A young writer (Gregory Peck) goes to Wiesbaden to write about gambling and gamblers, he helps a beautiful woman (Ava Gardner) to leave the game , only to ultimately become a compulsive gambler himself . He finds that the only people who will have anything to do with him are those to whom he owes money . Losing all his wealth, as well as his moral fibre, carries out the definitive degradation of robbing a church poor box in order to feed his compulsion . Eventually , he decides to make a big score to win big and pay off everyone to stay alive and keep his dignity and come out ahead. Possessed by a power more devastating than the seven deadly sins! He Gambled His Life on Her Love!
An entertaining and enjoyable period piece , this film does an admirable and adequate job of portraying the addictive aspect of gambling, tempting and drawing the roles as well as the viewer , into the world of casinos frequently by the rich, the curious and the desperate. It displays a murky romance lavishly financed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and producer Gottfried Reinhardt meandering along with a love story of Gregory Peck saving Ava Gardner from drowning in gambling fever , then catching it himself . A sad and some depressing movie in which the great main and support cast give stunning interpretations . Dealing with a writer who has the gambling vice , when he has lost all of his money, he borrows from his girlfriend, and finally a bad guy , as his habit becomes an incurable disease , despite all of this, he cannot stop gambling . But just as intriguing and attractive is the secondary plot of this picture , which looks in the complexities of relationships of some of the roles involved in the gambling and how easily it escalates beyond the imagination of those partaking in such thrills . Main cast as Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner are frankly well , being accompanied by a top-noth secondary cast , such as : Melvyn Douglas , Walter Huston, Ethel Barrymore , Frank Morgan , Agnes Moorehead , Friedrich von Ledebur , among others . Loosely based on Fyodor Dostoevsky novel "The Gambler" with interesting screenplay from Christopher Isherwood , René Fülöp-Miller and Ladislas Fodor . This Fyodor Dostoyevsky novel has been also adapted as The Gambler (1974) by Karel Reisz with James Caan , Paul Sorvino , Lauren Hutton ; The Gambler (1997) with Michael Gambon , Jodhi May , Polly Walker, Dominic West and The Gambler (2014) by Rupert Wyatt with Mark Wahlberg , George Kennedy , Griffin Cleveland, Jessica Lange.
It contains an atmospheric cinematography in black and white by George Folsey with plenty of lights and shades. As well an evocative and rousing musical score by Bronislau Kaper . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Robert Siodmak (and uncredited Mervyn LeRoy) who realizes a skillful filmmaking , though it failed at the box office , resulting to be one of the less known movies played by Gregory Peck. Robert made important works in the American-Hollywood cinema and had an inferior European-German career . Siodmak directed Burt Lancaster in two classic Noir films titled ¨The Killers¨ and ¨Criss Cross¨, his two better movies. Siodmak had a long career , as Robert was a good director who made a lot of films in all kinds of genres as ¨Quick¨, ¨Son of Dracula¨, ¨Christmas holidays¨, ¨The strange affair of uncle Harry¨, ¨The file of Thelma Jordan¨, ¨The great sinner¨, ¨The crimson pirate¨, ¨The devil strikes at night¨, ¨Custer of the west¨ . Outstanding in Noir Film as ¨Phantom lady¨, ¨Criss cross¨, ¨The suspect¨, ¨The dark mirror¨, ¨The killers¨, ¨Cry of the city¨, among others . It's a good film that ensures the nervous tension never lets up from the first moment and realized in efficient style by Robert Siodmak , then at the peak of his Hollywood career . The picture will appeal to Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner fans . Rating : 6.5/10 . Better than average . Worthwhile watching.
An entertaining and enjoyable period piece , this film does an admirable and adequate job of portraying the addictive aspect of gambling, tempting and drawing the roles as well as the viewer , into the world of casinos frequently by the rich, the curious and the desperate. It displays a murky romance lavishly financed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and producer Gottfried Reinhardt meandering along with a love story of Gregory Peck saving Ava Gardner from drowning in gambling fever , then catching it himself . A sad and some depressing movie in which the great main and support cast give stunning interpretations . Dealing with a writer who has the gambling vice , when he has lost all of his money, he borrows from his girlfriend, and finally a bad guy , as his habit becomes an incurable disease , despite all of this, he cannot stop gambling . But just as intriguing and attractive is the secondary plot of this picture , which looks in the complexities of relationships of some of the roles involved in the gambling and how easily it escalates beyond the imagination of those partaking in such thrills . Main cast as Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner are frankly well , being accompanied by a top-noth secondary cast , such as : Melvyn Douglas , Walter Huston, Ethel Barrymore , Frank Morgan , Agnes Moorehead , Friedrich von Ledebur , among others . Loosely based on Fyodor Dostoevsky novel "The Gambler" with interesting screenplay from Christopher Isherwood , René Fülöp-Miller and Ladislas Fodor . This Fyodor Dostoyevsky novel has been also adapted as The Gambler (1974) by Karel Reisz with James Caan , Paul Sorvino , Lauren Hutton ; The Gambler (1997) with Michael Gambon , Jodhi May , Polly Walker, Dominic West and The Gambler (2014) by Rupert Wyatt with Mark Wahlberg , George Kennedy , Griffin Cleveland, Jessica Lange.
It contains an atmospheric cinematography in black and white by George Folsey with plenty of lights and shades. As well an evocative and rousing musical score by Bronislau Kaper . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Robert Siodmak (and uncredited Mervyn LeRoy) who realizes a skillful filmmaking , though it failed at the box office , resulting to be one of the less known movies played by Gregory Peck. Robert made important works in the American-Hollywood cinema and had an inferior European-German career . Siodmak directed Burt Lancaster in two classic Noir films titled ¨The Killers¨ and ¨Criss Cross¨, his two better movies. Siodmak had a long career , as Robert was a good director who made a lot of films in all kinds of genres as ¨Quick¨, ¨Son of Dracula¨, ¨Christmas holidays¨, ¨The strange affair of uncle Harry¨, ¨The file of Thelma Jordan¨, ¨The great sinner¨, ¨The crimson pirate¨, ¨The devil strikes at night¨, ¨Custer of the west¨ . Outstanding in Noir Film as ¨Phantom lady¨, ¨Criss cross¨, ¨The suspect¨, ¨The dark mirror¨, ¨The killers¨, ¨Cry of the city¨, among others . It's a good film that ensures the nervous tension never lets up from the first moment and realized in efficient style by Robert Siodmak , then at the peak of his Hollywood career . The picture will appeal to Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner fans . Rating : 6.5/10 . Better than average . Worthwhile watching.