''Inside Straight'' is a 1951 American
Western film directed by Gerald Mayer and starring
David Brian
Brian James Davis (August 5, 1914 – July 15, 1993), better known as David Brian, was an American actor. He is best known for his role in ''Intruder in the Dust'' (1949), for which he received critical acclaim and a Golden Globe nomination. ...
,
Arlene Dahl,
Barry Sullivan Barry Sullivan may refer to:
*Barry Sullivan (American actor) (1912–1994), US film and Broadway actor
*Barry Sullivan (stage actor) (1821–1891), Irish born stage actor active in Britain and Australia
*Barry Sullivan (lawyer), Chicago lawyer and ...
,
Mercedes McCambridge and
Paula Raymond
Paula Raymond (born Paula Ramona Wright; November 23, 1924 – December 31, 2003) was an American model and actress who played the leading lady in numerous movies and television series including ''Crisis'' (1950) with Cary Grant. She was th ...
.
Plot
In San Francisco in 1870, Ada Stritch owns a bank, but there is a
run
Run(s) or RUN may refer to:
Places
* Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia
* Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant
People
* Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...
on it. She needs $3 million to keep it open. In desperation, she turns to Rip MacCool, a wealthy man whom she despises.
Also in need of Rip's help are newspaperman Johnny Sanderson and an old acquaintance, Flutey. They and Ada each have an issue with Rip from their past. Rip offers to deal a hand of poker, and if Ada wins, he will give her the $3 million. If not, he gets the bank.
Everyone recalls how they first met. Fifteen years before, Ada, a widow, had a small hotel that she wanted to sell. Rip and his pal Shocker were guests there. Rip wooed her romantically, then offered her $3,000 cash plus shares in the Mona Lisa gold mine. Ada accepted, only to learn later that the stock was worthless.
Johnny was a prizefighter. After a defeat, Rip helped him find a job. Rip was broke, but suddenly discovered that a vein of gold struck at the Mona Lisa mine has made his stock worth $250,000. Johnny loved a beautiful singer named Lily Douvane, but she married Rip for his money, leaving Johnny heartbroken. They had a baby boy and named him after Johnny. It was a loveless marriage, and when Lily caught Rip in a compromising position, she demanded a divorce, $1 million and custody of their child.
Johnny cared about the baby and for Zoe, the nanny. Rip interfered again, proposing to Zoe, then angering her, as well as losing his fortune. Zoe mortgaged their home, and she also was pregnant. Rip regained his money, thanks again to the Mona Lisa mine, but lost both Zoe and his new baby in childbirth.
Shocker explains to those present how Rip became the cold-hearted man whom he is. At 16, unable to pay for his own parents' funeral, he worked with Shocker in a mine. Money came to mean everything to him. After hearing this, Ada agrees to the winner-take-all offer. Rip gracefully loses, and the bank is saved, but all suspect that Rip, having a heart after all, held the winning hand.
Cast
*
David Brian
Brian James Davis (August 5, 1914 – July 15, 1993), better known as David Brian, was an American actor. He is best known for his role in ''Intruder in the Dust'' (1949), for which he received critical acclaim and a Golden Globe nomination. ...
as Rip MacCool
**
Claude Jarman Jr.
Claude Jarman Jr. (born September 27, 1934) is an American former child actor, entrepreneur, former executive director of the San Francisco International Film Festival and former director of Cultural Affairs for the City of San Francisco.
...
as Rip MacCool (Age 16)
*
Arlene Dahl as Lily Douvane
*
Barry Sullivan Barry Sullivan may refer to:
*Barry Sullivan (American actor) (1912–1994), US film and Broadway actor
*Barry Sullivan (stage actor) (1821–1891), Irish born stage actor active in Britain and Australia
*Barry Sullivan (lawyer), Chicago lawyer and ...
as Johnny Sanderson
*
Mercedes McCambridge as Ada Stritch
*
Paula Raymond
Paula Raymond (born Paula Ramona Wright; November 23, 1924 – December 31, 2003) was an American model and actress who played the leading lady in numerous movies and television series including ''Crisis'' (1950) with Cary Grant. She was th ...
as Zoe Carnot
*
Lon Chaney, Jr. as Schockovitz "Shocker" Ninkovitch (Credited as Lon Chaney)
*
Monica Lewis as Cafe Singer
*
John Hoyt as "Flutey" Johnson
*
Roland Winters as Alexander Tomson
*
Barbara Billingsley as Miss Meadson
*
Richard Hale as The Undertaker
*
Hayden Rorke as Carlson
* Jerry Hartleben as John Albert MacCool (Age 3)
* Dale Hartleben as John Albert MacCool (Age 8)
*
Lou Nova as Connegan
Reception
The film was a financial failure. According to MGM records, the film earned $552,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $217,000 in other markets, causing a loss to the studio of $1,282,000.
See also
*
List of American films of 1951
A list of American films released in 1951.
Danny Kaye hosted the 24th Academy Awards ceremony on held at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. The winner of the Best Motion Picture category was Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's ''An American in Paris''.
T ...
References
External links
*
*
*{{TCMDb title, 784, title=Inside Straight
1951 films
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
1951 romantic drama films
American romantic drama films
1951 Western (genre) films
American Western (genre) films
Films scored by Lennie Hayton
American black-and-white films
1950s English-language films
1950s American films