After he is apparently shot and hit by a car, we meet shady Dane Clark (as Jim Forster). An American in London, Mr. Clark operates a successful gambling casino. Clark served three years in prison because he got "crazy drunk" and beat a man to death. He would like to be accepted in polite society, but Clark still has a temper. He also talks like a Warner Brothers movie gangster, which doesn't help in "manners school." Clark decides to end his affair with common nightclub dancer Kathleen Byron (as Pat) and get intimate with classy socialite Naomi Chance (as Susan Willens). Underworld types give Clark a hard time...
Writer Sam Newfield delivers some interesting characters here, especially upper-crust Anthony Forwood (as Peter Willens), who could be a con-man, and mean-looking henchman Meredith Edwards (as Dave Davies), who has a devilish haircut. Still, the production is weak. The women should be more interesting, but are late and sketchy. It would have been nice to see more of both Ms. Byron and Ms. Chance. Byron could easily have been in more of the early scenes, to establish her upfront as Clark's precarious moll. The opening turns out to be a teaser; later in the film, we get see who wanted Clark dead. Sadly, you may not care.
***** The Gambler and the Lady (12/26/52) Sam Newfield ~ Dane Clark, Naomi Chance, Anthony Forwood, Meredith Edwards