Street of Chance (1930 film)

Street of Chance

Theatrical release poster
Directed by John Cromwell
Produced by David O. Selznick
Written by Oliver H.P. Garrett (story)
Lenore J. Coffee
Howard Estabrook
Ben Hecht (uncredited)
Charles MacArthur (uncredited)
Gerald Geraghty (titles)
Starring William Powell
Jean Arthur
Kay Francis
Music by John Leipold (uncredited)
Cinematography Charles Lang
Edited by Otho Lovering
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release dates
  • February 8, 1930 (1930-02-08)
Running time
 76 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Street of Chance is a 1930 American pre-Code film directed by John Cromwell and starring William Powell, Jean Arthur, Kay Francis and Regis Toomey. Howard Estabrook was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Writing, Achievement.

Plot

John Marsden, a famed and powerful New York gambler who refuses to throw a game, is devoted to his wife, Alma, and his impressionistic younger brother, "Babe," to whom he sends a wedding gift of $10,000, which Babe may keep on the condition that he does not indulge in gambling. Alma, dismayed by John's ruthless tactics and his obsession with gambling, threatens to leave him unless he takes his winnings and leaves the city with her. He agrees.

However, that evening Babe, who has become a cardsharp, comes to town with his new wife, Judith. He goes to see his brother, whom he believes is a stockbroker, unaware of John's true profession and the reality that he is trying to quit and rebuild his marriage. Babe insists on playing and tries to win a fortune with his savings in an organized gambling session. He wins remarkably. The professional gambler sees that his card-playing sibling is preparing to make the same mistakes he did.

John therefore decides to risk his life and gamble one more time, and to break the gambler's code and cheat by throwing the game, in order to disillusion Babe, thereby teaching him an unforgettable lesson. However, John is caught cheating by Dorgan and becomes a marked man. John is later mortally wounded, in spite of his wife's attempts to save him.

Cast

See also


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