Lady Luck

Some really great names in here... if you have the patience to stick with it, you'll have fun and be entertained! Robert Young (Marcus Welby), Frank Morgan (the Wizard!), James Gleason always played the police detective, sometimes wise, sometimes bumbling. Dick Elliot (the mayor, from Andy Griffith) is the short guy on a winning streak. Barbara Hale is Mary, the new wife, determined to keep her new husband (Young) away from his gambling habit. The film has its ups and downs, and they need to learn to trust each other, as newlyweds always do! Keep an eye out for harry davenport, the clever, old judge. He had been in SO many big films in a supporting role, always the wise, knowing father or grandfather. Frank Morgan really spices up the film... it would have been boring and annoying without him as the sympathetic character here. There's so much arguing and mis-understanding going on, it needed some lightening up, and Morgan always brings that. Shown on Turner Classics.

This is the first of two pairings of Robert Young and Barbara Hale as romantic leads in a comedy. This, however, takes a slightly more serious tone than the other ("And Baby Makes Three", made three years later), although both films deal with serious subjects (gambling here, divorce there) in a lighthearted way. (The films are not related in either characters or subject.)

Hale's character, Mary Audrey, comes from a long line of "Mary Audreys" whose elder male relative (grandfather William Audrey, played in his typical lovable way by Frank Morgan) has always had a gambling problem. This is delightfully illustrated in the opening sequence depicting the gambling Audreys down through the ages. Thus, Mary despises the practice and won't have anything to do with gamblers, except, of course, her grandfather, whom she loves dearly.

Enter dashing Larry Scott (Robert Young), who unbeknown to Mary is a master gambler. Naturally, they fall in love; and when Larry learns how Mary detests gamblers, he vows to abandon his ways and proposes marriage. Mary, meanwhile, learns of his profession, but rather than reject him outright, she makes him prove his reformation before accepting his proposal. That roadblock out of the way, they go to Las Vegas to get married, and the title hints at the events that ensue.

Populated with a number of esteemed character actors of the day, most notably James Gleason, Harry Davenport, Lloyd Corrigan, and the aforementioned Frank Morgan, this film provides a delightful diversion. All in all, however, I have to admit a slight preference for Young and Hale's other flick (even though here they actually kiss).

There was a lot to "Lady Luck" that I liked. However, unlike the other reviews, I felt that the movie went on way too long and after a while I just wanted it all to end. At best, I see it as a time-passer.

When the film begins, there's a prologue where you see relatives of the main characters (actually played by the main characters, Barbara Hale and Frank Morgan) screwing up their lives by compulsive gambling. Now, the film jumps to the present day and Mary (Hale) is at her wits end due to her Grandfather's gambling (Morgan). She is determined NEVER to marry a gambler...and, not surprisingly, meets Scott (Robert Young)...who is a professional gambler. However, he promises never to gamble again and soon the pair marry. On their honeymoon, only a few hours after their wedding, Mary catches Scott gambling. He thinks it's all for a good cause...she will hear none of his excuses. The film is essentially about the long detour the film takes until the pair are eventually reunited.

So why was I disappointed by the movie? It's because what was going to happen was so obvious and so early on...but it seemed to take forever getting there. In addition, through the process it was rather tough to like the characters. Overall, an excellent idea indifferently executed.

Mary Audrey (Barbara Hale) hates gambling and tries to reform her grandfather (Frank Morgan). Generation after generation, the Audrey women always try and fail to stop the Audrey patriarch from gambling the family fortune away. Professional gambler Larry Scott (Robert Young) falls for her.

These are well-known stars. Young and Hale would gain more fame later on. They are both cute enough and have a 50's romance. It's not the most sexual in chemistry. It's all about the gambling and the switches. This could be more fun but whatever.

Two actors who went on to make names for themselves in television, Robert Young and Barbara Hale, star in "Lady Luck," a 1946 film with a cast that includes Frank Morgan, Lloyd Corrigan, and James Gleason.

Hale is Mary Audrey, who comes from a long line of gamblers and hates the pastime. When she meets and falls in love with gambler Larry Scott (Young), he swears off gambling in order to win her. The two marry and go to a hotel in...Las Vegas.

While Mary is off buying a negligee for her wedding night, Larry wanders into the casino, gives a gambler wrong advice, and the man loses his money. Larry becomes determined to win it back for him. Mary sees him in the casino and is devastated. She's so devastated that when she meets an attorney at the hotel, she files for divorce and gets another room in the hotel.

This is a pleasant comedy with two affable stars and a fine roster of character actors. Young of course was a television star par excellence, with both Father Knows Best and Marcus Welby during his 60-year career, and Barbara Hale spent the most memorable part of her career as Perry Mason's secretary Della Street in the Perry Mason series. At 92, she's still with us.

Two charming actors in a a pleasant film.