Lady Luck (1946) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

A woman from a family of gamblers marries one and tries to reform him.

Cast & Crew

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Edwin L. Marin

Robert Young

Barbara Hale

Mary [Audrey Scott]

Frank Morgan

William ["Gramps"] Audrey

James Gleason

Don Rice

Photos & Videos

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Film Details

Also Known As

Lady's Choice

Genre

Comedy

Drama

Release Date

Oct 18, 1946

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Distribution Company

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 37m

Sound

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Synopsis

Although the men in her family have a long history of disastrous gambling addictions, Mary Audrey is determined to keep her grandfather, William Audrey, away from temptation and forces him to work in her Beverly Hills book store. As soon as "Gramps" is left alone in the store, however, he is approached by Larry Scott, a well-heeled gambler, who innocently asks him for a racing "scratch sheet." Believing him to be a bookmaker, Larry places a $200 bet with the obliging Gramps. When Larry's horse wins, Gramps takes off, as he is unable to cover the wager, but is quickly waylaid by Larry, who has since met the pretty Mary. Mary and Larry soon fall in love, and Larry, who has not told Mary of his vocation, vows to Eddie, Sacramento Sam and his other cynical gambling mates, that he is giving up the betting life. Before Larry can come clean with Mary, however, he is caught in a police raid and exposed in the newspapers. Disgusted, Mary at first refuses even to talk to Larry, but after he convinces her of his sincere convictions, she accepts his proposal. Following a quick Las Vegas wedding, Mary and Larry check into a local hotel for their honeymoon. A trusting Mary then leaves Larry alone in the hotel, and Larry soon finds himself in the gambling room helping a "poor sucker" recoup some of his losses. Mary returns to the hotel in time to see Larry tossing dice at the crap table and accepts an offer from lawyer Dan Morgan to file for divorce. By the end of the evening, Larry, who has been unable to explain the situation to Mary, is served with divorce papers. The next day, Sam, anxious to aid his heartbroken friend, schemes to reunite the couple by hooking Mary on gambling. To that end, he arranges with the casino to ensure her at least $500 worth of winnings, which he and Larry's gambling friends are to cover. He also hires Morgan to romance Mary and seduce her into gambling with him. Desiring Mary for himself, Morgan tells Mary that Larry is in on the plan, and when Larry, hearing of Mary's extravagent wagering at the roulette wheel, tries to stop her, she scorns him. Much to everyone's surprise, Mary's fixed winning steak turns into a genuine run of luck, and while Sam and company go broke covering for her, Mary becomes addicted to her success. The disconsolate and jealous Larry, meanwhile, returns to Beverly Hills, where he finds Gramps running a bookie joint out of Mary's store. After Gramps shows Larry the Audrey family "album," Larry realizes that Mary is a victim of heredity and rushes back to Las Vegas to save her. When he arrives, he discovers that she has bought her own casino and has installed Gramps as the house poker player. Once again, Sam offers to help Larry reclaim Mary by playing Gramps in a high-stakes poker match using Larry's money. Although Gramps holds the winning hand, he sacrifices the game so that Larry can finally win back Mary, who has learned of Larry's intentions from Sam. While Sam and his partners become the owners of the club, Larry and Mary leave for a real honeymoon, and Gramps happily loses his last pennies at the roulette wheel.

Director

Edwin L. Marin

Cast

Robert Young

Barbara Hale

Mary [Audrey Scott]

Frank Morgan

William ["Gramps"] Audrey

James Gleason

Don Rice

Harry Davenport

Lloyd Corrigan

Teddy Hart

Joseph Vitale

Douglas Morrow

Robert Clarke

Southern officer

Larry Wheat

Calm card player

Alf Haugan

Alvin Hammer

Man in book store

Betty Gillette

Russell Simpson

Harry Depp

Grace Hampton

Woman in book shop

Eric Mayne

Major Sam Harris

Henry Herbert

J. W. Johnston

Carl Faulkner

Forbes Murray

Billy Snyder

Sayre Deering

Clyde Mcatee

Jack Arkin

Sammy Shack

Sam Lufkin

Paul Lacy

Brick Sullivan

Mary Field

Tall thin woman

Forrest Taylor

General Sherman

Dick Elliott

Joe Whitehead

Jack Norton

Al Murphy

Benny Burt

Eddie Dunn

Police lieutenant

Harry Harvey

Myrna Dell

William Hall

Al Hill

Al Rhein

Nancy Saunders

Frank Dae

Cosmo Sardo

Kenneth Macdonald

Lorin Raker

Bert Moorehouse

Billiard player

Jack Stoney

Billiard player

Pat Prest

Beatrice Maude

Crew

James Altwies

James Anderson

Assistant Director

Lucien Andriot

Director of Photography

C. Bakaleinikoff

Willard Barth

John L. Cass

Albert S. D'agostino

Ralph Dawson

Warren Duff

Lynn Dunn

Optical Effects

Robert Fellows

Executive Producer

Frank Fenton

Feild Gray

Leigh Harline

Terry Kellum

Herbert Clyde Lewis

Earl B. Mounce

Clem Portman

Re-rec and Effects mixer

Lynn Root

Darrell Silvera

Al Simpson

Matte paintings

Edward Stevenson

Vernon L. Walker

Special Effects

Harold Wellman

Transparency projection shots

Photo Collections

Film Details

Also Known As

Lady's Choice

Genre

Comedy

Drama

Release Date

Oct 18, 1946

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Distribution Company

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 37m

Sound

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Articles

Lady Luck

February 14, 2014

After laboring for years in bizarre B pictures like the plastic surgery/racial impersonation war drama First Yank Into Tokyo (1945), Barbara Hale finally got a career boost when cast here as Mary Audrey, an ambitious Beverly Hills bookseller who will do anything to keep the gambling fools in her family on the straight and narrow. But what happens when she falls for a charming oddsmaker (Robert Young)? And what's going to happen when she finds out her incorrigible grandpa (Frank Morgan) owes her new love some unpaid gambling debts? And is a wedding in gambling capital Las Vegas such a good idea for such a "lucky" lady? Being cast in this picture by RKO was a big enough deal for LIFE Magazine to do a puff piece about a ranching holiday taken by the "attractive Barbara Hale, " but she was still years away from finding her most famous role as Della Street on the Perry Mason TV show. Robert Young and Hale would cross paths once more in And Baby Makes Three (1949) before rejoining decades later on an episode of his TV vehicle Marcus Welby, MD.

By Violet LeVoit

Lady Luck

Lady Luck

After laboring for years in bizarre B pictures like the plastic surgery/racial impersonation war drama First Yank Into Tokyo (1945), Barbara Hale finally got a career boost when cast here as Mary Audrey, an ambitious Beverly Hills bookseller who will do anything to keep the gambling fools in her family on the straight and narrow. But what happens when she falls for a charming oddsmaker (Robert Young)? And what's going to happen when she finds out her incorrigible grandpa (Frank Morgan) owes her new love some unpaid gambling debts? And is a wedding in gambling capital Las Vegas such a good idea for such a "lucky" lady? Being cast in this picture by RKO was a big enough deal for LIFE Magazine to do a puff piece about a ranching holiday taken by the "attractive Barbara Hale, " but she was still years away from finding her most famous role as Della Street on the Perry Mason TV show. Robert Young and Hale would cross paths once more in And Baby Makes Three (1949) before rejoining decades later on an episode of his TV vehicle Marcus Welby, MD. By Violet LeVoit

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

The working title of this film was Lady's Choice. According to Hollywood Reporter, the screenplay was based on an original story called "D-Day in Las Vegas" by Herbert Clyde Lewis and M. F. Kohn. Only Lewis received screen credit, however. John Berry was to direct the picture, according to Hollywood Reporter, but was reassigned to From This Day Forward because of production delays. RKO borrowed Frank Morgan from M-G-M and James Gleason from Twentieth-Century Fox for this production. A Hollywood Reporter news item adds actress Jean Acker to the cast, but her participation in the final film has not been confirmed. According to modern sources, the production cost $877,000.

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