Salty ORouke(1945)

[ERROL23]

Salty ORouke(Alan Ladd)a big time gambler and his pal Smitty(William Demerest)are tracked down by Doc Baxter(Bruce Cabot)and his henchman,Babe(Rex Williams)over a debt owed by Saltys partner.Salty tells Baxter he will pay if his horse wins in a race.

Salty finds a jockey,Johnny Gates(Stanley Clements)a wise punk who agres to ride for Salty for part of the winnings.Problems start when Johnny has to go to school or he cant race.

Johnny meets Barbra Brooks(Gail Russell)the local school teacher who he falls for.Barbra takes an instant dislike to Johnnys ways.

Salty meets Barbra and they both fall in love.Angry at the rejection,Johnny goes to Baxter and plans with the mobster to double cross Salty.

Great Film,but never on.

[jamesjazzguitar]

This is a very good Ladd movie where Ladd's character is similar to what we see in the Ladd Lake movies. I'm glad you mentioned it since it is rarely on and more people should know about it.

 

We have Demerest in a role that is very typically for him; the older buddy but one that fits him like a glove. This is Clements first role and based on what I read he created a lot of buz at time. He is like a young Cagney in some ways.

 

And then we have Gail Russell; What a peach. We can clearly understand why the hard Salty would soften when she was around. This type of plot often gets too sappy but the movie is well balance; We get some of that noir gangster feel with the part of the plot dealing with horse racing and gambling, we have Demerest to lighten things up without being over the top, we have Clements as the troubled kid man with just the right edge and then we have a love story to warm the heart.