The Lady Gambles Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

The Lady Gambles Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 16, 2023

Michael Gordon's "The Lady Gambles" (1949) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critic Pamela Hutchinson, vintage promotional materials, and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

You can add Michael Gordon’s The Lady Gambles to the long list of films that tell the truth about compulsive gamblers. Much like drug addicts, compulsive gamblers desperately need help because they usually end up in the gutter, alone and miserable, and eventually self-destruct. The few that are lucky enough to bounce back with the tremendous support of people that genuinely love them are never truly cured either. They just have their lives carefully managed until they become too old and weak to be able to resume their destructive habits.

In a dark alley somewhere on the outskirts of Chicago, a couple of gamblers break their game and begin fighting. A man runs away. A woman, who appears to have been the man’s partner, attempts to do the same, but is quickly pulled back and beaten up until she collapses in a puddle of mud.

Not too long after the woman’s unconscious body is discovered by the police and transferred to a local hospital, another man who identifies himself as David Boothe (Robert Preston) rushes in and tells an overworked doctor that he is her husband and has been looking for her all across the country. Because the doctor remains skeptical of the quick and very emotional description, and then nonchalantly declares that he is about to go on break, Boothe causes a bigger scene that attracts the cop on duty. Then, after he reveals the unconscious woman’s name, Joan Boothe (Barbara Stanwyck) and urges the cop to examine her police record where he would confirm that she is in fact his wife, proceeds to reconstruct her past before the visibly intrigued doctor.

In Las Vegas, some years earlier, the woman is seen accompanying Boothe while he is gathering information for his newspaper back in Chicago. While Boothe is away working during the day, his wife begins spending time observing some of the busiest crap tables in town. In an upscale casino, she is caught secretly taking pictures with her camera by Horace Corrigan (Stephen McNally), who manages the place, but instead of being kicked out is allowed to play with house chips. At the right time, Corrigan politely asks if she would like to go out on a date with him, but his offer is immediately rejected.

Less than forty-eight hours later, the woman returns to Corrigan’s office and this time engages him in a conversation that ends up with a different offer -- if interested, she could do a few gigs for Corrigan that will provide her with enough cash to meet her gambling needs. Having already lost all of her money and secretly borrowed some from her husband’s traveling funds, she agrees, and soon after her life spins out of control.

Even though Gordon does not transform The Lady Gambles into an exceptionally dark and miserabilist drama, the honesty with which his film depicts the different cycles a compulsive gambler goes through before the inevitable self-destruction is pretty unsettling. In fact, observing Stanwyck’s character repeatedly becoming overwhelmed by her gambling addiction and temporarily losing her ability to act as a rational human being isn’t any different from observing the two junkies in Jerry Schatzberg’s The Panic in Needle Park. These are the same kind of people, too weak and ill, each day sinking even deeper into the abyss where The Grim Reaper awaits.

The biggest surprise in The Lady Gambles is McNally’s transformation as a cool-headed casino manager with connections to the underworld who also learns an important lesson while dealing with Stanwyck’s gambler. It is a tremendous performance that does a lot to enhance the film’s authenticity. While the finale isn’t disappointing, Gordon could have ended up with a legit classic had he chosen to do what Billy Wilder did at the end of The Lost Weekend. This way, the message of The Lady Gambles would have had a far greater resonance.

Gordon was able to secure the services of cinematographer Russell Metty, who just a few years later would go on to work with Oscar Welles on Touch of Evil.

The Lady Gambles Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.36:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Lady Gambles arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

The release is sourced from the same master that the folks at Kino Lorber worked with to produce this North American release in 2020. This is master is not new and comes from Universal's vaults.

The film looks identical on these releases, and I like the overall quality of the visuals. There are some inconsistencies -- some light reflections make some visuals a sharper appearance; grain is not quite as healthy as it can be and at times it shows; some darker nuances can be better balanced -- but delineation, clarity, and depth are always very pleasing. Image stability is good. A few nicks and blemishes pop up here and there, but there are no large cuts, marks, warped or torn frames. So, a new 2K or 4K master will produce healthier and more attractive visuals, but the current presentation is good. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Lady Gambles Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I thought that the lossless track on the American release of The Lady Gambles was excellent. I revisited the film yesterday and again liked the quality of the audio a lot. Clarity, sharpness, and stability are outstanding. The music easily produces important contrasts, but you need to keep in mind that the soundtrack has native limitations. I did not notice any encoding anomalies to report.

The Lady Gambles Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic Pamela Hutchinson. The commentator correctly points out that gambling is a serious addiction and in The Lady Gambles it is depicted as such. Also, there are plenty of good observations about the film's noirish identity and tone, Barbara Stanwyck's performance and career, Michael Gordon's direction, the cooperation of Las Vegas authorities during the making of the film, etc.

• Image Gallery - a collection of original promotional materials for The Lady Gambles.

• Sucker Bait (1943) - a vintage propaganda film about Nazi future spies and interrogators and their working methods. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. (39 min).

• Book - an illustrated 120-page book with new essays by Ellen Wright, Paul Duane, Philip Kemp, Tara Judah, Iris Veysey, and Imogen Sara Smith, extensive archival articles and interviews, new writing on the various short films, and technical credits.

The Lady Gambles Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Had Michael Gordon given The Lady Gambles a gloomier finale, or at least a slightly more ambiguous one, it would have been impossible not to place it next to Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend. Obviously, these films examine the corrosive effects of different addictions, but their honesty is equally hard-hitting. Barbara Stanwyck gives a predictably powerful performance and is the undisputed star of The Lady Gambles, but it is awfully difficult to imagine the film being as good as it is without Stephen McNally. This release is included in Indicator/Powerhouse Films' Universal Noir #2, a six-disc box set. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.