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There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

"Gambling on the High Seas" is a B movie remake of "Special Agent". "Special Agent" was an A picture. So what the difference between an A and a B? Back in the 1930s and 40s, movie theaters usually showed a double-feature--two full-length films. The shorter and usually much cheaper film was called the B-movie, the more prestigious, longer and bigger budgeted picture was an A. So, while the original clocks in at about 80 minutes, this remake is less than an hour in length. In addition, the actors are not quite the same level in quality and pay as the original...though for a B, "Gambling on the High Seas" is much better than average, with Wayne Morris and Jane Wyman starring in the flick.Morella (Gilbert Roland) operates an off-shore gambling ship. Because of its location, it is exempt from US law...and folks can gamble at will. However, Morella is a hood...and in addition to having fixed tables, he and his men have been responsible for several murders. Nice-guy reporter Jim Carter (Morris) pretends to be playing both sides in order to cozy up to Morella, but he plans on doing his best to get Morella in prison. How he does this and who helps him, you'll just have to see for yourself.The best things about this film is its brisk pace, dynamite action at the end of the movie, a decent plot and some very nice acting. My only complaint is that it's a remake...and the original was a bit better. Well worth seeing...and quite enjoyable.

"Kid Nightingale" director George Amy doesn't squander a second in his crime reporter melodrama "Gambling on the High Seas" with Wayne Morris as the tireless journalist and Jane Wyman as his girlfriend. Gilbert Roland is cast as the suave but ruthless crime boss with his signature pencil mustache who operates a gambling ship beyond the three-mile limit. The authorities cannot touch Morella unless they can prove that his gambling equipment is rigged because that would constitute piracy. Morella is a pretty shrewd criminal. He exposes rats in his own employment who have cooked the books and tried to steal from him. More interestingly, he deals with gambler that might create grief for him. One example is a stockbroker who Morella's minions suspect has been losing heavily with funds taken from his employers. Morella orders his men to let the broker win back what he lost and then rob him once he goes back ashore. Morella feared that the stockbroker might try to create bad publicity for him and draw in the police. The local District Attorney (Frank Ferguson) and U.S. District Attorney (John Litel)repeatedly arrest him but they cannot get him for any crimes. One of Morella's men gives the local D.A. a signed confession, but a rat in the D.A.'s office steals the confession and gives it to Morella. Every time that either tries to bring in a witness against Greg Morella (Gilbert Roland of "Any Gun Can Play"), the mobster has his hit men silence them. Eventually, newspaperman Jim Carver (Wayne Morris of "Brother Rat") shoots photographs of Morella's rigged gambling tables and Morella's secretary Laurie Ogden (Jane Wyman) takes them to the authorities. Morella appears in court, and the D.A. is about to summon Laurie as a witness who can authenticate the photos when Morella's out-of-town muscle kidnaps. Carver visits Laurie on Morella's ship, and Morella plans to dispose of them, but the authorities muster three patrol boats with armed agents and they waylay Morella's boat. Clocking at a brisk 55 minutes, "Gambling on the High Seas" is obviously a B-picture, but Amy handles this Warner Brothers film with competence. The Robert E. Kent & Martin Mooney screenplay and story is pretty sharp, and the characters are robust. At one point, Morella says that he doesn't trust anybody, but his lowers his guard for wisecracking reporter Carver and it costs him.

Jim Carver, ace reporter, announces his intention to go out and bring down the notorious gambler Morella. His boss tells him: "If you can, Jim, it'll be the greatest story the Journal ever had. But it'll be dangerous!"Subtle dialog is not among this picture's strengths, but a decent energy level and an interesting cast keep it entertaining.Gilbert Roland is quite smooth as Morella, the professional criminal who has set up an offshore gambling ship just outside the three-mile police enforcement limit. Everybody knows that Morella is a crook—and is behind at least one murder—but nobody can prove it.Wayne Morris is big and smiley as reporter Jim; although likable enough, Morris is so cheerful and spouts that good corny dialog with such eagerness that sometimes it's hard not to laugh. For example, when his girlfriend is kidnapped: "I got Laurie into this mess, and if I ever expect her to become Mrs. Jim Carver, I gotta get her out of it."Jane Wyman is Laurie, the spunky girlfriend who works right on board the gambling ship as Morella's secretary. Wyman hardly appears in the first half of the picture; it's no coincidence that the movie's second half, with Wyman as a major character, is faster moving and just generally much snappier.Plot and dialog so-so, cast giving it their best shot anyway….It's no classic but that Warner Bros. punch still makes for an entertaining enough 55 minutes. My favorite exchange— Morris: "You don't pay enough attention to me." Wyman: "What do you want for nothing?"

Found out that Jane Wyman's 30's and early 40 pictures were interesting, so caught this dark horse recently. She does that snappy dialog like no other. There was a lot more of it in some of the detective venues she did for a while ("Crime by Night," "Private Detective"). Old story of an actress/actor getting started in a type, doing it well, and then getting stuck there. It's a wonder they break out, but we know she did. After being featured in this type of picture, Ms. Wyman moved up to better ones, playing the female star's girlfriend and similar for a while. Always strong, more energetic and assertive than her later starring dramatic roles. Of course, there are others of interest in the subject picture. It's a programmer actually, with some good actors on their way up. Those can be a bit of a find at times. The Gilbert Roland character was a change from what we have gotten used to seeing from him. Low key, understated performance. Kind of a relief from the more typical volatile crime boss type. Interesting picture to me for these reasons.