The Gambler and the Lady

In 1950, American producer Robert Lippert formed a business alliance with Hammer studios. Under the agreement, Lippert would provide American acting talent - frequently shop-worn stars or just supporting actors who fancied a profitable trip out of the country - while Hammer would supply the rest of the cast and the production facilities. Together they would split the profits. Famous for his concern with the bottom line, Lippert produced over 140 films between 1946 and 1955, characteristically genre pieces such as I Shot Jesse James or Rocketship XM. For the British deal, most of the films were noir-ish thrillers - and include this title.

Dane Clark, who appeared in several of these productions, plays the doomed gambler in question: a self made man, running a profitable London set up into which rudely intrudes his aspirational love life and the aggressive ambitions of some Italian gangster interlopers. His social climbing ultimately proves the straw that breaks the camel's back. Many of the British noirs interestingly import class considerations into the dramatic mix, concerns that are usually absent in the American model, and they are seen most strongly in this title. The gambler's end is ultimately determined by the suckering in of social mobility as much as the machinations of fate - but not before there is some effective sniping at the rudeness and untrustworthiness of the British ruling classes. Clark cuts a suitably doomed and somewhat pathetic figure as he struggle to gain acceptance.

There's plenty of crime in this Lippert picture. It opens with a well shot killing that is not clear till well into the movie. Dane Clark is the star. He was a staple of film noir. Here, we also see him in a top hat!

Yes, the subject is more class than crime. Clark is the gambler of the tile. (The female title character doesn't appear till almost half an hour into the movie.) He's an American but he wants to fit in in England. He's taking lessons in deportment from a caricature of a British lady.

He has a Scottish pal (Meredith Edwards) who is put forward as his butler. He longs to become accepted by nobility.

The supporting cast is good. The woman he falls for is not particularly charismatic but she's attractive. The more conventionally low-life types are plausible.

The dialog contains a lot of blatant exposition: "It's hard to believe that X years ago I was in Y with Z and while A B were ..."

It's well shot and holds the attention. But it's nothing to write (back) home about.

A social-climbing American (Dane Clark) with a business in illegal gambling falls in love with a blue blood (Naomi Chance), but gangsters and a jealous ex-girlfriend (Kathleen Byron) stand in the way of happiness.

"The Gambler and the Lady" is a typically weak attempt by the Hammer studio to replicate American crime films. A mildly exciting climax (part of which is shown at the beginning) is the only thing that livens up this dull affair. I would have liked to see more of Percy Marmont, who was so good as Col. Burgoyne in Alfred Hitchcock's "Young and Innocent." Here he only gets a brief part as Chance's father.

American ex-con and illegal gambling boss has jumped the pond over the England to escape his tainted past and get accepted into society. Played by Dane Cook he's an alright guy but for me lacks the charisma that would have two dames fighting over him. The female co-leads played by Bryon and Chance are individually kind of interesting characters but the struggle between them is never really developed, outside on one juicy, near catfight scene, they are both wasted in this uninspired script. Too much time is wasted on the relationships between Cook and his two sidekicks, who are both completely uninteresting and don't add all that much to the film. It's a shame because all the elements are here for something much more that what is delivered.

There were lots of movies like "The Gambler and the Lady" back in the '50s: low-budget British noir-like films, sometimes detective stories, starring an American second or third-stringer, with the rest of the cast British. Often they're quite entertaining.

"The Gambler and the Lady" is one such film from 1952, produced by Hammer Film, and stars Dane Clark, Kathleen Byron, Naomi Chance, and Anthony Forwood. Forwood, by the way, was a very handsome man who was married to Glynis Johns and then became Dirk Bogarde's partner and manager for 30-plus years.

Clark plays Jim Forster, an American running an illegal gambling houses in England. The story is told in flashback - when the film begins, we see Forster being hit by a car.

Forster, a little rough around the edges, is a social climber, and in fact is taking lessons in social niceties so he can rub elbows with the mucky-mucks. He is dating a dancer at his club, Pat (Byron), who seems to want to get more serious than Forster. One night, she loses her temper at him and he walks out and won't have anything to do with her again.

At his club, he meets Lady Willens (Chance), and though her brother (Forwood) who bounced a check at Forster's club is against him, she starts to see him. Pat becomes jealous and attempts to warn her off.

That's on the personal end. On the professional end, some thug-types want to take over his clubs. When Lady Willens' father talks about a mining deal that promises to be lucrative, Forster thinks he's found a way into the social strata and out of illegal gambling.

Dane Clark had a very prolific 45-year career which, once the '50s hit, was mostly in television. He started out in films as an ersatz John Garfield but never hit those heights. He is well cast in this. Naomi Chance was effective and beautiful as the society woman; she did a lot of this type of movie during her career. The patrician-looking Kathleen Byron (who appeared in "Saving Private Ryan") made a good shrew. Interestingly, all of the lead actors had long, very active careers.

Hammer Films are low budget, yes, but they usually are atmospheric, as this one was, and entertaining. They attempted to copy the American films done by, say, RKO in the '40s, and while not entirely successful, you may enjoy this one.