Any Number Can Play (1949)

Any Number Can Play (1949). Drama. Director: Mervyn LeRoy. Cast: Clark Gable, Alexis Smith, Audrey Totter and Mary Astor.

Any Number Can Play, Movie Trailer.
I just saw the movie Any Number Can Win, for the first time. This story will pull at your heart strings. Clark Gable Is wonderful playing a dangerous man playing a dangerous game.

 The story begins when Charley Enley Kyng, the owner of a casino, is diagnosed with heart disease, his doctor advises him to give up his way of life. Charley knows that it is time to quit and reconnect with his wife and son.

Charley takes his doctor's advice and decides to go on a fishing trip. Before leaving, the family enters the Casino just as gambler Jim Kurstyn, who is on a winning streak, is about to bankrupt the casino. Will Charley lose his family and his casino?

Alexis Smith (June 8, 1921 – June 9, 1993), was signed to a contract by Warner Bros. after being discovered by a talent scout while attending college.

Her earliest film roles were uncredited parts, and it took several years for her career to gain momentum. Her first credited role was in the feature film, Dive Bomber (1941), playing the female lead opposite Errol Flynn.

Her appearance in,The Constant Nymph (1943) led to bigger parts.

During the 1940s she appeared alongside Errol Flynn in, Gentleman Jim (1942) and San Antonio (1945) (in which she sang a special version of the popular ballad "Some Sunday Morning"), Humphrey Bogart in The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947), Cary Grant in a  fictionalized version of the life of Cole and Linda Porter in Night and Day (1946), and Bing Crosby in Here Comes the Groom (1951).

Among Smith's other films are: Rhapsody In Blue (1945), Of Human Bondage (1946) and The Young Philadelphians (1959).

Smith had a recurring role on the television series Dallas as Clayton Farlow's sister Jessica Montford in 1984 and again in 1990.

She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her guest appearance on the sitcom Cheers in 1990.

AUDREY TOTTER- Noir Dame.

Audrey Totter began her acting career in radio in the late 1930s and after success in Chicago and New York, she made her film debut in Main Street After Dark (1945). During the 1940s. She performed in many film genres, she was best known in film noirs:

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) with John Garfield and Lana Turner
Lady in the Lake (1947) with Robert Montgomer and Jayne Meadows
The Unsuspected (1947) with Claude Rains
High Wall (1947) with Robert Taylor
The Saxon Charm (1948) with Montgomery and Susan Hayward,
Alias Nick Beal (1949) with Ray Milland
The Set-Up (1949) with Robert Ryan
Any Number Can Play (1949) with Clark Gable and Alexis Smith
Tension (1950) with Richard Basehart.

By the 1950s the tough talking "dames" she was best known for were no longer in demand. MGM began to film family themed films, Totter was released from her contract. In (1954), she performed in the pilot episode of the 1957-1958 detective series, Meet McGraw with Frank Lovejoy. She performed with Joseph Cotten and William Hopper, in the 1957 episode The Case of the Jealous Bomber, of NBC's anthology series, The Joseph Cotten Show. In 1958, she played Beth Purcell, in the NBC western series Cimarron City. 1962 and 1963, she starred as homemaker Alice MacRoberts, in the ABC situation comedy series Our Man Higgins, with Stanley Holloway. She played Nurse Wilcox, in the television series Medical Center, from 1972 until 1976, her most recent TV performance was in a 1987 episode of Murder, She Wrote.

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1943).

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934). Film noir based on the novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain. Cast: Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway, Hume Cronyn, Leon Ames, and Audrey Totter. Directed by Tay Garnett. Score written by George Bassman and Erich Zeisl.

Being a huge Lana Turner fan, I have always loved the film The Postman Always Rings Twice". Based on the novel by James M. Cain. Frank Chambers (John Garfield) tells us his story in narration. Frank was a drifter hitchhiking to no particular destination.

He stops at a roadside diner that is looking for help. Encouraged by Nick (Cecil Kellaway) the owner, and his beautiful young wife Cora (Lana Turner), Frank takes the job. Cora is always asking Nick's help in improving the business.

But Nick and Cora's mutual attraction is more than they can resist and they begin an affair. Cora, is unwilling to run off with a drifter who wants her to take care of his invalid sister. So, the two lovers plan the murder of her husband so they can take over the diner and live happily ever after, but do they?

I never did think that Lana's character was in love with Garfield's character, it all happened too fast. She was like a spider waiting for someone to come along to kill her husband.

What I did like about the film.. Something, was always happening, First.. they get caught doing the murder. Then after, the trial, just when you think the movie's over, a new plot with it's twists and turns and double crosses, turn up...

Fun Facts:

Said to be Lana Turner's favorite role.

Contrast to Lana playing evil character, Lana wears white throughout the film.

Cecil Kellaway (August 22, 1893 - February 28, 1973), spent many years as an actor, author, and director in the Australian film industry until he moved to Hollywood in the 1930s.

Finding he could get only gangster bit parts, he got discouraged and returned to Australia. Then William Wyler called and offered him a part in the film, Wuthering Heights (1939) and things began to turn around for him.

He received two Best Supporting Actor nominations, for The Luck of the Irish and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.

Academy Award winning actor Edmund Gwenn, whose real surname was Kellaway, was his cousin.

A little CHRISTMAS NOIR: LADY IN THE LAKE (1947)

Lady in the Lake (1947), a film that was the first directorial film of actor Robert Montgomery who also starred in the film. Based on the 1944 Raymond Chandler novel The Lady in the Lake. Cast: Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan, Tom Tully, Leon and Jayne Meadows.

The storyline was a murder mystery similar to many others of the time. Except the entire film was seen from the viewpoint of the main character, detective Philip Marlowe, who was played by Montgomery. The movie also, did not have a musical sound track, which very unusual for that time.

The story begins on Christmas Eve, when Publications editor Adrienne meets with Marlowe, who offers him a job as a detective instead of a writer. She wants him to find the missing wife of her boss, Mr. Adrienne, so they can hurry on with the divorce so they can get married. Marlowe, accepts the job and goes looking for clues at the home of the wife's lover, Chris. When Marlowe, gets knocked out and picked up for drunk driving, he decides to drop the case when he is threatened by the police.. He returns when he learns that his wife maybe to blame for the murder of the mysterious lady in the lake.

The performances are very good: Lloyd Nolan, is perfect playing the bad cop and the dramatic turn by Jayne Meadows, is one you may not soon forget. Montgomery, gives a good performance as the cynical Marlowe. You will also love how Totter's character mellows overtime and falls for Marlowe. If you enjoy film noirs you may want to add this one to your "gotta see" list of films.

MONTGOMERY FUN FACTS:

During World War II, he joined the Navy, becoming lieutenant commander.

Montgomery has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Montgomery had two children, daughter actress Elizabeth Montgomery(Bewitched), and son, Robert Montgomery, Jr.

Please click here to view  Doriantb Blogspot. Lady In The Lake.  movie review.  Also, Vinnie has a wonderful review to the film, Trancers (1985).

Jayne Meadows (born September 27, 1920), most famous movies include: Song of the Thin Man (with William Powell and Myrna Loy), David and Bathsheba (with Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward and Raymond Massey), Lady in the Lake (with Robert Montgomery and Audrey Totter), Enchantment (with David Niven and Teresa Wright), and City Slickers (as the voice of Billy Crystal's mother).

Meadows was a regular panelist on the original version of I've Got a Secret and an occasional panelist on What's My Line?, the latter alongside husband Steve Allen. She also appeared on the NBC interview program Here's Hollywood. During the early days of the live entertainment scene in Las Vegas, the Allens occasionally worked together as an act.

She was married to Steve Allen from 1954 until his death in 2000.