Any Number Can Play (1949)

"I happen to be involved in a high-class crap game!" So says blowzy Marjorie Rambeau, the Sophie Tucker like matron, the last of the gambling red hot mama's. It is her acerbic wisdom which brings heart to this tale of the joint's troubled owner, Clark Gable, who has domestic and financial issues and a group of regular clients who involve him in their individual dramas. Then there are the first-time customers who either plead for a cancellation of their debt or threaten him with legal action. One client attempts suicide, another offers herself to him as his mistress. Wife Alexis Smith considers leaving him while her family obviously exploits their relationship. Darryl Hickman, as their son, proceeds to get into trouble which leads to turning points for the family as well as the future of the business.Too many characters are the major issues of this soap opera which could have benefited from a little trimming. This leads to less screen time for the more interesting characters, particularly Rambeau and Mary Astor as the woman who greatly desires Gable's love. She has a truly degrading declaration of love, making her cameo truly heartbreaking. It is sad that she didn't share a scene with Smith who could pass as her younger sister. Among the others, Frank Morgan and Lewis Stone are also worth mentioning.

Clark Gable is a casino owner who has tried to give all he can to his wife and son, but maybe all they needed was his time. Alexis Smith and Dwayne Hickman is his wife and son, and the movie is peppered with great supporting actors like Frank Morgan, Wendell Corey, Mary Astor and Marjorie Rambeau. The film begins rather slow, but is rewarding to those who like character studies and get into family dynamics. This seems to be the type of film that doesn't rely so much on active plot but on the way the characters relate to each other, which in some ways, puts it ahead of its time. While others may find fault with the film and I do admit it has its faults, I thoroughly enjoyed it and appreciated what it was trying to convey, that in life we have to give a second chance not only to others but also to ourselves. A new beginning is always the best perspective. Watch Any Number Can Play and see what you get out of it.

While this is not a "great", as were a number of Clark Gable classics, it is a very solid and very good film that is well worth watching.It would have been easy to simply tell the story of a small-time gambling casino, and to paint some of the patrons as pathetic losers at life. But this film goes beyond all that and tells its story from various perspectives.For example, the owner of a casino (Gable)...but also a family man who is having problems with his son because the son disapproves of the gambling aspect of his father's life. The owner of the casino also has a serious heart condition, and he needs one thing to thrive -- retirement. The scenes with the son (Darryl Hickman, who is excellent) and wife (Alexis Smith, also excellent) are sentimental, but well done, and flesh out Gable's character more than one might expect from reading the blurb about the film.While Gable is the star here, and the focus of the film, there's a wonderful parade of performances by terrific character actors to round out the film:Lewis Stone is a down-and-out gambler...definitely quite a long ways from his days as Andy Hardy's father. He plays it superbly.Mary Astor as the almost-other love of Gable.Marjorie Rambeau as a high society lover of poker and a force of nature.And, one of Gable's frequent costars -- Frank Morgan, although here Morgan is not quite so likable, but does very nicely as the opponent.Not all of Gable's post-war films were gems, but this one is. And I know that because I don't like gambling, don't gamble, and don't understand gambling. But this film help my rapt attention. Highly recommended. Frank Morgan as Jim KurstynBarry Sullivan as TycoonEdgar Buchanan as EdLeon Ames as Dr. Palmer

I like that Clark Gable plays the logical extension of the characters he so often played in the 1930s and 40s. So often he played the likable rogue who made his living just skirting the border between good and evil--playing gamblers, mercenaries or con-men. However, in each film you almost never see what this same character would have been like had the film followed him into mid-life. Well, ANY NUMBER CAN PLAY is such a film. Gable plays an older rogue who owns a gambling house but also has a wife and older son. And, instead of being firmly in control of his life, you can see it slowly crumbling--at least around the edges. This role took some guts to play as he was more vulnerable and Gable COULD have just continued playing "fluff roles". Give it a try and see an adult drama.