Highest-Rated Movies about 'Crooked Gambler'

The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941), Blues in the Night (1941), Backlash (1956), Pioneer Justice (1947), Shockproof (1949), Frisco Kid (1935), Sporting Blood (1931), Fighting Thru (1930) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Crooked Gambler movies.

#2. Blues in the Night (1941)

Storyline: "Jigger' Lane forms a band that includes singer Ginger 'Character' Powell, wife of the trumpeter Leo Powell, and Nickie Haroyen and Peppi. All of them dedicate themselves to work as a unit and to play 'blues' music. The dedication isn't paying off in money and, while riding the rails in a boxcar, they meet and befriend a gangster named Del Davis. He offers them a job at a New Jersey roadhouse, where Powell falls in love with Kay Grant, a former 'real-good friend' of Davis. But when Powell learns that 'Character' is about to have a baby, he returns to her. "Jigger" tries to make Kay the band's singer and, when this fails, runs off with her. She leaves him with nothing to show for him except a nervous breakdown.Back at the roadhouse, after his recovery, Kay shows up, has a quarrel with Davis, shoots and kills him and plans to take back up with "Jigger", who knows better but just can't help himself. While she is waiting in a car for him, along comes cripple Brad Ames, who she put in that condition, and he gets in and drives the car over a cliff, leaving no survivors in the two-passenger crash. The band is back together at the end, still using boxcars as their transportation, but happy playing the blues.—Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>

Plot Keywords: new jersey, racketeer, racial stereotype, prisoner, police officer, missouri, liquor ...

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#3. Backlash (1956)

Storyline: Jim Slater's father (whom he never knew) died in the Apache ambush at Gila Valley, and Jim is searching for the one survivor, who supposedly went for help but disappeared with a lot of gold. In the process, he gets several people gunning for him, and he keeps meeting liberated woman Karyl Orton, who may be on a similar mission. Renewed Apache hostilities and an impending range war provide complications.—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Keywords: based on novel, based on book, revenge, 1870s, arizona, u.s. cavalry, apache indian ...

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#4. Pioneer Justice (1947)

Storyline: When three deputy marshals meet mysterious deaths near Buffalo Gap, the U.S. Marshal sends his top two trouble-shooters, Cheyenne Davis and Fuzzy Jones, to investigate. Cheyenne discovers that all the honest people in the vicinity are being driven from their lands by a gang led by Bill Judd. Further investigating disclose that a mysterious man is giving orders to Judd. Cheyenne rounds up the gang and its mysterious leader and restores law-and-order to Buffalo Gap.—Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>

Plot Keywords: independent film, two gun man, gunfire, greed, grief, stress, tension ...

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#5. Shockproof (1949)

Storyline: After having served 5 years in prison, for killing a man while defending her disreputable lover, Harry (John Baragrey), Jenny Marsh (Patricia Knight) is set for parole. Her parole officer, Griff Marat Cornel Wilde is determined to make Jenny go straight. For lack of other prospects Griff finds Jenny a job in his own home, something totally against regulations. At first, Jenny still has feelings for Harry, but as Griff shows her more compassion and care, she falls in love with him - which Harry seems to encourage, because he has plans to crush Griff and his dreams of political office, and the situation soon becomes even more dangerous...—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Keywords: accidental shooting, hospital, border crossing, u.s. mexico border, newspaper, character appears on front page of a newspaper, dishonesty ...

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#6. Frisco Kid (1935)

Storyline: Bat Morgan is nearly shanghaied on his way to the gold fields of California. Instead he kills Shanghai Duck and becomes a hero in San Francisco's Barbary Coast. He winds up the rich owner of a saloon and gambling hall and is nearly lynched for a murder he didn't commit.—Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>

Plot Keywords: class distinction, murder, redemption, arson, crisis, humiliation, resolvement ...

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#7. Sporting Blood (1931)

Storyline: Valued thoroughbred mare Southern Queen slips and falls in a mud puddle, breaking her leg. Before she is destroyed, she gives birth to Tommy Boy, who becomes the favorite of his owner, horse breeder Jim Rellence. Ultimately a reluctant Rellence is forced to sell the one-year old to a prominent sportsman, and Tommy enters the world of high stakes racing. He goes through a variety of owners, all of whom have their own selfish agenda for the horse. Ultimately he ends up with Ruby, the mistress of a murdered racketeer, who wants Tommy to fulfill his true potential as a stakes horse and enters him in the Kentucky Derby.—duke1029@aol.com

Plot Keywords: irish american, wager, regeneration, male female relationship, rainstorm, jockey, horse racing ...

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#8. Fighting Thru (1930)

Storyline: Miner Dan Barton (Ken Maynard) and his partner George Malden, known as "Tennessee", have hit a strike on their claim, and Dan returns to their cabin to find that Malden has departed to meet his sister, Alice (Jeanette Loff), who is arriving on the stage from Tennessee to join her brother. Dan knows that Malden has a weakness for drink, gambling and girls and follows him to town, where he finds him playing cards with gamblers Fox Tyson (Charles King) and saloon owner Ace Brady (William Thorne) who, with the aid of bar girl Queenie (Carmelita Geraghty), are well on their way to cheating him out of his share of the claim. Dan puts the stop to that, but Malden is killed by Tyson and Dan is framed for the killing. He escapes and saves Alice from a stagecoach disaster, and takes her to his and Malden's cabin, but doesn't let her know he is wanted for the death of her brother. But Ace and Tyson quickly inform her, and are well on their way to getting all of the Barton/Malden gold mine. The two songs are "Wait for the Wagon" and "Oh, Susanna." Other than being filmed under the working title of "California in 1878", which was also the title of Jack Natteford's original story,and then getting sold to TV in 1949 and having the title changed, there are no other alternative titles on this film. Two alternative spellings are shown by some sources---fighting for fightin' and through for thru---but those are typos created by two different trade paper reviewers in 1930.Accuracy regarding B-western titles was not a sticky point with the trade papers of the day.There are several versions of this story, including a Maynard remake called "Fargo Express" and Reliable Pictures used the story for Bob Steele's "The Pal from Texas."—Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>

Plot Keywords: independent film, horse billed above the title, grindhouse film, betrayal, prospector, jail break, white horse ...

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#9. Hidden Guns (1956)

Storyline: The outlaw Stragg has the town so intimidated that no one will speak against him no matter what he does. Sheriff Young heads for a nearby town, where there is a witness willing to testify. Meanwhile, Stragg hires a gunman to take care of the sheriff and the witness.—Snow Leopard

Plot Keywords: actor shares first name with character, murder, killer, gun duel, gang member, gang leader, death of brother ...

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#10. Badlands of Dakota (1941)

Storyline: Bob Holliday (Broderick Crawford), owner of the Bella Union saloon in Deadwood, sends his younger brother, Jim Holliday (Robert Stack), to St. Louis, Missouri to escort back Anne Grayson (Ann Rutherford), Bob's childhood sweetheart. On the riverboat journey back to Deadwood, Jim and Anne fall in love and are married by the riverboat captain. Whe Bob learns of this he is outraged and goes on a drunken binge and is beat up by the ruthless Jack McCall (Lon Chaney, Jr.) and is saved by a teamster called and known only as Jane (Frances Farmer). She loves Bob and has thought she and Bob would get married. Bitter Bob joins McCall's renegades who, disguised as Indians, rob the stagecoach gold shipments , aided by information supplied by Ransome (Bradley Page), the local agent for the stagecoach line. To end the lawlessness, leading citizens of the town decide to hire a town marshal. When Wild Bill Hickok, turns down the job, Bob suggests that the unqualified Jim be given the job. Bob thinks that Jim will be humiliated and possibly killed, so he can marry Jim's widow. With timely interference by Hickok, Jim arrests McCall but he escapes. And Jane makes an unsuccessful attempt to stop Bob riding with the renegades. Jim has a plan to capture the outlaws by having a posse follow the stagecoach, but it goes awry but Jim finds a watch-fob belonging to Bob. The latter claims he lost it when McCall beat him up. Jim buys his exclamation. Meanwhile McCall murders Hickok and Jim is going after him but is stopped when Jane warns the town that, based on smoke signals, it is about to be attacked by the Sioux. Jim sends stagecoach driver, Hurricane Harry (Fuzzy Knight), to bring General Custer (Addison Richards) and his 7th Cavalry troopers. The Sioux attack and set fire to the town, while Bob and McCall and the gang members, disguised as Indians and under cover of the attack, plan to rob the bank.—Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>

Plot Keywords: uncle niece relationship, outlaw, gang, death, romantic rivalry, u.s. cavalry, st. louis missouri ...

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