Gambling Lady

Stanwyck plays an honest gambler and she steals the movie. After she ("Lady" Lee) realizes she can't rely on her gambling father, she meets wealthy Joel McCrea, who is, well, young and smitten. Find acting by all, including Pat O'Brien as Stanwyck's buddy and Sir C. Aubrey Smith as a father figure.

I just saw this movie shortly after seeing "But the Flesh Is Weak" on Turner Classic Movies. Sir C. Aubrey Smith is also in that movie, in which he plays the gambling father of young Robert Montgomery, who is smitten by wealthy Nora Gregor and is buddies with wealthy Heather Thatcher. Both movies have a similar parent-child duo wanting to strike it rich, and the start of each movie is similar. But from there on, they are two very different movies, "Gambling Lady" being a more thoughtful, dramatic film, and "But the Flesh Is Weak" being a romantic romp.

D: Archie Mayo. Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, Pat O'Brien, Claire Dodd, C. Aubrey Smith.

Not a bad romp through every cliche in the mid-depression era: tough dame from the wrong side of the tracks, kind, sympathetic crooks, useless rich people, true love between unlikely lovers, a couple of romantic triangles, tacked-on murder mystery episode, etc. Also, Stanwyck starting to show big doses of the tough-as-nails but soft-hearted street-smart operator she perfected by the time of "The Lady Eve". As always, Barbara Stanwyck is utterly fascinating to watch, talented & lovely, Stanwyck's great forte was her utter believably in any role she undertook.

Directed by Archie Mayo, Gambling Lady was, by Pre-Code standards, a tame romp into the zone where gambling syndicates and high society intersect. When an honest card sharp commits suicide rather than go crooked, his daughter Lady Lee (Stanwyck) steps into his place, winning great sums for herself (and her bosses) while keeping the game fair and square. But when handsome high society swain Garry (McCrea, looking about as good in a tuxedo as is humanly possible) steps into a game, she's smitten - not realizing that their ill-matched pairing between high and low society might be a sucker bet.

Stanwyck didn't think much of Mayo, "a rude, fat man" prone to pinching actresses' bottoms (she grabbed his arm the first - and presumably last - time he tried pinching hers). But the actress liked McCrea. He, in turn, marveled at her professionalism, and how, if a take was blown it was always because of his stumble, not hers. But she also gave him a frank lesson in professionalism the day he was absent from shooting stills of the cast. (It wasn't McCrea's fault - nobody told him about the shoot, especially the publicist who figured no one would miss an RKO actor on loan.) At lunch Stanwyck cornered McCrea. "Where the h e l l were you for stills?" When McCrea shrugged and said they didn't need him, Stanwyck gave him a tongue lashing. "I was in burlesque. We used to have to change our clothes on the train, and our makeup, and we couldn't take a bath and we lived out of a suitcase. You've grown up in California where you go to the beach on your days off and ride the waves, and you're a happy Southern Californian kid. Just get off your big fat a s s and get to work."

McCrea took her candid advice to heart, and he and Stanwyck became great friends during the filming of Gambling Lady.

Gambling Lady(1934) is definitely Art Deco in the decor and you also find Egyptian artifacts on the mantel and other places in the film These types of bric-a-brac were the rage in Hollywood at that time because of the opening of King Tut's tomb in the 1920s. You see many pieces of jewelry and statues, etc. In these 1930s films that link to the Egyptian craze back then. The clean lines of the Art Deco era are also evident in these films. Beautiful! Another excellent flick from one of the most UNcelebrated actresses of the golden age of Hollywood.

Stanwyck shines with her usual talent and beauty as she brightens up another slightly disappointing story. This time she's a trained gambler playing high-stakes poker for the mob. They trick her into cheating and when naive bachelor McCrea leads the cops to her, she's busted. This leads to a set of confusing circumstances, but eventually their marriage, which Stanwyck is willing to sacrifice to free her friend O'Brien.

Doesn't make much sense? Neither does this movie, but it's pretty OK fun and a suitable vehicle for all three stars.

Daughter of a professional gambler, Lady Lee (barbara Stanwyck) is a popular card player among the swells. She catches the eye of Garry Maddison (Joel McCrea )who falls head over heels for her and his father and gambling buddy (C. Aubrey Smith) makes a halfhearted attempt to buy her off more as a test than anything else. Other interested parties, Garry's elitist beau (Claire Dodd) and a fellow card sharp ( Pat O'Brien) whose carrying a torch for Lady are not so happy with the union however. Murder intercedes and Lady's lap of luxury lifestyle may be short lived.

Lady Lee is tailored made for Stanwyck and she dominates the picture with her self assured yet vulnerable style. McCrea and O'Brien bring a touch more complexity to their standard 30s character roles to stave off predictability and Director Archie Mayo provides a few interesting montages and compositions to give Gambling Lady a decent enough look that by the time it reaches it's somewhat contrived finish will not have you feeling cheated.

Gambling Lady (1934)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Warner melodrama has a poker player (Barbara Stanwyck) going to the other side of the tracks by marrying a social boy (Joel McCrea) but she can't get away from her bookie friend (Pat O'Brien). This is a decent little film that only runs 66-minutes so if you're needing time to kill then this movie can fill that void. The movie has a very familiar story and I'm convinced that Warner just re-used this story over and over and just changed the character names. If you've seen one film about a bad girl switching sides then you won't find any shocks here but the three leads keep the film moving well. Stanwyck is once again good in her role as is McCrea but the film certainly belongs to C. Aubrey Smith who plays McCrea's father. His comic timing and mature performance certainly sticks out among the major cast. O'Brien adds nice support in his small role as does Claire Dodd as the woman after McCrea. Again, this quickie really doesn't offer anything new but if you've got time to kill and enjoy the cast it isn't too bad.