Always interesting when a movie does exactly what it says on the tin.

Barbara Stanwyck is the titular lady who develops a taste for gambling while honeymooning in Las Vegas with a new hubby.  We learn this in flashback, after seeing Stanwyck get pummeled by two thugs when she tries to use loaded dice in a back-alley craps game.  It was quite a shock to see two men wailing away on a woman. This is a movie that literally does not pull its punches.

There isn’t much more I can say about this movie.  It is a solid noir, and Stanwyck is in fine form here.  Robert Preston isn’t given much room for his performance, as he is little more than the exasperated husband.  Stephen McNally gets to have some fun as a casino manager, and I sensed Edith Barrett was having a good time as Stanwyck’s needy, shrill sister.

Dir: Michael Gordon

Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Preston, Stephen McNally

Watched on Kino Lorber blu-ray