The Gambler

The Gambler is a 1938 German drama film directed by Gerhard Lamprecht and starring Eugen Klöpfer, Lída Baarová, and Hedwig Bleibtreu. It is based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's 1866 novel The Gambler. Due to the scandal over Baarová's affair with Joseph Goebbels, followed by her return to Czechoslovakia, the film was withdrawn from cinemas three days after its release. It was not given a release again until 1950. A similar fate had befallen another film of hers, A Prussian Love Story. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Robert Herlth and Heinrich Weidemann. A separate French-language version Le Joueur (1938) was also released, with Pierre Blanchar and Viviane Romance. Plot Young Russian Nina is staying with her father, retired General Kirileff, in the German spa town of Hohenburg. Her father has gambled away his fortune at the roulette table and is now borrowing more money from the supposed Baron Vincent at exorbitant interest. He wants to get Kirileff to agree to his marriage to Nina, who will be entitled to a large inheritance when her grandmother dies. Nina cannot stand Baron Vincent, since she sees through his machinations. Blanche du Placet, rumored to be a countess, is in tow of Vincent. Her intentions are similar to those of the baron: she ensnares Kirileff, who has already proposed to her. Blanche thinks he is a big landowner in Russia. Alexej, a former student and now secretary of Kirileff, and the German doctor Dr. Tronka up. Alexej is in love with Nina, but she takes advantage of his feelings depending on her mood. Dr Tronka, who is also not indifferent to the young woman, is treated with a barely perceptible condescension.