Mr Lucky *** (1943, Cary Grant, Laraine Day, Charles Bickford, Gladys Cooper) – Classic Movie Review 2341

The 1943 comedy film Mr Lucky stars Cary Grant, who is not terribly lucky with the script here, but he takes everything this movie throws at him in his stride. 

‘You call that purling? You dropped a stitch,’ Joe Adams (Cary Grant).

Director H C Potter’s 1943 comedy film Mr Lucky stars Cary Grant, who is not terribly lucky with the script here, based on the story Bundles for Freedom by Milton Holmes. But, nevertheless, he takes everything this movie throws at him in his stride.

Grant carries on regardless through the queasy story about the reformation of a conman gambler Joe Adams (Grant), complete with Cockney rhyming slang and offbeat images. Joe takes on the identity of a dead gangster to avoid the draft. He has plans to swindle money from a wartime relief charity programme to get his gambling operation running. But he starts to have a change of heart when he falls for rich socialite Dorothy Bryant (Laraine Day).

Lucky for us and the movie, Grant’s performance is highly likeable and among the other appealing performances are those of Laraine Day as Dorothy Bryant, Charles Bickford as Hard Swede, Gladys Cooper as Captain Veronica Steadman, Henry Stephenson as Mr Bryant, Alan Carney as Crunk, Paul Stewart as Zepp, Kay Johnson as Mrs Mary Ostrander, Walter Kingsford as Commissioner Hargraves and Florence Bates as Mrs Van Every.

Grant said he especially liked the film because it provided him with his first serious role in years and was the foundation of his long career.

Mr Lucky was remade in 1950 as Gambling House, with Victor Mature.

Director Potter went on to make the much more successful Mr Blandings Builds his Dream House with Grant in 1948.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2341

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