Gambler's Choice (1944)

Chester Morris, Nancy Kelly, Russell Hayden, Sheldon Leonard, Lee Patrick ... see more  , Lloyd Corrigan , Tom Dugan , Lyle Talbot , Charles Arnt , Maxine Lewis , Billy Nelson

Paramount's Pine-Thomas production unit continued its unbroken string of box-office successes with Gambler's Choice. Pine-Thomas perennial Chester Morris plays turn-of-the-century gambler Ross Hadley,... read more  owner of a posh gaming establishment in the heart of New York. Hadley's chief antagonist is his boyhood chum Mike McGlennon (Russell Hayden), now a police lieutenant determined to put the gambler out of business. Adding to the rivalry is the fact that both Hadley and McGlennon are in love with cabaret singer Vi Parker (Nancy Kelly). The whole thing sounds a lot like the 1936 MGM film San Francisco, though not enough to spark a lawsuit, of course. Despite its tiny budget, Gambler's Choice is successful in recreating a bygone period and its color characters. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi