This loose adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s great novel, “The Gambler,” is directed by German born Robert Siodmak as a lavish production, with a top-notch cast, headed by Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner at their most glamorous shape.
Grade: C (*1/2* out of *****)
The movie was planned as a high-quality production at MGM, then celebrating its 25th anniversary.
Gregory Peck stars as Fedja, a young, sensitive 19th-century Russian author. His “great sin” is gambling, which begins when he attempts to rescue the aristocratic Pauline Ostrovski (Ava Gardner) from the gaming tables.
They meet accidentally aboard a train, upon which Fedja changes his destination (Paris) and gets off to follow Pauline—until he finds her at a gambling casino.
He succeeds, only to lose himself to gambling fever, which costs him his friends, his reputation and his talent.
Reportedly, director Siodmak was disappointed with the screenplay, which is verbose. It is always a bad sign when the most vital and dramatic information is conveyed in voice-over narration (by Fedja here).
The tale lacks any logical or dramatic continuity.
Constant revisions bloated the film’s initial assemblage to five hours.
Dostoyevsky’s philosophical observations and moral ambiguity get lost in this version, co-scripted by Ladislas Fodor and Rene Fulop-Miller.
The supporting cast includes such luminaries as Ethel Barrymore as the grandmother, Melvyn Douglas as Armand de Glasse, Frank Morgan as Aristide Pitard, and Walter Huston as General Ostrovski (Barrymore’s son).
After Siodmak pared the listless film down, MGM insisted that the director reshoot some extra love scenes to make the movie more commercial. When Siodmak refused, the new sequences were shot by Mervin LeRoy.
Screenwriter Christopher Isherwood, who adapted the novel, was not pleased with the final movie, claiming that “it was neither Dostoevsky’s story, nor the story of Dostoevsky.”
Ultimately, this prestigious MGM production was pompous, heavy-handed and dull.
Critically panned, the movie was a huge flop vis-a-vis its budget. It earned $1,179,000 in the US and $862,000 overseas, resulting in a loss of $821,000.
This was the second teaming of Siodmak and Ava Gardner, after their successful and better film, the classic “The Killers,” back in 1946, which also marked Burt Lancaster’s debut.
Credits
Running time: 110 minutes
Directed by Robert Siodmak.
Written by Ladislas Fodor and Rene Fulop-Miller.
