Shady Lady
Cast & Crew
George Waggner
Charles Coburn
Robert Paige
Ginny Simms
Alan Curtis
Martha O'driscoll
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Newly released from a Kentucky prison, "Colonel" John Appleby, a cardsharp, heads to Chicago under the supervision of his niece, Leonora, a nightclub singer. Afraid that he might be sent back to prison, she insists that he give up his criminal ways and follow her on the straight-and-narrow path. On the train to Chicago, John and Lee meet Bob Wendell, the lead investigator for the Illinois State Attorney's office, which is looking into gambling in Chicago, and the three become reacquainted when Bob raids the Skyline Club where Lee works. However, the club's owner, racketeer Marty Martin, has been warned about the raid by Bob's sister Gloria, to whom he was once engaged and is now blackmailing, and quickly turns the backroom poker game into a chess club. Later, at a music store, a smittened Bob tries to convince Lee to quit the Skyline, but she refuses. Told by Gloria how Bob feels about Lee, their aunt Butch has Lee abducted and brought to the Wendell home for dinner. Butch's millions attract the attentions of John, and the wealthy widow soon falls under his romantic spell. The next morning, John shows his niece a deck of marked cards he had taken from the card room at the Skyline, which prove Marty is a cheat, but Lee still refuses to let her uncle practice his trade. Later, Bob and Lee attempt a romantic rendezvous in the park, only to be interrupted by a philosophical tramp. Bob and John then ask each other's permission to court Lee and Butch, respectively. Their plans are disrupted, however, when Crane, a Kentucky policeman, recognizes John. The cardsharp promises Crane he will leave town if Crane agrees not to tell Bob about his past. Meanwhile, after raiding Marty's country home and confiscating his incriminating financial records, Bob receives a note from the racketeer, threatening to go public with a scandalous photograph of Gloria if he is prosecuted. After meeting Gloria at the train station, John goes to the Skyline in an attempt to win the negative away from Marty in a game of poker. Despite Bob's arrival, the game continues, with Marty betting his "lucky rabbit's foot"--a cigarette holder containing the negative--against Lee's promise to go away with him. John wins the hand, along with Butch, who offers to buy the Skyline for him. Bob also unites with Lee and admits that he knew all about her uncle's past from the beginning.
Director
George Waggner
Cast
Charles Coburn
Robert Paige
Ginny Simms
Alan Curtis
Martha O'driscoll
Kathleen Howard
James Burke
Joe Frisco
John Gallaudet
Thomas E. Jackson
Billy Wayne
William Hall
Bill Hunt
Billy Green
Chuck Hamilton
Erno Verebes
George Lynn
Bert Moorhouse
Al Hill
Stuart Holmes
Emmett Smith
Bill Davidson
George Anderson
Bert Roach
Ernest Newton
Ray Teal
Ernest Hilliard
Joel Fluellen
Dorothy Lawrence
Joe Bernard
Dick Dickinson
David Peters
Crew
Bernard B. Brown
Monty Collins
Edward Curtiss
Carmen Dirigo
Edgar Fairchild
Edgar Fairchild
Russell A. Gausman
Gerald Geraghty
Joe Gershenson
John B. Goodman
Charles S. Gould
Billy Green
Otto Harbach
Ross Hoffman
Lester Horton
Karl Hoschna
Joe Lapis
Hal Mohr
M. M. Musselman
Jack P. Pierce
Ronald K. Pierce
Len Powers
Richard H. Riedel
Milton Rosen
Milton Rosen
Curt Siodmak
Ralph Sylos
George Waggner
George Waggner
Vera West
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Alibi in Ermine. According to Los Angeles Examiner, Universal contract actress Susanna Foster was originally considered for the role of "Lee," which was played in the film by Ginny Simms. A May 31, 1945 Hollywood Reporter news item reported that Alan Curtis originally declined the role of "Marty Martin" and was suspended by Universal. Hollywood Reporter production charts include Jess Barker in the cast, but his appearance in the final film is doubtful.
