Product Details

• Actors: Clark Gable, Alexis Smith, Wendell Corey, Audrey Totter, Frank Morgan
• Directors: Mervyn LeRoy
• Writers: Edward Harris Heth, Richard Brooks
• Producers: Arthur Freed
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Warner)
• VHS Release Date: September 1, 1998
• Run Time: 112 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303014038
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #243,142 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Extraordinary Glimpse Of The Real Clark Gable, February 26, 2000

By 

John McElwee (North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Any Number Can Play [VHS] (VHS Tape)

"Any Number Can Play" is a sombre,post-war drama about the family life of an aging professional gambler.It's also one of the most fascinating of all the Gable vehicles,for reasons we can appreciate much more in hindsight.1949 critics dismissed it---audiences at the time were dissappointed(this wasn't the old pre-war Gable they knew)---and Metro ledger books showed less black ink,but what a performance he gives!This is like watching home movies of a great star recently back from the war---the man might as well have been playing himself.In the opening reel,he's throwing down drinks,cigarettes---calling in heart doctor Leon Ames about the chest pains he's been concealing----sound familiar?If you've read any Gable bios,this is like following the star into his own doctor's office---he really lays it on the line in this picture.They said Gable spent a career just "playing himself"---the truth is he gave us thirty years playing out the drama of his own life on screen---never self-consciously(I doubt if Gable himself sensed the parallels---it would have been hard to face them if he did).He was too honest and forthright as an actor to hide behind putty faces and show-off performances---but no one in his business was more generous or revealing of his own disillusionments after the war than Gable.There's the tremor in his hands(with the onset of his own Parkinson's)when he's rushing Audrey Totter to pour him a drink---his world-weary gambler is like the mid-life crisis of Blackie Norton,Blackie Gallagher,or any number of cocky,free-spirit characters he had played during the thirties before the war,the death of wife Carole Lombard,and other things knocked a lot of the fight out of him.It's a great performance.Do yourself a favor----read about Gable's life,then buy this movie and watch a great actor sharing his life with his audience.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What Great Character Actor Performances!, November 15, 2001

By 

James L. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Any Number Can Play [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Clark Gable owns a gambling club where he must deal with crisis after crisis with customers. At home, his son loves him, but doesn't like him, his wife is trying to keep everyone happy, and his brother-in-law that lives with him and works for him is cheating him. Not surprisingly, all the tension is giving him chest pains and making him re-evaluate his life. The film starts off slowly, but picks up steam as it goes along, building to a very good conclusion. Gable is terrific here, conflicted, tough, in crisis, and in charge. Alexis Smith, somewhat underrated as an actress I think, is also strong as his wife that reveals a lot more toughness then she appears to have. But as good as the leads are, it is the terrific character actors that support them that make this film memorable. Marjorie Rambeau, Lewis Stone, Frank Morgan, and the great Mary Astor all contribute top performances, each actor bringing a lifetime of experiences to their characters. The script has some great lines (courtesy of future director Richard Brooks) and takes a serious look at the effects of gambling on individuals and families. When you get past the first forty-five minutes or so, the film really picks up and becomes quite good.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Actually a pretty good movie!!, March 16, 2005

By 

nom-de-nick "nom-de-nick" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Any Number Can Play [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is yet another undiscovered/underdiscovered Gable gem, with a ton of killer character performances. So, of course, it's not available on DVD and out of print otherwise. Thanks yet again, studios....