''Third Time Lucky'' (also known as ''They Cracked Her Glass Slipper'' ) is a 1949 British

crime drama film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as drama or gangster film, but al ...

directed by Gordon Parry and starring

Glynis Johns Glynis Margaret Payne Johns (5 October 1923 – 4 January 2024) was a British actress. In a career exceeding seven decades on stage and screen, Johns appeared in more than 60 films and 30 plays. She received various accolades throughout her ca ...

Dermot Walsh Dermot Walsh (10 September 1924 – 26 June 2002) was an Irish stage, film and television actor, known for portraying King Richard the Lionheart in the 1962 television series '' ''Richard the Lionheart'. Early life Born in Dublin, Ireland, ...

and

Charles Goldner Charles Goldner (7 December 1900 - 15 April 1955) was an Austrian-born actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditio ...

;

Michael Hordern Sir Michael Murray Hordern (3 October 19112 May 1995) was an English actor. He is best known for his Shakespearean roles, especially King Lear. He often appeared in film, rising from a bit part actor to leading roles; by the time of his death ...

appears in a small uncredited role. The film was produced by

Mario Zampi Mario Zampi (1 November 19032 December 1963) was an Italian film producer and director. A co-founder of Two Cities Films, a British production company, he is most closely associated with British comedies of the 1950s. He later formed his own film ...

and released by

General Film Distributors General Film Distributors (GFD), later known as J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors and Rank Film Distributors Ltd., was a British Empire, British film distribution company based in London. It was active between 1935 and 1996, and from 1937 it was p ...

. It was written by Gerald Butler based on his 1941 novel '' They Cracked Her Glass Slipper.''

Premise

A compulsive gambler falls in love with a woman, and believes she is bringing him luck. Unfortunately, she catches the eye of one of his gambling rivals who has set out to ruin him.

Cast

as Joan Burns *

as Lucky *

as Flash Charles *

Harcourt Williams Ernest George Harcourt Williams (30 March 1880 – 13 December 1957) was an English actor and director. After early experience in touring companies he established himself as a character actor and director in the West End. From 1929 to 1934 he ...

as Doc * Yvonne Owen as Peggy *

Helen Haye Helen Haye (born Helen Hay, 28 August 1874 – 1 September 1957) was a British stage and film actress.
New York Times. 3 Septem ...

as old lady * John Stuart as Inspector * Harold Berens as young waiter *

Ballard Berkeley Ballard Blascheck (6 August 1904 – 16 January 1988), known professionally as Ballard Berkeley, was an English actor of stage and screen. He is best remembered for playing Major Gowen in the British television sitcom ''Fawlty Towers''. Life a ...

as Bertram * Sebastian Cabot as Benny Bennett *Bruce Walker as Jimmy *Marianne Deeming as Madame Therese *Millicent Wolf as Matron *Jean Short as nurse *

as 2nd doctor (uncredited) *Edna Kaye as girl crooner *Jack Tottenham as chief croupier *Tom Block as dice croupier

Production

It was shot at

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

and

Southall Studios Southall Studios was a film studio located in Southall, Middlesex (now West London) which operated between 1924 and 1958. The studio was a vibrant and productive part of Southall's cultural history. At its peak – in the early 1950s – the fi ...

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: Central London, N ...

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "The story is novelletish, and the characters are completely artificial. Glynis Johns, as Joan, wears a look of blank astonishment throughout and Dermot Walsh makes the most of the unrewarding part of Lucky, but Harcourt Williams acts everyone off the screen as the drunken old doctor." ''

Kine Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. Etymology The word Kinematograph was derived from the Greek ' Kinumai ', (to move, to be in motion, to ...

'' wrote: "Glynis Johns 'never suggests as Joan, the type of girl who would follow a gambler round London's shady night spots and Dermot Walsh, as Lucky, looks even less like a tough punter. Charles Goldner is not much better as Flash, and Harold ('wot a geezer') Berens completely misfires as Cockney-Italian waiter." '' Picture Show'' wrote: "Unconvincing melodrama, set in an unconvincing underworld." ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' gave the film two out of four stars, and called it an "average British programmer". In ''The

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

Guide to Films'' David Parkinson gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Dermot Walsh and Glynis Johns just don't set the screen alight and similarly Gordon Parry (in fairness, directing only his second feature) fails to capture the seedy world of gambling dens and backstreet drinking joints. The ending is corny and moralising."

External links

*
Review of film
at ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

References

1940s British films 1940s English-language films 1949 crime drama films 1949 films British black-and-white films British crime drama films British films about gambling Films based on works by Gerald Butler Films directed by Gordon Parry Films scored by Stanley Black Films set in London Films shot at Southall Studios Films shot at Twickenham Film Studios Films with screenplays by Gerald Butler English-language crime drama films {{Authority control