''Gambling Lady'' is a 1934 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

romantic drama film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

directed by

Archie Mayo Archibald L. Mayo (January 29, 1891 – December 4, 1968) was a film director, screenwriter and actor. Early years The son of a tailor, Mayo was born in New York City. After attending the city's public schools, he studied at Columbia Unive ...

, and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea and Pat O'Brien.

Plot

Mike Lee raises his daughter Lady Lee to be as honest a gambler as he is. When he gets too much in debt to the underworld syndicate headed by Jim Fallin, he commits suicide rather than be pressured into running a crooked game. Lady initially goes to work for Fallin, then quits and sets out on her own when he tries to "help" her by providing a crooked dealer. Longtime admirer and bookie Charlie Lang proposes to her, but it is persistent young Garry Madison who wins her heart, despite unknowingly bringing two policemen in disguise to the illegal gambling den where she is playing. She resists marrying him, fearing the reaction of his high society father, Peter, but Garry is pleased to learn that she already knows and likes his father, a fellow gambler. However, Peter does disapprove of the union, offering to buy her off. When she rejects his money, but meekly gives up Garry, Peter realizes he has mistaken her motives. Being a sporting man, he offers to cut cards for his son. He draws a jack, but Lady picks a queen, and the young couple get married. They are happy at first, but then both feel the pangs of jealousy. When Garry's old girlfriend, Sheila Aiken, returns from Europe, he makes the mistake of greeting her too warmly. Lady challenges her to a game of cards and wins her jewelry. When Charlie Lang is arrested, Garry refuses his wife's request for $10,000 to

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Court bail may be offered to secure the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when ...

him out, so she pawns Sheila's jewels to raise the money. Charlie offers to reimburse her, telling her that he intends to pressure the syndicate into paying for his silence about what he knows. Garry becomes incensed when Lady's involvement with Charlie is reported in the newspapers. He goes out to recover the pawn ticket, now in Charlie's hands. Garry does not return that night. The next day, two policemen inform Lady that Garry has been arrested for Charlie's murder, having been seen arguing with him and later being found in possession of the pawn ticket. Lady figures out that Garry spent the night with Sheila but is unwilling to use that as an alibi. Lady sees Sheila, who is willing to testify, but only if Lady divorces her husband and insists on $250,000

alimony Alimony, also called aliment (Scotland), maintenance (England, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Canada, New Zealand), spousal support (U.S., Canada) and spouse maintenance (Australia), is a legal obligation on a person to provide ...

. Lady agrees to her terms. Garry is released and the divorce is granted. Both Garry and Peter believe at first that Lady was in it for the money all along, but when Peter sees her tear up the check, he realizes they were wrong. Garry tricks Sheila into admitting the truth, then reconciles with Lady.

Cast

* Barbara Stanwyck as Lady Lee * Joel McCrea as Garry Madison * Pat O'Brien as Charlie Lang *

Claire Dodd Claire Dodd (born Dorothy Arlene Dodd; December 29, 1911 – November 23, 1973 ) was an American film actress. Early life Dorothy Arlene Dodd was born on December 29, 1911, in Baxter, Iowa, to Walter Willard Dodd, a farmer whose family w ...

as Sheila Aiken * C. Aubrey Smith as Peter *

Robert Barrat Robert Harriot Barrat (July 10, 1891 – January 7, 1970) was an American stage, motion picture, and television character actor. Early years Barratt was born on July 10, 1891 in New York City, and educated in the public schools there. He left ...

as Mike Lee * Arthur Vinton as Fallin * Phillip Reed as Steve * Philip Faversham as Don * Robert Elliott as Graves * Ferdinand Gottschalk as Cornelius *

Willard Robertson Willard Robertson (January 1, 1886 – April 5, 1948) was an American actor and writer. He appeared in more than 140 films from 1924 to 1948. He was born in Runnels, Texas and died in Hollywood, California. Biography Robertson first worked ...

as District Attorney * Huey White as Bodyguard

Reception

Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', called it "a film which is strong on action and weak on plausibility." While he applauded the performances of McCrea and Smith, he only credited Stanwyck with "an adequate portrayal" and thought that Dodd was miscast. According to Warner Bros. records the film earned $495,000 domestically and $158,000 internationally.

References

External links

* * * {{Archie Mayo 1934 films 1934 romantic drama films American black-and-white films American romantic drama films Films directed by Archie Mayo American films about gambling Warner Bros. films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films Films scored by Bernhard Kaun English-language romantic drama films