There were lots of movies like "The Gambler and the Lady" back in the '50s: low-budget British noir-like films, sometimes detective stories, starring an American second or third-stringer, with the rest of the cast British. Often they're quite entertaining."The Gambler and the Lady" is one such film from 1952, produced by Hammer Film, and stars Dane Clark, Kathleen Byron, Naomi Chance, and Anthony Forwood. Forwood, by the way, was a very handsome man who was married to Glynis Johns and then became Dirk Bogarde's partner and manager for 30-plus years.Clark plays Jim Forster, an American running an illegal gambling houses in England. The story is told in flashback - when the film begins, we see Forster being hit by a car.Forster, a little rough around the edges, is a social climber, and in fact is taking lessons in social niceties so he can rub elbows with the mucky-mucks. He is dating a dancer at his club, Pat (Byron), who seems to want to get more serious than Forster. One night, she loses her temper at him and he walks out and won't have anything to do with her again.At his club, he meets Lady Willens (Chance), and though her brother (Forwood) who bounced a check at Forster's club is against him, she starts to see him. Pat becomes jealous and attempts to warn her off.That's on the personal end. On the professional end, some thug-types want to take over his clubs. When Lady Willens' father talks about a mining deal that promises to be lucrative, Forster thinks he's found a way into the social strata and out of illegal gambling.Dane Clark had a very prolific 45-year career which, once the '50s hit, was mostly in television. He started out in films as an ersatz John Garfield but never hit those heights. He is well cast in this. Naomi Chance was effective and beautiful as the society woman; she did a lot of this type of movie during her career. The patrician-looking Kathleen Byron (who appeared in "Saving Private Ryan") made a good shrew. Interestingly, all of the lead actors had long, very active careers.Hammer Films are low budget, yes, but they usually are atmospheric, as this one was, and entertaining. They attempted to copy the American films done by, say, RKO in the '40s, and while not entirely successful, you may enjoy this one.

Like many European films of the 1950s and 60s, the folks who made "The Gambler and the Lady" imported an American star to give the film more box office power. While Dane Clark was not a huge name in Hollywood, he was very recognizable back in 1952 and already had a reputation as an excellent tough-guy in films.The film begins with Clark owning a successful gambling house in England. You soon learn that he's trying hard to fit in with society but this is difficult, at times, for him since he is, down deep, a tough palooka. Time and again, he needs to fight the impulse to slug people as it will undo all the culture and refinement he's been adopting since relocating to this country. Now, after meeting a woman of high breeding, he has dreams of selling out and becoming respectable. This need is so strong that for once in his life, he makes himself very vulnerable. What happens next? See this nifty little film for yourself.So why did I describe this film as being 'noir-ish'? Well, it has many of the qualities you find in an example of film noir--such as the dame, great tough-guy dialog, a downbeat ending and a hero who has a shady past. But, it also lacks the great lighting and camera-work you'd expect to see in American or French noir--making it, perhaps, noir-lite! This is not a complaint--just an observation about the film's style. But, it IS very good for a low-budget B movie--short, well-paced and full of nice acting. Well worth seeing.

A social-climbing American (Dane Clark) with a business in illegal gambling falls in love with a blue blood (Naomi Chance), but gangsters and a jealous ex-girlfriend (Kathleen Byron) stand in the way of happiness."The Gambler and the Lady" is a typically weak attempt by the Hammer studio to replicate American crime films. A mildly exciting climax (part of which is shown at the beginning) is the only thing that livens up this dull affair. I would have liked to see more of Percy Marmont, who was so good as Col. Burgoyne in Alfred Hitchcock's "Young and Innocent." Here he only gets a brief part as Chance's father.

The good folk at IMDb don't seem to be aware that "Patrick Jenkins" is a pseudonym for Pat Jackson who also helped out around this period on "Scotland Yard Inspector", "Bad Blonde" and "The Saint's Return". Anyway, one can understand the wish for anonymity, as "The Gambler and the Lady" is not terribly interesting. True, the script has all the makings for classic film noir, but it doesn't come off, mainly because it wastes too much time on the dull Dane Clark character and his equally dull buddy, and fails to develop Kathleen Byron's role. Some attempts at humor are also misplaced. True, the climactic action has a bit of impact -- unbelievable though it is -- but by that time our interest has dissipated past the point of no return.