A gangster, Joe Farrow, kills a man after a game of craps. He then offers gambler Marc Fury $50,000 if he will take the rap and stand trial. Farrow tries to renege on the money, so Fury steals a ledger with information that could put Farrow behind bars. While being pursued, Fury slips the ledger into the possession of an immigration social worker, Lynn Warren.
Subsequently, Fury is acquitted but immigration officers arrest him, take him to Ellis Island and threaten to deport him; neither he nor his parents ever become naturalized citizens. Fury tracks down Lynn Warren and, though the two are drawn romantically to each other, she does not believe his desire to remain in America is well-placed.
Farrow's gunman comes looking for Fury, but ultimately double-crosses his boss. When Fury offers the $50,000 to a family that longs desperately to remain in America, Lynn begins to trust him.
The story was originally called Mr Whiskas. It was purchased by RKO in 1947 and scheduled in 1948 as a vehicle for Victor Mature, who had a contract with RKO to make one film a year. However the project was postponed to enable Mature to make Easy Living. In July 1949 it was announced he would make Mr Whiskas next. Warren Duff was to write and produce.[3]
In late 1949 the project was renamed Alias Mike Fury.[4] Mature refused to make the movie and was put on suspension by Fox.[5] The script was rewritten and Mature ended up making the film, which was retitled Gambling House.[6] Filming started February 1950.[7]
Reception
When first released, critic Bosley Crowther panned the film. He wrote, "Don't look for very rich pickings in R. K. O.'s Gambling House, a run-of-the-mill melodrama that came to the Mayfair on Saturday. Your chances for solid satisfaction from this tale of a crook who goes straight after meeting a decent young lady are about as good as they would be from a fixed wheel ... Put it down as claptrap and the performance of Mr. Mature as another demonstration of an actor doing the best he can with a bad role. Miss Moore is entirely incidental and William Bendix is mulishly mean as the tough and deceitful rascal who crosses up Mr. Mature. To say any more about it might tend to incriminate somebody."[8]
^Thomas F. Brady (July 19, 1949). "Mature Gets Lead in 'Mr. Whiskers': RKO Names Actor to Gangster Role in Film Based on Gelsey Story – Duff Is Producer". New York Times. p. 21.
^Schallert, Edwin (Nov 30, 1949). "Tetzlaff Will Direct Mature in 'Alias Fury;' Musicals Wynn's Fate". Los Angeles Times. p. A7.
^"Thomas Pryor, 'Studio Suspension for Victor Mature: Fox Star Refuses to Play Role in RKO Film, 'Mike Fury,' on Loan-Out Commitment'". New York Times. Dec 14, 1949. p. 44.
^Thomas F. Brady (Jan 4, 1950). "Mature Returned to Payroll at Fox: Actor Had Been Suspended for Refusing Role in RKO Deal – Now Agrees to Part of Local Origin". New York Times. p. 31.
^Thomas F. Brady (Feb 2, 1950). "2 New Comers Get Metro Film Leads: Schary Names Nancy Davis, James Whitmore to Co-Star in 'Next Voice You Hear'". Special to The New York Times. p. 31.
