Smart Money

Nick, a barber in a small town, runs card games in the basement of his shop and is taken to be the luckiest man there. He decides to take his savings to the city and sit down at a big table. The first time he goes he is cheated. He comes back, saves again, goes again, and this time he wins. Before long he is at the head of the city's gambling world. Alfred E. Green's film is the only production in which Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney appeared together. Both had just become known at Warner Bros through gangster films; Cagney is in a supporting part here. The film was made before the Hays rules were strictly enforced and shows gambling, drinking and relations with women openly. It was nominated for an Oscar for its story.