BlazeLime Strong and Moving!

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

MartinHafer 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.

FilmFlaneur In 1950, American producer Robert Lippert formed a business alliance with Hammer studios. Under the agreement, Lippert would provide American acting talent - frequently shop-worn stars or just supporting actors who fancied a profitable trip out of the country - while Hammer would supply the rest of the cast and the production facilities. Together they would split the profits. Famous for his concern with the bottom line, Lippert produced over 140 films between 1946 and 1955, characteristically genre pieces such as I Shot Jesse James or Rocketship XM. For the British deal, most of the films were noir-ish thrillers - and include this title.Dane Clark, who appeared in several of these productions, plays the doomed gambler in question: a self made man, running a profitable London set up into which rudely intrudes his aspirational love life and the aggressive ambitions of some Italian gangster interlopers. His social climbing ultimately proves the straw that breaks the camel's back. Many of the British noirs interestingly import class considerations into the dramatic mix, concerns that are usually absent in the American model, and they are seen most strongly in this title. The gambler's end is ultimately determined by the suckering in of social mobility as much as the machinations of fate - but not before there is some effective sniping at the rudeness and untrustworthiness of the British ruling classes. Clark cuts a suitably doomed and somewhat pathetic figure as he struggle to gain acceptance.

JohnHowardReid 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.

David (Handlinghandel) There's plenty of crime in this Lippert picture. It opens with a well shot killing that is not clear till well into the movie. Dane Clark is the star. He was a staple of film noir. Here, we also see him in a top hat!Yes, the subject is more class than crime. Clark is the gambler of the tile. (The female title character doesn't appear till almost half an hour into the movie.) He's an American but he wants to fit in in England. He's taking lessons in deportment from a caricature of a British lady.He has a Scottish pal (Meredith Edwards) who is put forward as his butler. He longs to become accepted by nobility.The supporting cast is good. The woman he falls for is not particularly charismatic but she's attractive. The more conventionally low-life types are plausible.The dialog contains a lot of blatant exposition: "It's hard to believe that X years ago I was in Y with Z and while A B were ..."It's well shot and holds the attention. But it's nothing to write (back) home about.