This is one of those movies that begins after all the action has taken place, and then is told in flashback. Hard to believe this is the same Glynis Johns who played the mother in "Mary Poppins". Her character is an young woman who seldom takes chances, and as a result has thus far led a rather uneventful life. Who does she meet, but a gambler looking for a little stability and a good luck charm. Things escalate as the gambler gets in over his head and Johns' faith in him is tested. More than half a century has passed since this was made, so it may have seemed more original then. The lead character is someone we can really pull for. There's some amusing banter between Johns' character and her roommate (who seems to get out a lot more). Some of the gamblers are your standard-issue movie thugs, and like many of the movies of this era, the two leads seem to develop a bond a bit prematurely (reminds me of Mary Astor declaring her love for Humphrey Bogart after barely knowing him in "The Maltese Falcon"). Still, this is a good yarn about believing in someone, even if it means taking some major risks.
6 Reviews
Bit of noir, bit of melodrama.
gordonl569 February 2008
Warning: Spoilers
A somewhat interesting British melodrama featuring an early starring role for Glynis Johns. Johns is a shy shop girl who meets and falls for a flashy gambler played by Dermot Walsh. Walsh wines and dines her and starts taking here to all the upscale gambling clubs. Johns falls hard for Walsh. She does realize that Walsh just keeps her around because he believes she brings him good luck at the tables. Of course he blames her when he hits a losing streak. He starts to run up a lot of markers around town and needs a big score to pull even. He crosses a club owner and ends up with a bullet in the back. Johns evens the score and gets grabbed up by the bobbies. The story is told in several flashbacks and is quite watchable for the first 2/3rds before losing steam at the end. Not a great film, but Johns is always entertaining no matter what film she is in. (b/w)
Decidedly novellettish
JasonTomes12 November 2005
"Third Time Lucky" is a rather predictable romance aimed primarily at women. It shows in extended flashback how Joan (Glynis Johns), a nice young lady from Finchley, comes to get incongruously mixed up with Soho gangsters and guns. A chance encounter with a debonair professional gambler called Lucky (Dermot Walsh) draws her into a glamorous and unfamiliar world of roulette, champagne, and Mayfair nightclubs. Eventually, of course, Lucky fails to merit his name - and then dear Joan finds herself in danger of going to the dogs (and I don't just mean the greyhound races).
This is a passable film on its own decidedly novellettish terms. It even features a recurring song in Ivor Novello style with the title "Forgive me for dreaming". There are melodramatic moments and the last half-hour may tax the patience.
"Are we really still in London?" Joan asks at one point. Well may she wonder. "Third Time Lucky" is less an evocation of post-war Britain than a modest attempt to replicate the high-life and low-life milieux of a certain type of American popular movie of that era. Import substitution to help the balance of the payments perhaps?
This is a passable film on its own decidedly novellettish terms. It even features a recurring song in Ivor Novello style with the title "Forgive me for dreaming". There are melodramatic moments and the last half-hour may tax the patience.
"Are we really still in London?" Joan asks at one point. Well may she wonder. "Third Time Lucky" is less an evocation of post-war Britain than a modest attempt to replicate the high-life and low-life milieux of a certain type of American popular movie of that era. Import substitution to help the balance of the payments perhaps?
For Glynis Johns' Fans Only
JohnHowardReid13 January 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This is a dreary drama about a gambler who falls on hard times, and the little shop-girl who loves him.
I was a fan of Glynis Johns in her younger days. Here she is well served by her photographer, but not by the somewhat colorless and even uninteresting script. Gordon Parry's direction, alas, also rates as uninspired, though one or two scenes (for example, that in the sleazy dice den run by Sebastian Cabot) have genuine impact.
On the whole, however, the film is undermined by its pulp-novel plot, and the characters are completely artificial. Dermot Walsh makes the most of the unrewarding title role, but Harcourt Williams, as a drunken old doctor, acts everyone off the screen.
I was a fan of Glynis Johns in her younger days. Here she is well served by her photographer, but not by the somewhat colorless and even uninteresting script. Gordon Parry's direction, alas, also rates as uninspired, though one or two scenes (for example, that in the sleazy dice den run by Sebastian Cabot) have genuine impact.
On the whole, however, the film is undermined by its pulp-novel plot, and the characters are completely artificial. Dermot Walsh makes the most of the unrewarding title role, but Harcourt Williams, as a drunken old doctor, acts everyone off the screen.
Hopelessly In Love With A Hopeless Neurotic
boblipton29 April 2023
Dermot Walsh jumps into the cab next to Glynis Johns. He's a professional gambler whose mark thinks it's more than just luck. He decides Miss Johns is his lucky charm and hires her to be so, seemingly unaware she's in love with him. Things are wonderful for a while -- except for Walsh showing no more than professional interest in her. Then his luck turns, and resentful fellow gambler Charles Goldner starts to put the squeeze on.
I've been in love with Miss Johns -- who is scheduled to celebrate her 100th birthday six months after I write this -- for many years, for her ladylike demeanor and creaky voice for many a decade, so it's a pleasure to watch her in this movie, released when she was 26. At the same time, she seems a little too naive, even as she fully admits it in character. Walsh is a creature of superstitions that border on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and while the movie's view of the seemingly glamorous world in which he operates is suavely realized, real professional gamblers don't make their money against other professionals; they they make it off people who aren't that good at the games they play. I'm old enough to have sat in on bridge games against the professionals, and paid them handsomely for the 'lessons.'
Still, the movie is handsomely realized by director Gordon Parry, in a sort of Gainsborough-in-modern-dress sort of way. Keep an eye open and you'll spot Helen Haye, John Stuart, Michael Hornden, and even Diana Dors in an uncredited bit.
I've been in love with Miss Johns -- who is scheduled to celebrate her 100th birthday six months after I write this -- for many years, for her ladylike demeanor and creaky voice for many a decade, so it's a pleasure to watch her in this movie, released when she was 26. At the same time, she seems a little too naive, even as she fully admits it in character. Walsh is a creature of superstitions that border on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and while the movie's view of the seemingly glamorous world in which he operates is suavely realized, real professional gamblers don't make their money against other professionals; they they make it off people who aren't that good at the games they play. I'm old enough to have sat in on bridge games against the professionals, and paid them handsomely for the 'lessons.'
Still, the movie is handsomely realized by director Gordon Parry, in a sort of Gainsborough-in-modern-dress sort of way. Keep an eye open and you'll spot Helen Haye, John Stuart, Michael Hornden, and even Diana Dors in an uncredited bit.
More romance than gangsters
Leofwine_draca18 July 2016
THIRD TIME LUCKY is an uneven stab at an American film noir/gangster film, made in Britain on a limited budget. The wispy-voiced Glynis Johns (VAULT OF HORROR) plays a woman who falls in love with a high-stakes gambler (played by genre regular Dermot Walsh) and gets drawn into the seedy world of gambling, gangsters, and gunfights.
Well, that's the idea, but THIRD TIME LUCKY never really takes off as a film. The pace is slow and the narrative seems to be drawn out with insipid romance scenes - this is definitely a film aimed at a female audience despite the tropes of the genre. The story never feels dangerous or exciting despite the premise and the actors are merely going through the motions too. Of all the British noir films I've watched, THIRD TIME LUCKY is one of the worst.
Well, that's the idea, but THIRD TIME LUCKY never really takes off as a film. The pace is slow and the narrative seems to be drawn out with insipid romance scenes - this is definitely a film aimed at a female audience despite the tropes of the genre. The story never feels dangerous or exciting despite the premise and the actors are merely going through the motions too. Of all the British noir films I've watched, THIRD TIME LUCKY is one of the worst.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
