Barbara Stanwyck follows up her last Oscar-nominated performance in "Sorry, Wrong Number" with even a better performance. As a woman who suddenly finds herself addicted to gambling and unable to stop, she really tears the emotions out of the issues of this character, showing many lost weekends and even weekdays as she loses, wins it all back again, loses some more, and ultimately faces a battle for her life when she gets in too deep.
Her husband, played by the future Music Man himself, Robert Preston, blames it on himself at first and eventually can't take anymore, giving her half of his savings so she can gamble it all away and so he can go on with his life. An excellent performance by stage actress Edith Barrett helps to explain Stanwyck's addictive personality. Playing her older sister, Barrett's resentment toward Stanwyck taking over her childhood are unleashed in a single emotional scene where the possessive and demanding Barrett reveals her true colors after having seemed so kindly when first introduced. Film Noir veteran Stephen McNally is excellent as the Vegas gambling casino owner who first encounters Stanwyck when she is accused of staking his joint. A ton of bit performers, both elegant and vile, become temporary enablers for Stanwyck's addiction.
Unlike Ray Milland's drunk in "The Lost Weekend", Stanwyck's mornings after are not filled with hangovers, only the desperation to start all over again. This is social drama at its most intense, starting with her being brutally beaten up. It all gets overly dramatic and intense at times, and while the lights of Vegas may seem beautiful, they are her pathways to hell. Stanwyck deserved another Oscar Nomination for this, but perhaps it was too hard for some Academy members to stomach. It was a brave role for her to take on, yet it has never made it into any of the many tributes I've seen of hers. But it ranks as an amazingly tough melodrama that is equally as engrossing as another tough dame's trek into despair: Susan Hayward in "Smash- Up".
Her husband, played by the future Music Man himself, Robert Preston, blames it on himself at first and eventually can't take anymore, giving her half of his savings so she can gamble it all away and so he can go on with his life. An excellent performance by stage actress Edith Barrett helps to explain Stanwyck's addictive personality. Playing her older sister, Barrett's resentment toward Stanwyck taking over her childhood are unleashed in a single emotional scene where the possessive and demanding Barrett reveals her true colors after having seemed so kindly when first introduced. Film Noir veteran Stephen McNally is excellent as the Vegas gambling casino owner who first encounters Stanwyck when she is accused of staking his joint. A ton of bit performers, both elegant and vile, become temporary enablers for Stanwyck's addiction.
Unlike Ray Milland's drunk in "The Lost Weekend", Stanwyck's mornings after are not filled with hangovers, only the desperation to start all over again. This is social drama at its most intense, starting with her being brutally beaten up. It all gets overly dramatic and intense at times, and while the lights of Vegas may seem beautiful, they are her pathways to hell. Stanwyck deserved another Oscar Nomination for this, but perhaps it was too hard for some Academy members to stomach. It was a brave role for her to take on, yet it has never made it into any of the many tributes I've seen of hers. But it ranks as an amazingly tough melodrama that is equally as engrossing as another tough dame's trek into despair: Susan Hayward in "Smash- Up".