You Can't Buy Luck

Last updated
You Can't Buy Luck
You Can't Buy Luck.jpg
Directed by Lew Landers
Screenplay by Arthur T. Horman
Martin Mooney
Produced by Maury M. Cohen
Starring Onslow Stevens
Helen Mack
Vinton Hayworth
Cinematography J. Roy Hunt
Edited by Jack Hively
Music by Roy Webb
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Pictures
Release date
  • April 30, 1937 (1937-04-30)
Running time
61 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$86,000 [1]
Box office$175,000 [1]

You Can't Buy Luck is a 1937 American murder mystery film directed by Lew Landers and starring Onslow Stevens, Helen Mack and Vinton Hayworth. It was produced and distributed by Hollywood studio RKO Pictures.

Contents

Plot

Superstitious New York gambler Joe Baldwin (Onslow Stevens), owner of the thoroughbred racing horse Sarcasm, believes that luck can be bought with charitable deeds. Before the Kentucky Derby, to "buy luck," he finances an expensive trip to Europe for gold-digger Jean Jason, his "good luck charm," not knowing she is taking her lover with her, gigolo and sometime artist Paul Vinette (Vinton Hayworth). He also gives his old friend Frank Brent cash to save his cab business and visits an orphanage in Louisville with his sister, where he meets Betty McKay (Helen Mack), a pretty teacher who scoffs at his philosophy.

She scolds him for wishing for rain on the day of the Derby to aid his horse, who runs best on a muddy track, because the orphans plan an outdoor party. Although it rains as wished, Sarcasm loses the Derby, and Joe is convinced that it was because the orphans were pulling against him. In an attempt to repair the damage before the Preakness, Joe throws the orphans a lavish party, hiring clowns and other entertainment. To Betty's surprise, Joe is as excited as the children, and they fall in love.

After Sarcasm wins the Preakness, Joe returns to New York, where Jean is back from Europe. Joe tells her that he will not be seeing her any more because he is going to marry Betty, and she cajoles $50,000 from him as a final "luck insurance" payment. Before Joe shows up with the check, however, Paul arrives at Jean's apartment. They argue when he sees that she plans to run out on him with the money. Jean threatens him with a gun, and during a scuffle, kills her.

Joe arrives at Jean's building, where Paul is waiting outside. He lights the unsuspecting Joe's cigarette and gives him the matchbook, then telephones the police and, posing as Joe, "confesses" that he just murdered Jean. Joe is tried for Jean's murder and convicted on circumstantial evidence, but escapes before his final lockup. Using Frank's cab to get around, and with the help of Betty to question the many possible suspects, Joe tracks down Paul using the passenger lists of Jean's voyage.

Paul discovers the ploy and has Joe apprehended. Joe convinces the police to question Paul. By matching partial fingerprints from the crime scene to those left by Paul at the police station, Paul is implicated in the murder and confesses. Sure now that luck cannot be bought, Joe embraces Betty.

Cast

Reception

According to RKO records the film made a profit of $24,000. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Nocturne</i> (1946 film) 1946 black-and-white film noir directed by Edwin L. Marin

Nocturne is a 1946 American film noir starring George Raft and Lynn Bari. The film was produced by longtime Alfred Hitchcock associate Joan Harrison, scripted by Jonathan Latimer, and directed by Edwin L. Marin. It was one of several medium budget thrillers Raft made in the late 1940s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Mack</span> American actress

Helen Mack was an American actress. She started her career as a child actress in silent films, moving to Broadway plays and touring one of the vaudeville circuits. Her greater success as an actress was as a leading lady in the 1930s. She made the transition to performing on radio and then into writing, directing, and producing shows during the Golden Age of Radio. She later wrote for Broadway, stage and television. Her career spanned the infancy of the motion picture industry, the beginnings of Broadway, the final days of vaudeville, the transition to sound movies, the Golden Age of Radio, and the rise of television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phyllis Fraser</span> American socialite, writer, publisher, and actress

Phyllis Cerf Wagner, also known as Phyllis Fraser, was an American socialite, writer, publisher, and actress. She was a co-founder of Beginner Books.

<i>The Ex-Mrs. Bradford</i> 1936 film by Stephen Roberts

The Ex-Mrs. Bradford is a 1936 American comedy-mystery film. William Powell and Jean Arthur star as a divorced couple who investigate a murder at a racetrack. This was the last film directed by Stephen Roberts before his death from a heart attack.

<i>Fixer Dugan</i> 1939 film by Lew Landers

Fixer Dugan is a 1939 American drama film starring Lee Tracy as a circus promoter who decides to help out an orphaned girl, played by Virginia Weidler. The film was directed by Lew Landers, released by RKO Radio Pictures and is based on the play What's a Fixer For? by H.C. Potter.

<i>The Gay Falcon</i> 1941 film by Irving Reis

The Gay Falcon is a 1941 B film, the first in a series of 16 films about a suave detective nicknamed The Falcon. Intended to replace the earlier The Saint detective series, the first film took its title from the lead character, Gay Laurence. George Sanders was cast in the title role; he had played The Saint in the prior RKO series. He was teamed again with Wendy Barrie who had been with him in three previous Saint films. The first four films starred Sanders as Gay Lawrence and the rest featured Tom Conway, Sanders' real-life brother, as Tom Lawrence, brother of Gay.

<i>The Locked Door</i> 1929 film

The Locked Door is a 1929 American pre-Code drama film directed by George Fitzmaurice, and starring Rod LaRocque, Barbara Stanwyck, William "Stage" Boyd and Betty Bronson. It is based on the 1919 play The Sign on the Door by Channing Pollock. The play was first adapted for the screen in 1921 as The Sign on the Door, starring Norma Talmadge. It was Stanwyck's first starring role and first talking film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vinton Hayworth</span> American actor

Vinton Hayworth, also known as Jack Arnold and Vincent Haworth, was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter who began in weaselly and milquetoast roles and aged into dignified character parts. He appeared in over 90 films during his career, as well as on numerous television shows. Later audiences will recognize him from his final role as General Winfield Schaeffer in the fourth and fifth seasons of the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie. He was the uncle of Rita Hayworth, as well as being the uncle of Ginger Rogers.

<i>Riding on Air</i> 1937 film by Edward Sedgwick

Riding on Air is a 1937 American film directed by Edward Sedgwick.

<i>Murder with Pictures</i> 1936 film by Charles Barton

Murder with Pictures is a 1936 American crime-mystery film based on a story by George Harmon Coxe. The film was directed by Charles Barton, the screenplay was written by Jack Moffitt and Sidney Salkow. Lew Ayres starred as Kent Murdock, Gail Patrick starred as Meg Archer; Paul Kelly and Benny Baker also appeared in the film. The film was released September 25, 1936.

<i>Girl of the Rio</i> 1932 film

Girl of the Rio is a 1932 American Pre-Code RKO musical film starred Dolores del Río and Leo Carrillo. Directed by Herbert Brenon, the screenplay was written by Elizabeth Meehan and Louis Stevens, based on the play, The Dove by Willard Mack, which was itself based on a magazine article by Gerald Beaumont. The film is a remake of the 1927 silent film, The Dove, starring Norma Talmadge.

<i>Night Waitress</i> 1936 film by Lew Landers

Night Waitress is a 1936 American drama film directed by Lew Landers and written by Marcus Goodrich. The film stars Margot Grahame, Gordon Jones, Vinton Hayworth, Marc Lawrence and Billy Gilbert. The film was released on December 18, 1936, by RKO Pictures.

<i>The Outcasts of Poker Flat</i> (1937 film) 1937 film by Christy Cabanne

The Outcasts of Poker Flat is a 1937 American Western film directed by Christy Cabanne and written by John Twist and Harry Segall. The film stars Preston Foster, Jean Muir, Van Heflin, Virginia Weidler and Margaret Irving. The film was released on April 16, 1937, by RKO Pictures.

<i>Blind Alibi</i> 1938 film by Lew Landers

Blind Alibi is a 1938 American drama film directed by Lew Landers and written by Lionel Houser, Harry Segall and Ron Ferguson. The film stars Richard Dix, Whitney Bourne, Eduardo Ciannelli, Frances Mercer and Paul Guilfoyle. The film was released on May 20, 1938, by RKO Pictures.

<i>Law of the Underworld</i> 1938 film by Lew Landers

Law of the Underworld is a 1938 American drama film directed by Lew Landers and written by Bert Granet and Edmund L. Hartmann. The film stars Chester Morris, Anne Shirley, Eduardo Ciannelli, Walter Abel and Richard Bond. The film was released on May 6, 1938, by RKO Pictures.

<i>China Passage</i> 1937 American mystery film directed by Edward Killy

China Passage is a 1937 American mystery film directed by Edward Killy from a screenplay by Edmund L. Hartmann and J. Robert Bren, based on a story by Taylor Caven. RKO Radio Pictures produced the film, which stars Constance Worth, Vinton Haworth, Leslie Fenton and Gordon Jones. Haworth was injured in an automobile accident in January 1937, delaying the film's released until March 12, 1937.

<i>The Day the Bookies Wept</i> 1939 film by Leslie Goodwins

The Day the Bookies Wept is a 1939 American comedy film directed by Leslie Goodwins and written by Bert Granet and George Jeske. The film stars Joe Penner, Betty Grable, Richard Lane, Tom Kennedy and Thurston Hall. The film was released on September 15, 1939, by RKO Pictures.

<i>This Marriage Business</i> 1938 American film directed by Christy Cabanne

This Marriage Business is a 1938 American comedy film directed by Christy Cabanne from a screenplay by Gladys Atwater and J. Robert Bren, based on a story by Mel Riddle and Alex Rubin. The film stars Allan Lane, Jack Carson, Victor Moore, and Vicki Lester. Produced by RKO Radio Pictures, which also distributed the film, it was released on April 8, 1938.

<i>Shadow of Doubt</i> (1935 film) 1935 film by George B. Seitz

Shadow of Doubt is a 1935 American mystery film directed by George B. Seitz and written by Wells Root. The film stars Ricardo Cortez as Sim Sturdevant, whose fiance Trenna Plaice is suspected in the murder of movie producer Len Hayworth. Sturdevant's aunt investigates and identifies the real killer. Based on a story by novelist Arthur Somers Roche, the film was released on February 15, 1935, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

<i>Son of a Sailor</i> 1933 film by Lloyd Bacon

Son of a Sailor is a 1933 American comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon and written by Alfred A. Cohn, Paul Gerard Smith, Ernest Pagano, and H. M. Walker. The film stars Joe E. Brown, Jean Muir, Frank McHugh, Thelma Todd, Johnny Mack Brown, and Sheila Terry. The film was released by Warner Bros. on December 23, 1933.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Richard Jewel, 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951', Historical Journal of Film Radio and Television, Vol 14 No 1, 1994 p56