Two Dollar Bettor

Watching a mediocre print of this movie was like seeing "Detour" for the first time. The movie has a terrible, pedestrian title. The stars don't promise much. Well, of course Marie Windsor is always good and Steve Brodie is a noir staple. But John Litel, as the central figure -- which he is? It's the very suspenseful story of a decent guy getting dragged down into a whirlpool of crime and deceit.

Litel is what today would be called a middle-manager. He has an OK job and works hard. He has two daughters in their late teens, whom he adores. He lavishes everything he can afford on them. And, it turns out, more than he can afford.

Urged to bet a horse to show at the races, he slowly gets bitten by the gambling bug. From small bets he moves on to a bookie. And who does the bookie send to collect his money but -- Marie Windsor.

Far be it from me to say exactly what role her character plays in the story. She looks great, as always. This is all I'm saying. But the Litel character is very likable. The money he wants to win is truly only to continue pampering his daughters. And seeing his decline is painful. (And its shocking.)

Though the film seems to have been made on a very low budget, its plot and character development are nuanced. I'm eager to see it again.

John Litel is the comptroller of a bank who meets up with some friends at a racetrack. He's never bet on the ponies in his life, but he's badgered in a friendly way into a $2 bet, which he wins. He wins the next one, and gets to enjoy the extra money.... until he starts to lose and embezzles money, hoping to get even.

We're in B movie territory, with director Edward L. Cahn handling it like an extended version of CRIME DOES NOT PAY; he had directed a few of those in his early days at MGM. Although he was never a great director, he was a competent one who let everyone in his cast and crew do their jobs, and with John Litel in the lead, and with Marie Windsor playing one of her shady girl characters, the movie is pretty good.

And The Agony of Defeat. I've been an avid horse player for the last forty years and this film is an old style but truly realistic portrayal of what can happen to an addictive personality coupled with a big win the first time a man places money on a horse. It can work for any type of gambling but using horses as the money pit gives that little added class. The film is not the greatest piece of acting and writing but it is indeed a realistic look at the Easy Money syndrome Gamble sensibly. Gamble for fun, but never borrow money to gamble. Stay in touch with yourself...the film's message is clear and the minor faults of an early 50's plot are overlooked by this viewer. A hell of a rush to win but...

**SPOILERS** Tragic story despite it's very contrived feel-good ending about a kind and caring man who never gambled in his life who gets caught up with the evils of uncontrolled and compulsive horse betting. This addiction leads him to embezzle the bank that he was employed at as the comptroller of some $16,000.00. Later he ends up killing two con artists in a gunfight that ended up with him getting fatally shot. It was the con artists who took advantage of his desperate situation and ripped him off of another $20,000.00 that he stole from the comptroller safe.

The story of John Hewitt, John Litel, is like that of many sick and degenerate gamblers who end up not only destroying themselves but their family and friends as well by trying to make a quick buck at the racetrack casino or with their bookie. Widowed with two sweet teenage daughters that he would do anything for John worked in charge of the credit department in the biggest bank in Langsford and was a very respected man and pillar of the community.

One afternoon John was invited by some of his friends to Langsford's Grandview Racetrack where for the first time in his life he made a bet at the urging of his brother-in-law George, Don Shelton and ended up winning some $200.00 betting on jockey Eddie Osborne. With John winning over $500.00 the next few days on his bets on horses rode by Osborne his luck changes when the jockey falls in a bad spill at the track. Betting other jockeys John ends up losing all his winnings as well as his life's saving and $14,000.00 of the banks money that he embezzled.

With John later being promoted to bank comptroller which will triple his salary his books were about to be audited and him possibly being indited for grand larceny for the $14,000.00 he stole from the comptroller safe. John then sees redemption of his criminal deed in the sports pages in that Eddie Osborne was back at the races and he was riding on the horse Great Day at the opening day feature, The Boyue Handicap,at the Bolraguard Racetrack in New Orleans.

With his bookie not taking a $2,000.00 bet on Great Day to win John flies down to New Orleans to bet the horse himself. It turns out that Great Day wins the race but is disqualified for impeding the placing horse, Conservasion, and put second with John losing all the money,$2,000.00, he bet on him.

Completely financially destroyed and possible facing prison there's still one more surprise thats awaiting John and it has to do with his bookies go-between Mary Slate, Marie Windson, and her boyfriend Rick, Steve Brodie. The two got the emotionally unstable John into a betting sting where he was induced to steal another $20,000.00 from his bank to put on a "sure thing" at the racetrack.

John gets the jump on both Mary and Rick when he calls the sport phone and finds out that the horse that he bet, Rickety Racks, was scratched from the race. When he called Rick's hotel room, to get the $20,000.00 back, he found out that he checked out and later that Mary also quit her job with John's bookie. Getting to Mary's apartment before she and Rick take off for Acapulco to get his $20,000.00 from the fleeing con artists there's a shoot-out with both Mary and Rick shot and killed and John fatally wounded. It's then that John drives,dying,to the house of his good friend and Langsford Bank president Charlston P. Adams,Robert Sherwood, and confesses the truth about what he did. Adams then promise's him that it would be a secret between both of them and that he'll tell the police that John was shot by a pair of crooks who robbed him of the bank money and with that the movie ends.

"Two Dollar Bettor" shows just how far the men, as well as women, who are hooked on gambling would go to not only win but break even for what they've lost at the racetrack.

Or..."Post Time for Topper". You won't see Ward, Wally or The Beaver. But you DO get to see Barbara Billingsly (June) as the fall guy's secretary. AND Carl (Alfalfa) Switzer as his younger daughter's dizzy boyfriend. This is the story of an honest, widowed family man and bank officer who becomes addicted to off track horse betting, loses large sums of money, and is lured deeper into the abyss by his bookie's vampish courier, played by Marie Windsor-----Filmland's best, sexiest, and probably most prolific villainess.

The rare contrast of authentic noir and sappy "back at the homestead" scenes provides for some unintentional humor, giving the movie the flavor of a high school dope-scare film from the 60s. However, this film isn't in the "so bad it's good" category. The performances and scripting are top notch, even though some of the melodramatic plot elements are quite implausible and even a bit ridiculous. Nevertheless, the film is effectively paced and truly suspenseful. Plenty of thrills....and a few giggles.

Highly entertaining