Street of Chance (1930)

IMDb plot summary: A big-time, but honest gambler has to prevent his younger brother from following in his footsteps, and taking up gambling.

Directed by John Cromwell. Starring William Powell, Jean Arthur, and Kay Francis.

Street of Chance stars William Powell as a successful gambler in the big city. His wife, however, has left him because of his gambling, and he decides to give it all up, only for his younger brother to show up determined to make his own future in gambling. The boy has no idea that his older brother has been making a living gambling; he thinks he's been doing stock exchange of some sort, and so William Powell has no choice but to try to set him on the right path. The stakes in this are high and simple and clear, and even though the story itself plays out pretty straightforwardly it's engaging and compelling to watch. It's a familiar "one last heist" story, but centered around gambling. The script does more of the heavy lifting than the actors -- William Powell seems so understated that it would be hard to always tell when things are really at stake if the script didn't tell you so -- but overall the movie works and is an interesting watch.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Street of Chance < Gas Food Lodging

Street of Chance > Monkey Business (1952)

Street of Chance > Flypaper

Street of Chance < Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Street of Chance > Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

Street of Chance > If...

Street of Chance > Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

Street of Chance < Laura

Street of Chance > Bill Cunningham New York

Street of Chance > Almost Famous

Street of Chance < The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer

Final spot: #2006 out of 3535, or 43%.