Lady Luck (1946 film)
| Lady Luck | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Edwin L. Marin |
| Screenplay by | Lynn Root Frank Fenton |
| Story by | Herbert Clyde Lewis |
| Produced by | Warren Duff |
| Starring | Robert Young Barbara Hale Frank Morgan |
| Cinematography | Lucien Andriot |
| Edited by | Ralph Dawson |
| Music by | Leigh Harline |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $877,000[2] |
Lady Luck is a 1946 American comedy film directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring Robert Young, Barbara Hale and Frank Morgan.[3][4] It was produced and distributed by RKO Pictures. The picture tells the story of a professional gambler who falls in love with a woman who hates gambling and tries to reform him.
Plot
Mary Audrey cannot stand gambling. Her grandfather, William, whom she calls "Gramps," is a compulsive gambler. Mary puts him to work in her Beverly Hills book store to try to keep him away from his bad habit.
A professional gambler, Larry Scott, places a $200 wager with Gramps, who cannot pay up when Larry's horse wins. Larry falls for Mary, however, woos and weds her, then takes her for a Las Vegas honeymoon.
He reveals his real profession, but promises to give it up. However, he feels guilty for making a gambler lose all his money (around $80), so he plays craps until, after much effort, he wins the money back. Mary sees him doing so (without knowing the reason why) and angrily gets a quick divorce.
Sacramento Sam, a gambler pal of Larry's, hatches a scheme to turn her into a gambler, recruiting suave con man Dan Morgan to romance her and gradually get her to gamble. He gets a casino to let her win $500; Sam and Larry's other friends agree to reimburse the casino. However, Mary goes on a genuine epic winning streak and will not quit. Sam and the others go broke covering her winnings. She even wins a casino of her own and starts running it.
Larry returns to Beverly Hills, where he finds Gramps running a bookie operation out of the book store. Larry goes back to Vegas to try to persuade Mary to give up gambling. When he sees her in her hotel suite, he hears a man whistling in the other room. Furious he storms out. Later, he hears the same whistling and discovers the whistler is Gramps (who flew in on an airship).
Sam has another brainstorm. He will play Gramps, the casino's resident poker player. In the final hand, Sam bets all he has. Gramps calls his bluff (Sam missed out on a straight flush draw and has only a pair of 8's), but Gramps folds his winning full house, so Mary loses the casino and—as he had hoped—reconciles with Larry.
Cast
- Robert Young as Larry Scott
- Barbara Hale as Mary Audrey
- Frank Morgan as Gramps Audrey
- James Gleason as Sacramento Sam
- Don Rice as Eddie
- Harry Davenport as Judge Martin
- Lloyd Corrigan as Little Joe
- Teddy Hart as Little Guy
- Joseph Vitale as Happy Johnson
- Douglas Morrow as Dan Morgan
- Myrna Dell as Mabel
- Mary Field as Miss Field
- Al Hill as Herman, Roulette Dealer
- Kenneth MacDonald as Masters, Casino Manager
- William Hall as Mabel's Boyfriend
- Russell Simpson as Daniel Boone
- Forrest Taylor as General Sherman
- Nancy Saunders as Manicurist
References
- ^ "Lady Luck: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- ^ Jewell, Richard; Harbin, Vernon (1982). The RKO Story. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House. p. 213.
- ^ Neibaur p.141
- ^ Parish & Mank p.278
Bibliography
- Neibaur, James L. The RKO Features: A Complete Filmography of the Feature Films Released Or Produced by RKO Radio Pictures, 1929-1960. McFarland, 1994.
- Parish, James Robert & Mank, Gregory W. The Hollywood Reliables. Arlington House, 1980.
External links
- Lady Luck at IMDb
- Lady Luck at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- Turner Classic Movies overview
- Crowther, Bosley (October 31, 1946). "The Screen; A Gambler's Chance". The New York Times.