''Philo Vance's Gamble'' is a 1947 American

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means ...

directed by

Basil Wrangell Basil Wrangell (born Basilio Petrovich von Wrangell) was an Italian film and television editor and director who worked in Hollywood from the 1920s through the 1970s. Biography Basil was born at the Russian embassy in Ponte a Moriano, Italy, to ...

and starring Alan Curtis,

Vivian Austin Vivian Austin (born Irene Vivian Coe, February 23, 1920 – August 1, 2004) was an American actress who appeared in a number of films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, although most were B movies. Early years Austin was born Irene Vivian Coe in ...

and

Tala Birell Tala may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tala (comics), a fictional character in DC comics *''Tala'', a 1938 volume of poetry by Gabriela Mistral *Tala (music), a rhythmic pattern in Indian classical music * "Tala" (song), by Sarah Geronimo, ...

. It was the first of three films featuring the detective

Philo Vance Philo Vance is a fictional amateur detective originally featured in 12 crime novels by S. S. Van Dine in the 1920s and 1930s. During that time, Vance was immensely popular in books, films, and radio. He was portrayed as a stylish—even foppish— ...

made by the

Producers Releasing Corporation Producers Releasing Corporation was the smallest and least prestigious of the Hollywood film studios of the 1940s. It was considered a prime example of what was called "Poverty Row": a low-rent stretch of Gower Street in Hollywood where shoestr ...

, as part of a loose series of Vance films stretching back to 1929.Backer p.34

Plot

Cast

* Alan Curtis as Philo Vance *

as Laurian March *

Frank Jenks Frank Jenks (November 4, 1902 – May 13, 1962) was an acid-voiced American supporting actor of stage and films. Biography Early years Jenks was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and his mother gave him a trombone when he was 9 years old. By his ...

as Ernie Clark *

as Mrs. Tina Cromwell * Gavin Gordon as Oliver Tennant *

Cliff Clark Cliff Clark (June 10, 1889 – February 8, 1953) was an American actor. He entered the film business in 1937 after a substantial stage career and appeared in over 200 Hollywood films. In the last years of his life, he also played in a numb ...

as Inspector Walsh * James Burke as Lt. Burke * Toni Todd as Geegee Desmond *

Francis Pierlot Francis Pierlot (July 15, 1875 – May 11, 1955) was a stage and film actor with over 90 film credits between 1914 and 1953. The Massachusetts-born actor's first film credit was in 1914, but he did not begin appearing in films full-time until ...

as Roberts the Butler *

Joseph Crehan Joseph A. Creaghan (July 15, 1883 – April 15, 1966) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 300 films between 1916 and 1965, and notably played Ulysses S. Grant nine times between 1939 and 1958, most memorably in ''Union Pac ...

as Dist. Atty. Ellis Mason * Garnett Marks as Charles O'Mara *

Grady Sutton Grady Harwell Sutton (April 5, 1906 – September 17, 1995) was an American film and television character actor from the 1920s to the 1970s. He appeared in more than 180 films. Early years Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Sutton was raised ...

as Mr. Willetts * Charles Mitchell as Guy Harkness * Joanne Frank as Norma Harkness *

Dan Seymour Dan Seymour (February 22, 1915 – May 25, 1993) was an American character actor who frequently played villains in Warner Bros. films. He appeared in several Humphrey Bogart films, including '' Casablanca'' (1942), ''To Have and Have Not ...

as Jeffrey Connor *

Karolyn Grimes Karolyn Grimes (born July 4, 1940) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Zuzu Bailey in the classic 1946 Frank Capra film '' It's a Wonderful Life''. She also played Debby Brougham in the 1947 film ''The Bishop's Wife''. Ca ...

as Pat Roberts

References

Bibliography

* Backer, Ron. ''Mystery Movie Series of 1930s Hollywood''. McFarland, 2012.

External links

* 1947 films 1947 mystery films American mystery films Producers Releasing Corporation films American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films Philo Vance films {{mystery-film-stub