"Don't Gamble with Strangers" is a B-movie from Monogram Pictures...a studio that specialized in Bs as well as movie serials. Monogram was well known for making films on the cheap...some very bad, a few very good. This one falls somewhere in between.
When the story begins, two card cheats meet up and form a partnership. Mike (Kane Richmond) is the tougher and meaner of the two...and he aims to get whatever he can out of life no matter who he steps on...including his partner, an old partner who did him wrong, his own brother and an assistant district attorney. He's so cocky and takes so many chances, you figure sooner or later he'll get what's coming to him.
Aside from a very odd and surprising finale, the film is pretty much what you'd expect...a film trying hard to push across the message that crime doesn't pay. It's not exactly subtle, though the acting is decent and the story moves along swiftly, so it makes for a decent time-passer...but not much more.
When the story begins, two card cheats meet up and form a partnership. Mike (Kane Richmond) is the tougher and meaner of the two...and he aims to get whatever he can out of life no matter who he steps on...including his partner, an old partner who did him wrong, his own brother and an assistant district attorney. He's so cocky and takes so many chances, you figure sooner or later he'll get what's coming to him.
Aside from a very odd and surprising finale, the film is pretty much what you'd expect...a film trying hard to push across the message that crime doesn't pay. It's not exactly subtle, though the acting is decent and the story moves along swiftly, so it makes for a decent time-passer...but not much more.