While I am a fan of Tyrone Power's film, I gotta admit that this is not one of his finer moments. The story is about a very, very successful riverboat gambler, Mark Fallon (Power) and the weird infatuation he has with a very screwy young lady (Piper Laurie). Throughout the course of the film, the lady's brother is a shiftless jerk--gambling away their money and behaving VERY impulsively. He also seems to blame Fallon for everything and tries to kill him a couple times. As for Fallon, he's practically perfect in every way and repeatedly lets the bother off the hook for his own awful behavior. Ultimately, however, the jerk brother tries (again) to murder Fallon and Fallon kills him while trying to protect himself...and the stupid sister STILL acts like Fallon is the Antichrist! As for the father of the two dopes, he knows what's going on and likes Fallon. Can all this get straightened out by the end of the film AND can anyone tell me why Fallon wants to marry this flaky lady? Sure, she's gorgeous but the guy could easily find another lady who apparently isn't totally stupid.While my summary might sound a bit flippant, it IS essentially the story and this all gets tiresome after a while. Not terrible...the film has its moments, but it suffers from a silly cliché-ridden script. Not one of Power's finer endeavors.By the way, look for Dennie Weaver in a small role as an even stupider gambler...the guy who offs himself after gambling away his company's funds.

When seeing The Mississipi Gambler you have the feeling you have seen it all before, I did, a great deal of it in "The Iron Mistress" but somehow here it works better. Tyrone Power was great in the swashbucklers, but the only western he made was "Rawhide" where he played a city dude. I would call this film a half western and Power is absolutely great. Just the gambling scenes make the film worth seeing. Piper Laurie in a Virginia Mayo or Rhonda Fleming type of role does her job well and so does Julia Adams as the loser for Power's Love. When you see a film so many years after, that does not seem old fashioned and keeps you interested every second, you can say "Well done, don't miss it"

Excellent and a bit different action type story line. Great mix, of old world, upper echelon Mississippi River gambling life. Also the rift between "commoners" and the "rich elite" who like to make believe they don't have all the same feelings and faults like us average folk. It has a good supporting cast as well. Tyrone Power was a bit older by this move but we all age and he still looks darn good. He also is still a fine actor and personality and can command the screen too. It's has some excellent sword play and it also provides a bit of a real fencing education. Besides all that it's in color and It's got Julie Adams and Piper Laurie too!

The paddle boats were particularly suited to the shallow waters... The most famous were the very elegant gaming boats with casinos, bars and dancing rounding the bends of the Mississippi River..."The Mississippi Gambler" is filled with many colorful characters... It is good for the reason that it covers a lot of ground and refreshes the eyes with great stars... It is good because Tyrone Power is excellent as the gallant gentleman, a man of high principles, honorable and courteous with women, a man with a sense of honor, duty and justice, steady in the game of skill, style and finesse, a very lucky man in the poker game...Power erases the rough edges off his film personality and turns in a characterization that is virile without being rough... He and Piper Laurie make an excellent team... This cute headstrong haughty woman proves herself a good dramatic actress... She declares her love to Power on time, when the boat was about to sail...Julie Adams breathes life into her characterization... She is a beautiful bereaved young woman who lost her heart on the riverboat and tries gently to discourage her admirer...John McIntire is the veteran riverboat gambler with a dream - to open an honest gambling house, with a partner, on the bank of the Mississippi River...John Baer is the unsympathetic compulsive gambler who cannot control the urge to gamble and loses everything... Baer is the arrogant descendant of an aristocratic family who wants to settle his debt by giving his sister's valuable necklace... He is the treacherous young man who turns coward on the dueling field...Dennis Weaver is the good-looking young man who wrecks his life by gambling away all his money... Paul Cavanagh is the loving father who throws down his gauntlet defending his friend's principles challenging the offending party to a duel... Ron Randell is the banker embezzled to abundant luxuries on his willful and obstinate wife..The film is beautifully shot with costumes above reproach... It is a gratifying entertainment, where romanticism is above all an exaltation of individual values and aspirations above those of society...