Silks and Saddles (1936) / Born to Gamble (1935) (DVD)

Jimmy Shaw, a college student down on his luck, inherits his father's horse, "Lightning Lad". With nothing to lose, Jimmy throws himself into the high-stakes world of horse racing. To his astonishment, he and Lightning Lad wins every race they enter. Soon Jimmy is big man on campus, and Lightning Lad is being eyed by shifty debutante Marion Braddock, who wants the horse (and its rider) for her own. Jimmy refuses to sell, and heads to the Grand Prix for what looks to be his greatest triumph. But Marion is not spurned so easily, and takes steps to ensure that this race will be Lightning Lad's last...

Olympic silver medalist Herman Brix started his acting career playing the title role in The New Adventures Of Tarzan (1935). Later, as Bruce Bennett, he had memorable roles in screen classics such as Sahara (1943), Dark Passage (1947), and Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (1948). Sex siren Toby Wing was as well known for her high-profile romances with Jackie Coogan, Maurice Chevalier and Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., as she was for her acting. Comic relief Fuzzy Knight was a vaudeville performer who broke into motion pictures with the help of Mae West. He appeared in countless B-movies including Horror Island (1941), The Silver Bullet (1942) and Code Of The Lawless (1945).

PLUS: Born To Gamble (BW, 1935): Carter Matthews is the kindly patriarch of a wealthy New York family. His late wife's father, however, was a notorious gambler whose lifestyle led to an early grave. Carter worries that his four sons will inherit their grandfather's addiction. Those fears come true when the three oldest boys each catch the gambling bug, leading to poverty, imprisonment, and death. Only the youngest, Henry, has escaped the deadly vice. But the naive college student soon falls in with a gangster who fixes horse races. When their racket goes south, Henry is framed for murder by his erstwhile partner. Refusing to let his son go to the electric chair, Carter vows to break the family curse, even if it costs him his life...

This unusual feature, with its extensive use of flashbacks, is based on the The Green Poropulos by Edgar Wallace (the pulp novelist responsible for King Kong, amongst other works.) Liberty Pictures initially enlisted director George Waggner (The Wolfman) to adapt Wallace's story; after several months of development, he was replaced with Phil Rosen. Star Onslow Stevens is perhaps best remembered by horror and mystery fans for his role as Dr. Edelman in the Universal monster picture House of Dracula (1945). H.B. Warner was a favorite of director Frank Capra, appearing in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) and, most famously, as Mr. Gower in It's a Wonderful Life (1946). Ben Alexander's biggest role was in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), in fact, he was spotlighted on the film's poster instead of star Lew Ayres.

• drama