Dane Clark gets a bit of a bad rap for his work after his indentured servitude at Warner Brothers, in addition to the bad rap he gets for not being John Garfield. THE GAMBLER AND THE LADY is one of his earlier efforts across the pond, preceded (IIRC) only by GUNMAN IN THE STREETS/LA TRAQUE (1950, France-US), and he's projecting a more hard-bitten persona than what emerged during his time in Hollywood.

The moments of comic relief are "teddibly British," but mercifully brief. The film benefits from the presence of Kathleen Byron, who improves virtually every film she's in.