Comedies from the post-war era seem rare. Anyway, that's been my experience watching many of the old films on TCM and Movies channel of late.
I like how this one began. We flashback to the ancestral history of the Aubrey family in the Civil War era and afterward in the wild west. Frank Morgan (of "Wizard of Oz" fame) is cast as Gramps and Barbara Hale (famous for playing Della Street, Perry Mason's secretary) is granddaughter Mary. Gramps is a compulsive gambler and Mary will do anything in the world to dissuade him from indulging in games of chance.
Now we flash forward to the present time (1946), in which the Aubrey descendants (also named Gramps and Mary) are involved in the same conflict over the grandfather's addiction.
At Mary's bookstore, in steps professional gambler Larry Scott (Robert Young) who makes a $200 bet with Gramps that a particular horse will win at Santa Anita racetrack. When the horse comes in, Gramps, welches on the bet and disappears.
Larry meets Mary and they track Gramps down together who promises to pay off Larry's wager. Larry doesn't believe him but gives him a pass as he has immediately fallen in love with Mary.
The plot advances when Larry, much to the chagrin of his gambling pals, decides to give up gambling and marry Mary. They get married in Las Vegas but a few hours later, Larry is spotted at a craps table by Mary who is soon persuaded by a divorce lawyer to get a quickie divorce.
Larry claims that he was only playing craps to help a small-time gambler who couldn't really afford to lose the money he came with. Mary won't accept his explanation and is on her way to return home and give up in the idea of continuing the relationship with Larry.
Larry's pal Sacramento Sam (James Gleason) attempts to get the couple back together by having the house fix a roulette wheel so that Mary wins $500 and lose her aversion to the idea of gambling. Things go completely awry when Mary begins winning way more than the initial $500 and is transformed into a shrewd businesswoman.
Before this transformation, I enjoyed Hale's breezy performance as the girl-next-door anti-gambler but once Mary becomes a "tough cookie," I felt a good deal of the charm was lost. However, either way Barbara Hale looked sensational!
The serious tone in the second half kind of cancels the fun found in the first. Larry's jealousy (he mistakes Gramps as a man Mary may be cheating with in her hotel room) jeopardizes their relationship even more after having made some inroads in restoring the bond between them.
The film ends in a card game between Gramps and Sacramento Sam. Gramps, now in charge of a card room which Mary has purchased with all her winnings, intentionally loses to Sam, so that Mary may be restored to her original humble position. The lovers are reconciled, and Sam restores Gramps's reputation as top notch card shark by revealing that Gramps lost intentionally to save his granddaughter's marriage.
Lady Luck may have gone on for a bit too long, but all the performers manage to entertain in their fun parts. Morgan and Gleason are particularly amusing as compulsive gamblers who enjoy their lot in life.
I like how this one began. We flashback to the ancestral history of the Aubrey family in the Civil War era and afterward in the wild west. Frank Morgan (of "Wizard of Oz" fame) is cast as Gramps and Barbara Hale (famous for playing Della Street, Perry Mason's secretary) is granddaughter Mary. Gramps is a compulsive gambler and Mary will do anything in the world to dissuade him from indulging in games of chance.
Now we flash forward to the present time (1946), in which the Aubrey descendants (also named Gramps and Mary) are involved in the same conflict over the grandfather's addiction.
At Mary's bookstore, in steps professional gambler Larry Scott (Robert Young) who makes a $200 bet with Gramps that a particular horse will win at Santa Anita racetrack. When the horse comes in, Gramps, welches on the bet and disappears.
Larry meets Mary and they track Gramps down together who promises to pay off Larry's wager. Larry doesn't believe him but gives him a pass as he has immediately fallen in love with Mary.
The plot advances when Larry, much to the chagrin of his gambling pals, decides to give up gambling and marry Mary. They get married in Las Vegas but a few hours later, Larry is spotted at a craps table by Mary who is soon persuaded by a divorce lawyer to get a quickie divorce.
Larry claims that he was only playing craps to help a small-time gambler who couldn't really afford to lose the money he came with. Mary won't accept his explanation and is on her way to return home and give up in the idea of continuing the relationship with Larry.
Larry's pal Sacramento Sam (James Gleason) attempts to get the couple back together by having the house fix a roulette wheel so that Mary wins $500 and lose her aversion to the idea of gambling. Things go completely awry when Mary begins winning way more than the initial $500 and is transformed into a shrewd businesswoman.
Before this transformation, I enjoyed Hale's breezy performance as the girl-next-door anti-gambler but once Mary becomes a "tough cookie," I felt a good deal of the charm was lost. However, either way Barbara Hale looked sensational!
The serious tone in the second half kind of cancels the fun found in the first. Larry's jealousy (he mistakes Gramps as a man Mary may be cheating with in her hotel room) jeopardizes their relationship even more after having made some inroads in restoring the bond between them.
The film ends in a card game between Gramps and Sacramento Sam. Gramps, now in charge of a card room which Mary has purchased with all her winnings, intentionally loses to Sam, so that Mary may be restored to her original humble position. The lovers are reconciled, and Sam restores Gramps's reputation as top notch card shark by revealing that Gramps lost intentionally to save his granddaughter's marriage.
Lady Luck may have gone on for a bit too long, but all the performers manage to entertain in their fun parts. Morgan and Gleason are particularly amusing as compulsive gamblers who enjoy their lot in life.