The Great Sinner

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.

I think a lot of people are looking at this movie like the Twilight Zone episode called "The Fever." They want a short little story about gambling addiction, The End.

I prefer to look at this movie like a "Shakespeare in Love" for Dostoevsky. It has so many little hints about his faith, seizures, and influences on his books. A fan of all his works will catch the obvious inferences (like the ax and the pawn shop, and the scenes straight out of the Gambler). But there are a lot of subtle references to the Idiot and the Brothers Karamizov. The title "The Great Sinner" is a reference to Dostoevsky's planned final works (which included the Bros. K.) but he was unable to finish it. Anyone who is put off by the "heavy handed" religious message of the film obviously has no idea how religious Dostoevsky was. His books are full of redemption by Christ. I think this movie was great. Peck played the part very well. He wasn't supposed to be Alexi from the novel, he is the author. The gambling scenes are intense enough to turn your stomach.

Perhaps it's his fine acting, his delivery style or his distinguished good looks. Whatever it is, Gregory Peck had displayed it in all his films. Here is one of his best, called " The Great Sinner. " If you've read Dostoyevsky's novel 'the Gambler', penned in 1867, you will have a pretty good idea where the movie came from. It's the story of a successful young writer named Fedja (Gregory Peck) who, while traveling through Europe, meets and is immediately struck by Pauline Ostrovsky (Ave Gardner) the daughter of a retired General. Through her, he discovers, she and her father are in great debt to the Casino owner, Armand de Glasse (Melvyn Douglas). Once in love, he realizes there is only one way to win her and that's to pay off her family's notes. With great but innocent naiveté he cautiously enters the world of gambling and is surprised by his extraordinary luck when he continues to win, win and eventually break the bank. Believing he can quit, he begins making plans to wed and move to the countryside. Unfortunately as most gamblers realize there is a subtle, yet, powerful addiction to winning and slowly it compels him to return to the alluring and enticing realm of the roulette wheel. This early Black and White movie is nearly a forgotten Classic of Peck's early career and were it not for his co-stars like, Walter Huston, Ethel Barrymore, Agnes Moorehead and Frank Morgan, it may have remained in obscurity. Instead, this wonderful, (albeit lengthy) and dramatic film has become a milestone for Gregory Peck and one which created an enduring legacy for this great actor. ****

The people who are raking this little gem over the coals must either 1) not really like movies; 2) have seen the film on a bad videotape; or if we want to be generous, 3) be having a bad day.

I just came from a screening of a beautiful 35mm print, and I loved it! LOVED IT! Granted, the Christian allegory is laid on a bit thick at times, but the performances are wonderful, and the story will resonate with anyone mature enough to have grappled with his/her own dark side. It's a story of sacrifice and redemption, truly a battle writ large between good and evil.

I also highly suspect that Jacques Demy's BAY OF ANGELS (1963) is an homage to this film. Both use the casino as an apt metaphor for Hell, and in both films, characters are saved by love.

Siodmak is one of the great, underrated filmmakers of the 1940s, and while I don't like this film quite as much as his films noirs (The Killers, Criss-Cross) or his other masterful period drama, The Spiral Staircase, I do think The Great Sinner will satisfy anyone who appreciates the classical Hollywood style.

Well, if it has Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Melvyn Douglas, Walter Huston, Ethel Barrymore, Frank Morgan, and Agnes Moorehead, I'm there. But the fact is, this costume epic aims for the grandeur and tragedy of 19th century European literature without laying the groundwork. It's a listlessly plotted gambling melodrama, with Noble Writer Peck succumbing to the charms of Gambling Lady Gardner (and she was never more luscious), then reversing roles with her as he becomes addicted to the roulette wheel and she comes to her senses. Some lively bitch-dialogue from Christopher Isherwood helps, and the starry supporting cast contributes incisive miniatures; Barrymore, who pops in 90 minutes into the running time, is a special hoot, subtler and less grand than usual. But as so often happens in late-'40s Hollywood, the production values are stultifying, and a God-will-provide fadeout is tacked on to provide Moral Redemption where there logically should be none. It's a painless two hours, and good for stargazing -- but hardly the serious look at a decadent aristocracy it might have been.