Such a frustrating disappointment

Sorry, this movie sucks

The first must-see film of the year.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

From the Battery up to the top of the city back in the good old days (14th Street!), lots was happening, and a huge metropolis was in the planning stages. Thus minor historical account of New York City's bad old gambling days has childhood friends growing up from the strains of "East Side, West Side" to the strains of music coming from Tin Pan Alley. There's the usual amount of political corruption, a society dame with no real class putting her mark on the leading man, her getting taken down by the feisty heroine, and of course, a murder. Filled with humor, this is a period film lover's dream, tied up tightly in a short but detailed package.There's that cast, a who's who of who used to be, as well as some of the best character performers around. The three leads are Chester Morris, Nancy Kelly and Lyle Talbot as the three old pals, first seen as young thugs committing a scam, and reunited years later. I've seen this set up in various newer films, although not one involved a girl. Lee Patrick is get typical clinging, angry harridan and is delightfully coyish when alone with Morris and out of her element even bring imperious and uppity when confronted by Kelly. Of the other supporting cast, Lloyd Corrigan stands out with equally gregarious Dick Elliott very funny as a barber in the opening. This might be slight on important historical details of the time but overall is an above average time filler.

Apparently there is a division of opinion among the critics. Some have said this was B picture ripoff of Manhattan Melodrama, others opt for Angels With Dirty Faces. If I had to choose I would choose the latter because I could see any number of other Warner Brothers features here that would have starred James Cagney and Pat O'Brien.Gamblers Choice was made by the Pine-Thomas producing team who did a lot of B films over at Paramount and early in their careers, their stars were a pair of guys who were big in the early sound era, but had slipped in status by the Forties, Richard Arlen and/or Chester Morris.Morris stars here as the ruthless gambler type who grew up in those years entitled the Gay Nineties. Without as much flash as James Cagney gave his parts, Morris gives a pretty good account of himself as the bad boy who is loyal in the end to his friends.Those friends being singer Nancy Kelly and policeman Russell Hayden who is the upright and honest cop that Pat O'Brien was always playing. Hayden's own sense of loyalties to his friends almost trips him up and Kelly has to choose between Morris and Hayden.The production values were not MGM gloss, but you did get a nice sense of New York in the Roosevelt-Taft era before World War I. Sheldon Leonard as Morris's rival gambling palace owner and Lee Patrick the bookmaker's widow who Morris romances and then throws over for Kelly standout themselves in their roles.Nothing terribly special, but no one need be ashamed of their work here. Gamblers Choice holds up very nicely for today.

Gambler's Choice is the kind of movie where halfway through, you're trying to guess how it's going to end. Why? Because the plot is so familiar and you've already wracked your brains trying to remember how it ended when Cagney and O'Brien and Gable and Powell and them were in it. –No, Gambler's Choice is not especially original; perhaps oddly, it's still quite watchable.Three childhood friends are reunited after many years apart: Chester Morris has grown up to become a charismatic but crooked casino owner; Russell Hayden is an honest cop in a city of corruption; and Nancy Kelly is the nightclub singer who loves them both. Which one will she eventually choose? and what will happen when Lucky and Blackie—er, Hayden and Morris—inevitably clash? Of the supporting cast, Sheldon Leonard as the rival casino owner looks most like he's enjoying himself, but his is only one of several familiar faces (Tom Dugan, Lloyd Corrigan, even Lyle Talbot). Morris does well in the second half but seems somehow unnatural in the early going. Hayden is okay but isn't given a lot to do that's really interesting. Kelly could also have been more interesting; again, there's not a lot that she does or says that remotely surprises. The performances are all fine, but the actors just aren't given much to work with.So it's corny and unoriginal, but hand it to the filmmakers for trying. Halfway through the picture, there's a scene where the three main characters gaze out a window over the growing city. "There it is, Mike," says Morris. "Little old New York….And it's all ours. Just like we dreamed about when we were kids." --A film that's strictly a quickie with no ambition doesn't pause for philosophical musings, corny or not. It's brief, but just for an instant there you get the feel of that epic moment that "big" movies shoot for.The last fifteen minutes—when things really start popping—are exciting, even tense, and satisfying. I was glad I stuck around to find out what happens.Funny scene: the horseless carriage chase. Even in 1911, apparently, you sometimes needed to lose someone following your auto in his own.

Gambler's Choice (1944) ** (out of 4) Low-budget rip of MGM's MANHATTAN MELODRAMA has pretty much the same story (which itself was ripped countless times before this movie). In the film three childhood friends get caught stealing some money with two being released to their parents but the third being sent to a reform school. As adults, the bad gambler (Chester Morris) meets up with his friends with one being a cop (Russell Hayden) and of course they're both in love with the good girl (Nancy Kelly). If you're familiar with the crime pictures of the 1930s then it's pretty certain you've seen MANHATTAN MELODRAMA or if not you've probably seen the classic ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES, which followed the same storyline in a way. The entire plot of friends going on opposite sides of the law wasn't original in the 30s but by the 40s it was even more played out and tiresome. I must admit that I was pretty much bored out of my mind at the five-minute mark when the kids were finishing up. When the adult actors came on screen things never really picked up and that's a real shame because they could have done so much with this film. Morris, one of my favorites, is wasted and pretty much sleepwalks through the film. That typical charm and energy the actor brings to most roles was missing here and his chemistry with Davis and Hayden wasn't too strong. Hayden was pretty good in his role but the screenplay offers him very little. Supporting players Lyle Talbot, Lee Patrick and Lloyd Corrigan are pretty much wasted in their small roles as well. What I never understood about rips is why their producers, screenwriters, directors or at least stars never spoke up to try and change at least a little something. I mean, would it have been too much to ask for at least one little pinch of the story to be altered? I understand going down the same road but why not at least change it up a bit to where your viewer won't be bored because they've seen it all before? Granted, some rips are at least nice entertaining but sadly that's not the case with this thing and its 66-minutes go by at a very slow pace.