Gambling on the High Seas ** (1940, Wayne Morris, Jane Wyman, Gilbert Roland) – Classic Movie Review 10,074

Director George Amy’s 1940 Warner Bros black and white crime drama Gambling on the High Seas is a short and snappy though not very sharp semi-thriller remaking the 1935 Bette Davis-George Brent vehicle Special Agent.

This time Wayne Morris stars as Jim Carver or Carter, an investigative newsman discovering that gangster Greg Morella (Gilbert Roland), the boss of a crooked floating casino, is guilty of murder, while finding true love with Laurie Ogden (played by Jane Wyman in a strange blonde rinse).

The able performances of a good cast, the fast pace and atmospheric shooting help to overcome the rather sticky, predictable script by Robert E Kent, based on the story by Martin Mooney.

Wayne Morris’s character is called Jim Carver in the film, but Jim Carter in the credits.

Also notable in the cast are William Pawley, John Litel, Roger Pryor, Murray Alper, Frank Wilcox, Robert Strange, John Gallaudet, Frank Ferguson, Harry Shannon, George Meader, Creighton Hale, William Hopper, Jack Mower, John Ridgely and George Reeves.

It was released as a second feature on 22 June 1940.

Gambling on the High Seas is directed by George Amy, runs 58 minutes, is made and released by Warner Bros, is written by Robert E Kent, is shot in black and white by L William O’Connell, produced by Jack L. Warner (executive producer), Hal B. Wallis (executive producer) and Bryan Foy, scored by Howard Jackson, and designed by Hugh Reticker.

Wayne Morris had just been teamed with Ronald Reagan’s first wife Jane Wyman in Flight Angels (1940). Gambling on the High Seas is the fifth of seven films he made in 1940. He was born Bert DeWayne Morris on 17 February 1914 and died of a coronary occlusion on 14 September 1959, aged 45. He was a prolific film and TV actor, and decorated World War Two fighter ace, having become a pilot prompted by his interest in flying through Flight Angels.

The cast are Wayne Morris as Jim Carter, Jane Wyman as Laurie Ogden, Gilbert Roland as Greg Morella, John Litel as US District Attorney, Roger Pryor as Max Gates, Frank Wilcox as Stone, Robert Strange as Larry Brill, John Gallaudet as Steve, Sterling, Frank Ferguson as City District Attorney, Harry Shannon as Chief of Police, George Reeves as Reporter, George Meader as Secretary to City Attorney, William Pawley as Frank, Murray Alper as Louie, Creighton Hale, William Hopper, Jack Mower, and John Ridgely.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,074

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