Customer Reviews

Any Number Can Play [VHS]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"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.

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.

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....

I am a fan of the older movies.This is one of the best with Clark Gable and Alexis Smith.If you like oldies this is one you will want to see.

I do commend warner home video for bringing 6 new gable movies out nono of them
are outstanding movies,except perhaps for the hucksters based on a good novel,but
for gable fans a treat to look back at these movies. One complaint..warners
continually likes to gouge the viewers who watch their movies...a gable fan who likes
to watch all six of these films should get a package deal...instead he is forced to
buy these individually at exorbitant prices,...we do need to be entertained and no one is better than gable he brought a roughness and excitement to the movies and the romances with the female stars is great to watch...especially a very sexy ava gardner in one of the films in this collection...ava was one of my favourites and
rightly so making many memorable films...i dont complain of the films but the pricing...

I enjoyed the movie in its own right and also because of the gambling scenes and discussion, a hobby of mine (collecting gambling chips and equipment). I just want to add that I can't think, off hand, of another movie with so much discussion about gambling and gamblers and what makes them tick. There is a huge amount of gambling scenes and gambling equipment (from 50 years ago)..........Another plus is the terrific cast; take a look.