A mediocre melodrama with added interest because of Grant's charming presence, GAMBLING SHIP has Grant as a big-time gambler, on board a trans-continental train, pretending to be a successful businessman. He meets Hume (later Ronald Colman's real-life wife), who appears to be a wealthy socialite but isn't. Hume is really mistress to Vinton, owner of a failing gambling ship. She convinces Grant to buy the boat after he learns that a gambling rival, vicious La Rue, owns another boat servicing the same high rollers. Grant's only desire is to ruin La Rue's business and even an old score. La Rue will have none of it, and he and his goons board Grant's ship, set it on fire, and kill Vinton. By then Grant and Hume each know who the other really is, but it doesn't matter since they're in love. They're also lucky. A storm comes up, washes all the gangsters overboard, and sinks the ship, but not before Grant and Hume are safely on land, in each other's arms, and betting on the future together. A rather limp script is held together with some lively action and Grant's winning ways. La Rue adds to the flavor as a truly rotten-to-the-core villain, a specialty that would become most pronounced in THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE.
Robert
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