"The Gambling Ship" is a fun drama that is much more a combination of light crime, mystery, romance and comedy. It is centered around the comedy and romance of two native English actors in the leads - Cary Grant and Benita Hume. This was Grant's twelfth film since crossing the pond to Hollywood, and his star was rising fast. And, it was the 28th film for Benita Hume who started in silent films in England - and only her third film in Hollywood since crossing in 1930 to appear on Broadway.
Grant is Ace Corbin, a big-time gambling operator in Chicago. After he is acquitted of a murder, for which he had been framed by a crooked racketeer, Pete Manning (played by Jack La Rue), Ace decides to go straight. So, he takes a long vacation to California to look around. Boarding the same train is Hume's Eleanor La Valle. After visiting a friend, she is returning home to Los Angeles. Her boyfriend is Joe Burke (played by Arthur Vinton) who owns a gambling ship anchored just outside Long Beach harbor. On a previous trip back East, Eleanor had lured a wealthy "boob" or "sucker" to Burke's ship to drop lots of dough.
As can easily happen with Hollywood, (and since this is a Cary Grant movie) romance strikes! It doesn't bloom, but strikes. Ace and Eleanor fall for one another on the train. Remember, this is 1933, way before air travel took off, so to speak (i.e., became the preferred way to travel). But, since Ace wants to start a new life, and his name was somewhat notorious from the recent trial, he gives Eleanor a different name, Bruce Graham. And, taking a real liking to him, Eleanor wants to keep her past hidden, so she uses her first name but gives him another last name - Eleanor Kenniston. What a great start for a romance, with neither one playing her or his cards straight.
Well, when they get to L. A., an acquaintance and friend from the past looks Ace up. Blooey (played by Roscoe Karns) introduces him to Joe Burke, and Ace (aka, Bruce) learns that Manning is operating a gambling ship near Long Beach as a competitor of Burke's. Still, he wants to go straight, but events transpire all in a day or two that turn things topsy-turvy and involve all of these people and a couple more in some encounters that range from tough hoodlum shenanigans, to sob stories, to action scenes. With many of these laced with subtle humor, irony and surprise, who can find time for romance?
It all makes for a highly entertaining and very enjoyable film. The ending is quite original and a real lulu. I think this is one of Roscoe Karns' best films. He has a meaty, supporting comic role. And, Benita Hume is superb for her comedy. It's very subtle, but she shows marvelous looks and expressions with things that Burke and Corbin say.
Hume was a very good actress, but her career waned over the next few years. She had leads in just three films, and supporting roles in 11 more - a mix of mostly drama, mystery and a couple musicals. In 1931, she divorced her husband from a 1926 marriage in England. In 1938 she married Ronald Colman. They starred in a hit radio series, "The Halls of Ivy" in 1949-51, and then in a TV series of the same name and plot. Colman died in 1958 and the next year, Hume married George Sanders who stayed by her side when she died in 1967 of bone cancer.
Here are some favorite lines from this film.
Ace Corbin, tossing his gun to a friend, "Jimmy, you can add that to your collection." Gunman (played by Frank Moran) looks it over then tosses it into Ace's suitcase and says, "Heh, you better keep it. Even good men have to blast themselves loose sometime."
Jimmy (Gunman), "Whaddaya wanna travel for? As soon as you get outside the city limits, it's all Oshkosh."
Ace Corbin, "You know, back East I'd almost forgotten there were such things as stars and a moon."
Joe Burke, "I wonder why she didn't want me to meet her." Blooey, "Eleanor is a wise girl. I once met a girl on a train and she forgot to wire her husband not to meet her at the station." Burke, "Well, what happened?" Blooey, "All the shots went wild."
Joe Burke, "I've got it. She's got a boob in tow. Remember that sucker she brought in from Milwaukie the last time?" Blooey, "Yeah. Burke, "Sure, it's a bankroll. And boy, how we need it."
Jeanne Sands, "Oh, one of those train romances."
Joe Burke, "Eleanor, you've always shot square with me. That's what makes it so tough what I'm going to tell you. I know it's going to hurt, but the way things are, I think it's best for you to give me up. Call it quits."
Joe Burke, "I'm trying to give you a break. I've scraped up about 900 bucks. Here, you take it. It's enough to get ya to London, Paris, Berlin. You know, they've probably forgotten all about you over there by now."
Telephone Operator (uncredited), "That guy in 412 is sure running a temperature for some gal."
Blooey, "Well, looks like you're going to spend the rest of your vacation dodging Manning." Ace Corbin, "Yeah - looks like it."
Ace Corbin, "Blooey, you go and tell Burke that I'll take over his boat tomorrow night if he'll stay off the ship and let me handle things my own way." Blooey, "Put 'er there, Ace."
Ace Corbin, remembering what Jimmy had told him when he wouldn't accept his pistol, "Sometimes even a good man has to blast his way loose. Boy, I'm gonna have a vacation if I have to kill a few guys."
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