Dark Hazard

There's a steak of subversive humour running through this. The novel on which this is based is a very serious examination of gambling addiction but this film makes this a jolly, fun adventure. One example is the background music being played as Edward G's marriage starts to crumble: Honeymoon Hotel from FOOTLIGHT PARADE!

Edward G cited this as one of his least favourite pictures. Being a serious actor and a fan of the author (who also wrote LITTLE CAESAR.....and incidentally owned the dog in this movie) he didn't appreciate the frivolous approach which was taken. For the viewer however this makes it a surprisingly enjoyable and entertaining film.

His character has a serious problem, his gambling looks like it's going to destroy his life but that's not what we get. He doesn't care. At one point he wins $20,000, moments later he's broke, having to borrow $5 to get him home. When he meets gorgeous middle-class Genevieve Tobin he tries to mend his ways but the lure of the bet and the lure of his on-off girlfriend, played perfectly by a ridiculously sexy Glenda Farrell is just too much. He prefers fun to respectability.

Films from this period, and certainly those which followed after the Hays code was properly implemented often had a moral message. This has the opposite. Preachiness is swapped for entertainment. It feels like it shouldn't work but it does - it shouldn't be but it's a lovely warm enjoyable hour an a half. It was after all made in the middle of The Depression so maybe they just wanted to cheer everyone up.

If there is any lesson this teaches us, it's that if you've got a gambling problem, don't worry about it because you're likely to end up having lots and lots of sex with Glenda Farrell.