The Great Sinner

Perhaps it's his fine acting, his delivery style or his distinguished good looks. Whatever it is, Gregory Peck had displayed it in all his films. Here is one of his best, called " The Great Sinner. " If you've read Dostoyevsky's novel 'the Gambler', penned in 1867, you will have a pretty good idea where the movie came from. It's the story of a successful young writer named Fedja (Gregory Peck) who, while traveling through Europe, meets and is immediately struck by Pauline Ostrovsky (Ave Gardner) the daughter of a retired General. Through her, he discovers, she and her father are in great debt to the Casino owner, Armand de Glasse (Melvyn Douglas). Once in love, he realizes there is only one way to win her and that's to pay off her family's notes. With great but innocent naiveté he cautiously enters the world of gambling and is surprised by his extraordinary luck when he continues to win, win and eventually break the bank. Believing he can quit, he begins making plans to wed and move to the countryside. Unfortunately as most gamblers realize there is a subtle, yet, powerful addiction to winning and slowly it compels him to return to the alluring and enticing realm of the roulette wheel. This early Black and White movie is nearly a forgotten Classic of Peck's early career and were it not for his co-stars like, Walter Huston, Ethel Barrymore, Agnes Moorehead and Frank Morgan, it may have remained in obscurity. Instead, this wonderful, (albeit lengthy) and dramatic film has become a milestone for Gregory Peck and one which created an enduring legacy for this great actor. ****

At first glance, the writers of this unusual Hollywood film took the characters, location, period and premise of Dostoyevsky's novel "The Gambler" and reworked them in outrageous fashion in order to bring even more sex, moralizing guilt, titillation, debauchery and fun into the mix. It works and is very entertaining on that level. Anyone curious about the real thing might want to check out the French film "Le Joueur" by Claude Autant-Lara (1958), starring Gérard Philipe, which actually names it source, and its innumerable remakes. On the plus side, it gives Ava Gardner one of her most articulate roles and composer Bronislau Kaper a chance to incorporate a record number of light classics into his score.

This little-known gem is well worth checking. The fantastic script by Christopher Asherwood (one of the enfants terribles of the english literature of the 20th century) has some of the finest and memorable lines of the classic cinema. Ava Gardner never been so gorgeous. One cannot help feeling disturbed as the events go on, and the film is somehow unusual for the time for its moral and the pessimism it portraits. Definetely, Robert Siodmark's best. The allegorical final scene surely added by the studio is a real pity. After all we've seen, one can hardly find any hope in that universe, with or without the interceeding of God.

Before Gregory Peck played heroes in movies about American integrity, he took a few villainous, or at least troubled, roles. In The Great Sinner, Greg plays a compulsive gambler, and he gives a wonderful performance.

At first, he's just a writer who wants to write about the incredible sickness of gambling, but before long, he finds out firsthand how the sickness can take over a man's life. What I love most about this movie is the realism of the script and performances. I've heard this movie compared to The Lost Weekend, a movie about alcoholism, but I found The Great Sinner to be much more realistic in its portrayal of addiction. Greg's performance is fantastic, and it's great to see the contrast of how he was before he started gambling. As the movie continues, he becomes desperate, cruel, and self-loathing. Many times Hollywood shows the glitz and glamour associated with gambling, but since this is a period piece, there's no neon lights or Las Vegas strip. It's in black-and-white, it's dirty without being filthy, it warns without becoming melodramatic, and it's heart-wrenching.

Greg is flanked by an all-star supporting cast, including Melvyn Douglas, Ethel Barrymore, Frank Morgan, Agnes Moorehead, Walter Huston, and his favorite leading lady Ava Gardner. I don't usually like Ava Gardner, but this movie is an exception. She actually looks beautiful in this movie, with gorgeous hairstyles and gowns, and she's very believable as a tormented heroinne who loves Greg but feels trapped by Mel's money and power. Mel is a convincing villain, so if you're not used to seeing him as the bad guy, get ready for a shock. He can be quite awful when he wants to be. Frank Morgan has a very brief part, but it's quite sad. In real life, he died from alcoholism, and in this movie he shows Greg a negative example of what can happen when your life becomes ruled by an addiction. Check this one out if you've never seen it. If I can recommend it so highly, it's got to be good!

Well, if it has Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Melvyn Douglas, Walter Huston, Ethel Barrymore, Frank Morgan, and Agnes Moorehead, I'm there. But the fact is, this costume epic aims for the grandeur and tragedy of 19th century European literature without laying the groundwork. It's a listlessly plotted gambling melodrama, with Noble Writer Peck succumbing to the charms of Gambling Lady Gardner (and she was never more luscious), then reversing roles with her as he becomes addicted to the roulette wheel and she comes to her senses. Some lively bitch-dialogue from Christopher Isherwood helps, and the starry supporting cast contributes incisive miniatures; Barrymore, who pops in 90 minutes into the running time, is a special hoot, subtler and less grand than usual. But as so often happens in late-'40s Hollywood, the production values are stultifying, and a God-will-provide fadeout is tacked on to provide Moral Redemption where there logically should be none. It's a painless two hours, and good for stargazing -- but hardly the serious look at a decadent aristocracy it might have been.