Warner Brothers' Wine, Women and Horses (1937) is based on the 1933 novel Dark Hazard, a best seller and Book of the Month Club selection by W. R. Burnett. His straight job as a clerk in a seedy Chicago hotel had given aspiring writer William Riley Burnett keen insights into the minds of criminals and their known associates - particularly professional gamblers. Burnett's novels Little Caesar, High Sierra, and The Asphalt Jungle were all adapted by Hollywood into classic crime films. Warner Brothers-First National had first tapped Dark Hazard for adaptation in 1934, at a time when the Great Depression had created among moviegoers a demand for tales of easy winnings and big payoffs. With Little Caesar star Edward G. Robinson in the lead, the film remained faithful to Burnett's dog track setting while Wine, Women and Horses orders up a venue change in favor of the fillies. (The Hollywood-adjacent Santa Anita Race Track can also be seen in such films as A Day at the Races [1937], The Story of Seabiscuit [1949] and A Star Is Born [1954].) Movie tough guy Barton MacLane has the Robinson role, a big winner down on his luck who scores a second chance in life with marriage to small town girl Peggy Bates - who despises gambling in all its forms. Will MacLane's love for the action entice him back to a life predicated on chance? Of course it well, especially with lady gambler Ann Sheridan pointing the way.

By Richard Harland Smith