spunky girlfriend who works right on board the gambling ship as Morella's secretary. Wyman hardly appears in the first half of the picture; it's no coincidence that the movie's second half, with Wyman as a major character, is faster moving and just generally much snappier.

Plot and dialog so-so, cast giving it their best shot anyway….It's no classic but that Warner Bros. punch still makes for an entertaining enough 55 minutes.

My favorite exchange— Morris: "You don't pay enough attention to me." Wyman: "What do you want for nothing?"

Gilbert Roland lounges -- although his hair sometimes looks like it's going to leap off his scalp and rend Wayne Morris, who's playing the fast-talking but depressed newspaperman. I don't know why he's depressed, since Jane Wyman is hot for him in her bleached blonde phase, and John Litel is around to add some gravitas.

Warner's crusading Bs were fairly tame and rote by this stage, but this one has a bit of energy.

Found out that Jane Wyman's 30's and early 40 pictures were interesting, so caught this dark horse recently. She does that snappy dialog like no other. There was a lot more of it in some of the detective venues she did for a while ("Crime by Night," "Private Detective"). Old story of an actress/actor getting started in a type, doing it well, and then getting stuck there. It's a wonder they break out, but we know she did. After being featured in this type of picture, Ms. Wyman moved up to better ones, playing the female star's girlfriend and similar for a while. Always strong, more energetic and assertive than her later starring dramatic roles. Of course, there are others of interest in the subject picture. It's a programmer actually, with some good actors on their way up. Those can be a bit of a find at times. The Gilbert Roland character was a change from what we have gotten used to seeing from him. Low key, understated performance. Kind of a relief from the more typical volatile crime boss type. Interesting picture to me for these reasons.