NEVER TRUST A GAMBLER (1951)

NEVER TRUST AN EX-HUSBAND

Known mostly for being unknown, directing forgettable films in the Thirties and Forties, the name of Ralph Murphy might ring a bell for directing three costume adventure films teaming Louis Hayward and Patricia Medina in Lady in the Iron Mask, The Lady and the Bandit, and Captain Pirate. All in an effort to revitalize the swashbuckler. Months before these films, he directed this very predictable crime drama released by Columbia Pictures. The film was produced by Louis B. Appleton Jr. and Monty Shaff. It was developed from a routine screenplay by Jesse Lasky Jr. and Jerome Odlum with zero surprises. The adequate music score is by Arthur Morton. Clocking in at seventy-nine minutes, it is typical of the period but the commendable second-tier performers steady the film.

The film stars Bernard Zanville, aka Dane Clark, as a small-time gambler refusing to testify to supposedly protect his innocent friend accused of murder. The edgy Clark is always hiding behind curtains, peering between Venetian blinds when not packing a suitcase. His co-star is Cathy O’Donnell, playing the ex-wife. As a reserved school teacher she is well cast as her apparent weak acting fits the role. Her eyes are lifeless, at times as if she were playing a blind character. Her acting resume was thin. She reluctantly agrees to let him stay and tries to cover for him but she admits she is not good at lying like Clark. In her final scene after being manhandled as Clark's shield, I could not tell if she was crying or exhausted from laughing.

Rhys Williams makes an indelibly disgusting mark on the viewer with his short, but pivotal screen time as an off-duty police sergeant full of himself. He collides with O’Donnell in a market. He dated O’Donnell’s roommate and recognizes her. In spite of his rather clownish appearance, he assumes he is irresistible and obliged to make advances. Among her food items, she purchases a bottle of whiskey for Clark. The store clerk is that handsome beach ball with legs, Percy Helton. Williams teases her so persistently about that whiskey and living alone she just gives it to him to make him go away. But this guy is a leach. A sexual predator. He shows up at her home with the lame excuse of returning the whiskey. He gets physical and she slaps him a few times and instinctively calls out Clark’s name. The pervert thinks she lied to him about being alone and confronts Clark, thusly:

A fight erupts, Williams fires his gun,

Only hitting the ceiling, he is done.

Hit by a footstool on his head,

He is not alive but very dead.

Moviegoers rise up and cheer,

A pleasant movie moment of the year.

Tip #1: if you want to fill in a bullet hole in your ceiling,

you can use ordinary “kitchen soap.” Preferably white.

Clark decides to mask the manslaughter by sending Williams and his car over a cliff. A plan that rarely works. It is quickly determined Williams died well before the accident. In a silly bit, another officer spotted footprints and determined the shoes were in a hurry. The officer is amazing. Deserves a promotion. Yet the scenes with Clark leaving the scene have him walking, not running. Williams’ three-year partner is played by Jeff Corey. He confirms that whether on or off duty, Williams had only one thing on his mind. ‘a skirt.’ A character Hollywood salaciously included as expected male behavior but now, with selective indignation, have created their own hashtags.

Tom Drake, the lead detective, is solid in this role. He and Corey are naturals. Drake’s vocal quality and delivery, along with his body language add depth to his character. On his first visit with O’Donnell at her home, he senses she is hiding something, though he is there to ask about her former roommate who had a past with Williams. The roommate is later questioned and in no uncertain terms tells the police what a scumbag Williams was. The moviegoers stand and cheer once more.

Drake could also be quite charming. He and O’Donnell have lunch together and they enjoy each others' company. But a probing question unravels her suspected sheltering of her ex-husband. A lot of interviews later, Corey and Drake know they are after that Clark skunk. The detective duo returns to the O’Donnell house but she is not there. The day’s heavy rain causes the roof to leak, conveniently revealing the bullet hole in the ceiling. Amusingly, on the floor is the plug of soap.

Tip #2: if you want to fill in a bullet hole in your ceiling,

have a leak-proof roof.

Clark, at his wits’ end, lies about supporting O’Donnell’s constant plea of turning himself in. Unknown to him, she witnesses him packing a revolver in his suitcase. He forces her along on his escape, getting more desperate by the mile. They stop for gas and she offers to pay by credit card. While signing the receipt, she adds a note for the attendant to call Drake. Clark does stupid things during the climax of the film in typical B-movie fashion. The screenplay ends the film on a lighter note as Drake and O’Donnell cozy up in the rear of Corey’s vehicle. He looks through his rearview mirror, smirks, and adjusts the mirror downward. 

Note: There is a comical scene with Sid Tomack, a bus driver. Drake arrives to question him about passengers he picked up on the night of the Williams’ killing but his nagging wife “Ginger,” played by Ruth Warren, thinks the police are there to arrest her husband for stealing again. It is pretty obvious she runs their home. When Drake introduces himself, Tomack tries to take a step backward out of fear but his wife pushes him forward. Nervously, he tells the police he has not done anything wrong with his wife instantly calling him a liar. Tomack however, saves face by confirming Clark was a fare.