The Mississippi Gambler (1953 film)
{{short description|1953 film}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Mississippi Gambler
| image = The Mississippi Gambler FilmPoster.jpeg
| caption = Film poster by Reynold Brown
| director = Rudolph Maté
| producer = Ted Richmond
| writer = Seton I. Miller
| starring = Tyrone Power
Piper Laurie
Julia Adams
| music = Frank Skinner
| cinematography = Irving Glassberg
| editing = Edward Curtiss
| color_process = Technicolor
| studio = Universal International Pictures
| distributor = Universal Pictures
| released = {{Film date|1953|1|13|St. Louis, Missouri}}
| runtime = 99 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| gross = $5 million{{cite news |title=Sobbin' Women' Shaping for Betta St. John; 'Far West' Set for Hornblow |author=Edwin Schallert |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=March 6, 1953}}
}}
The Mississippi Gambler is a 1953 American Western film directed by Rudolph Maté and starring Tyrone Power.{{Cite web|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/102578/The-Mississippi-Gambler/overview |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081212090538/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/102578/The-Mississippi-Gambler/overview |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 12, 2008 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=The New York Times |author=Hal Erickson |title=The Mississippi Gambler |author-link=Hal Erickson (author) |date=2008 |accessdate=August 20, 2011}} The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Sound Recording (Leslie I. Carey).{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1954 |title=The 26th Academy Awards (1954) Nominees and Winners |accessdate=August 20, 2011|work=oscars.org}} This film was the third Universal Studios film to bear this title—though with a different plot each time, the others being The Mississippi Gambler (1929) and Mississippi Gambler (1942).{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=50945 |title=The Mississippi Gambler (1953) |publisher=American Film Institute}}
Plot
Mark Fallon persuades professional gambler "Kansas John" Polly to teach him the trade. As they board a riverboat bound for New Orleans, Kansas John advises him to be wary of F. Montague Caldwell, an unscrupulous riverboat gambler.
Mark makes the acquaintance of two fellow passengers, attractive Angelique Dureau and her brother Laurent. Laurent loses a great deal of money at poker. He gives Mark a valuable diamond necklace to redeem his gambling IOUs. When Mark learns that it is Angelique's, he offers it back to her, but she angrily declines. Caldwell hires some men to ambush and rob Mark, but a friend warns Kansas John, and he and Mark jump ashore to reach New Orleans alive.
There, he meets the father of Angelique and Laurent, the suave Edmond Dureau, a noted fencer who is impressed by Mark's own skill with the sword. He invites Mark to his home, despite Mark's warning that his son and daughter would not welcome him. Dureau wishes his daughter would feel differently toward Mark, but Angelique instead weds banker George Elwood.
Mark builds a successful casino. He and Edmond also give a helpful hand to Ann Conant, the sister of an unlucky gambler who committed suicide after losing the money entrusted to him by his firm. Laurent falls for Ann, but she is smitten with Mark, so Laurent forces Mark into a duel. As the challenged party, Mark has the choice of weapons; he selects pistols instead of swords. Laurent dishonorably fires prematurely and misses. Mark refuses to shoot back.
Angelique's husband skips town with his bank's money. Mark, who had refused to withdraw his money out of consideration for Angelique, despite widespread disquieting rumors, is left penniless, so he returns to his old life as a gambler. Angelique realizes her true feelings and asks to go along.
Cast
- Tyrone Power as Mark Fallon. Life magazine reported that Power—in lieu of salary—took a 50% participation deal for his work on the film."The Universal Appeal." Life, 15 June 1953, 106.
- Piper Laurie as Angelique Dureau
- Julia Adams as Ann Conant
- John McIntire as "Kansas John" Polly
- Paul Cavanagh as Edmond Dureau
- John Baer as Laurent Dureau
- Ron Randell as George Elwood
- Ralph Dumke as Caldwell
- Robert Warwick as Paul O. Monet
- William Reynolds as Pierre
- Guy Williams as Andre
Ron Randell had a small role.{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/unsung-aussie-actors-ron-randell-top-twenty/|title=Unsung Aussie Actors – Ron Randell: A Top Twenty|date=August 10, 2019}}
Reception
The film was very popular. Life reported that it was Universal-International's biggest moneymaker that year. Variety estimated it had earned box office rentals in America of $3 million by the end of 1953.'The Top Box Office Hits of 1953', Variety, January 13, 1954. Please note this figure is rentals, not box.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|The Mississippi Gambler (1953 film)}}
- {{IMDb title|0046080|The Mississippi Gambler}}
- {{TCMDb title|id=83657}}
- {{AFI film|id=50945|title=The Mississippi Gambler}}
- [https://archive.org/details/variety189-1953-01/page/n299 Review of film] at Variety
{{Rudolph Maté}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mississippi Gambler (1953 film), The}}
Category:1953 Western (genre) films
Category:1953 romantic drama films
Category:1950s English-language films
Category:American Western (genre) films
Category:American romantic drama films
Category:American films about gambling
Category:Films set in New Orleans
Category:Films directed by Rudolph Maté
Category:Films scored by Frank Skinner
Category:Universal Pictures films