There were three primary reasons for wanting to see 'The Lady Gambles'. The biggest one being the wonderful Barbara Stanwyck, despite her filmography being hit and miss her performances were a lot more consistent and helped make the misses just about watchable. Two being my love of classic film. And the final one being the subject, it is always worth addressing any kind of addiction on film and that is including gambling (big at the time and still a big problem now).

Despite the potential, 'The Lady Gambles' doesn't completely live up to it. It starts off very well and had all the makings of a great film, but the second half or so is less good or compelling with the very late stages feeling like a different film. 'The Lady Gambles' is definitely worth the look and Stanwyck, as expected, makes things a lot better than it had a right to be, but this was an interesting and heavily flawed affair as an overall whole.

Stanwyck is the best thing about 'The Lady Gambles', she did steely and vulnerable better than a lot of actresses at that time and to this day long after her death she remains one of the best ever at those. Both of those can be seen to intense and moving effect and she really does give it everything she's got. The other acting standout is the genuinely intimidating Stephen McNally, goodness does that man have a menacing presence here and the drama does really come alive with him. Enough of the direction is competent.

It is a well shot film and Frank Skinner's music avoids being overly-melodramatic and is not sugary. 'The Lady Gambles' starts off very well with an intriguing and suitably tense first half, that has edge and one does care about how things are going to go.

Which is why it was a shame that to me 'The Lady Gambles' wasn't as compelling later on, where the film became rather predictable and lacked the tension it should have had. Where the dialogue can be on the soapy side and it gets very melodramatic.

As does Robert Preston's performance, which does get too over the top, and his character is too naive that one wants to give him a shake and scream "wake up" in his face. The ending is very corny and far too soft for the subject, like the film had run out of ideas or something.

Concluding, worth seeing for Stanwyck but could have been more. 6/10

Barbara Stanwyck follows up her last Oscar-nominated performance in "Sorry, Wrong Number" with even a better performance. As a woman who suddenly finds herself addicted to gambling and unable to stop, she really tears the emotions out of the issues of this character, showing many lost weekends and even weekdays as she loses, wins it all back again, loses some more, and ultimately faces a battle for her life when she gets in too deep.

Her husband, played by the future Music Man himself, Robert Preston, blames it on himself at first and eventually can't take anymore, giving her half of his savings so she can gamble it all away and so he can go on with his life. An excellent performance by stage actress Edith Barrett helps to explain Stanwyck's addictive personality. Playing her older sister, Barrett's resentment toward Stanwyck taking over her childhood are unleashed in a single emotional scene where the possessive and demanding Barrett reveals her true colors after having seemed so kindly when first introduced. Film Noir veteran Stephen McNally is excellent as the Vegas gambling casino owner who first encounters Stanwyck when she is accused of staking his joint. A ton of bit performers, both elegant and vile, become temporary enablers for Stanwyck's addiction.

Unlike Ray Milland's drunk in "The Lost Weekend", Stanwyck's mornings after are not filled with hangovers, only the desperation to start all over again. This is social drama at its most intense, starting with her being brutally beaten up. It all gets overly dramatic and intense at times, and while the lights of Vegas may seem beautiful, they are her pathways to hell. Stanwyck deserved another Oscar Nomination for this, but perhaps it was too hard for some Academy members to stomach. It was a brave role for her to take on, yet it has never made it into any of the many tributes I've seen of hers. But it ranks as an amazingly tough melodrama that is equally as engrossing as another tough dame's trek into despair: Susan Hayward in "Smash- Up".

Cast as the wife of a Chicago writer doing a piece on Nevada's Hoover Dam, Barbara Stanwyck gives a sly, knowing performance as a housewife who discovers the addictive dice and gambling tables in Las Vegas. Noticing that she's taking pictures in a casino, the manager admires the wife's made-up story that she's doing a magazine item on gambling and gives her a stack of house chips "to shill for the casino." Soon, she's winning at poker--and alienating her husband and the spinster sister who resents her. This cautionary tale of a gambling addict is engrossing in spite of its unconvincing milieu and portrait of a marriage. Robert Preston is the incredibly naïve husband who's aghast at his wife's actions: "All of it, Joan? Tell me you spent the money on something else!" Ask a foolish question, you're liable to get a foolish answer. **1/2 from ****