''The Big Gamble'' is a 1931 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 ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Fred Niblo Fred Niblo (born Frederick Liedtke; January 6, 1874 – November 11, 1948) was an American pioneer film actor, director and producer. Biography He was born Frederick Liedtke (several sources give "Frederico Nobile", apparently erroneously) in Yo ...

and written by

Walter DeLeon Walter DeLeon (May 3, 1884 – August 1, 1947) was an American screenwriter and playwright. Biography Walter DeLeon was born on May 3, 1884, in Oakland, California. DeLeon made his playwright debut at Idora Park in Oakland. He wrote for ...

and F. McGrew Willis. The film stars

William Boyd William, Willie, Will or Bill Boyd may refer to: Academics * William Boyd (educator) (1874–1962), Scottish educator * William Boyd (pathologist) (1885–1979), Scottish-Canadian professor and author * William Alexander Jenyns Boyd (1842–1928), ...

Dorothy Sebastian Dorothy Sebastian (born Stella Dorothy Sabiston; April 26, 1903The book ''Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory'' gives Sebastian's date of birth as April 26, 1907. – April 8, 1957) was an American film and stage actress. Ear ...

Warner Oland Warner Oland (born Johan Verner Ölund; October 3, 1879 – August 6, 1938) was a Swedish-American actor. His career included time on Broadway and numerous film appearances. He is most remembered for playing several Chinese and Chinese-American ...

and

James Gleason James Austin Gleason (May 23, 1882 – April 12, 1959) was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter born in New York City. Gleason often portrayed "tough-talking, world-weary guys with a secret heart-of-gold." Early life Gleason was ...

. The film was released on September 4, 1931 by

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...

Plot

When Alan Beckwith hits rock bottom, he approaches a local Mob boss named North to help him get his affairs in order before he kills himself. If North will stake him for what he owes, he will name him as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy which North can collect on after he commits suicide. North initially rejects the offer, pointing out that a life insurance policy would have a clause in it about suicide, preventing it from paying out before a year and a day, but he later accepts under his own conditions. First, that the price of the policy be raised to $100,000. Second, that Alan live for precisely one year and one day to satisfy the conditions of the policy, and Third, that he marry a woman named Beverly who would then collect on his life insurance policy as a proxy for the payments, and ensure that he doesn't skip town. Alan, having no other options, accepts, and he and Beverly are immediately wed. While Alan is forced to marry for money, Beverly does it to protect her brother, who is also in debt to North, and will be paying back *his* debt with the money she earns from this job "babysitting" Alan. Her brother Johnny initially doesn't understand why his sister married a complete stranger, and gets upset when he discovers she has done it to save him. As time goes by, Alan and Beverly grow fond of each other, and after 6 months they endeavor to work as hard as possible to raise enough money to buy out North so that Alan will not have to die. Amazingly, by December 30th Alan has raised enough money to not only pay North back what he has spent, but to also give him an additional $5,000, however, North refuses the buyout unless Alan can produce the $100,000 that he is worth to him dead. Dejected, Alan returns home and delivers the bad news, which sends Johnny out after North, determined to kill him to save Alan. Johnny is captured, and Alan is too when he arrives to stop him, but after Johnny is taken into a car to "go for a ride", Alan manages to turn the tables on North by grabbing his gun, and they get into a car to pursue Johnny. What follows is a surprisingly exciting car chase down side streets and across train tracks. In the chase, North attempts to get his gun back and falls out of the car in the process, dying. In the end, there is a terrible crash, but Johnny is pulled from the wreckage and makes a recovery while Alan and Beverly embrace their future together.

Cast

* Bill Boyd as Alan Beckwith *

as Squint *

as North *

as Beverly *

Zasu Pitts ZaSu Pitts (; January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) was an American actress who, in a career spanning nearly five decades, starred in many silent film drama film, dramas, such as Erich von Stroheim's 1924 epic ''Greed (1924 film), Greed'', along wi ...

as Nora *

June MacCloy June Mary MacCloy (June 2, 1909 – May 5, 2005) was an American actress and singer in the 1930s and 1940s. Early years The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Louis V. MacCloy, she was born in Sturgis, Michigan, on June 2, 1909, and grew up in Toledo ...

as Mae * William Collier Jr. as Johnnie *

Ralph Ince Ralph Waldo Ince (January 16, 1887 – April 10, 1937) was an American pioneer film actor, director and screenwriter whose career began near the dawn of the silent film, silent film era. Ralph Ince was the brother of John Ince (actor), John E. I ...

as Webb *

Geneva Mitchell Geneva Doris Mitchell (February 3, 1908 – March 10, 1949) was an American actress. After beginning her entertainment career as a chorus girl at the age of twelve, she became more well known for her roles in several Hollywood films. Earl ...

as Trixie * Fred Walton as Butler * Jack Richardson as Gambler (Cast list per

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

database.)

References

External links

* * * 1931 films American black-and-white films Films directed by Fred Niblo American films about gambling RKO Pictures films 1931 drama films American drama films Films scored by Arthur Lange 1930s English-language films 1930s American films English-language drama films {{1930s-drama-film-stub