Any Number Can Play

Any Number Can Play

Year: 1949

Runtime: 112 mins

Language: English

Director: Mervyn LeRoy

Drama

Charley Kyng runs a casino and learns he has a condition, prompting his doctor to urge him to spend time with his family. He struggles to keep his business separate from home, while his son Paul, ashamed of his father's trade, gets into a fight at prom. Charley’s brother‑in‑law Robbin, a casino employee, begins rigging games to cover gambling debts.

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Timeline & Setting – Any Number Can Play (1949)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Any Number Can Play (1949). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Location

Casino

The primary setting is a sophisticated casino owned by Charley Enley Kyng, where high-stakes gambling and the management's efforts to run a fair operation create a volatile atmosphere. The casino floors, private rooms, and staff interactions drive the drama as debts and threats intersect with the law. The story also includes a fishing trip in the mountains as Charley and his family seek respite from the pressures of the casino world.

🎰 Casino 🗺️ Mountain retreat

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 16:03

Main Characters – Any Number Can Play (1949)

Meet the key characters of Any Number Can Play (1949), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Charley Enley Kyng (Clark Gable)

Wealthy casino owner Charley Enley Kyng is diagnosed with a serious heart problem and vows to slow down, spend more time with his wife Lon, and quit drinking and smoking. He runs a legal operation and treats his staff with respect, even as the casino faces threats from debt and gangsters. In a climactic move, he stakes the entire casino against his staff and, when Paul and others draw a nine, simply says 'You beat me' and walks away, choosing his principles and family over a final victory.

🎭 Drama 💼 Wealth 👪 Family

Lon Kyng (Alexis Smith)

Lon loves her husband Charley and yearns for a stable family life. She navigates the tension between the casino’s world and domestic needs, supporting Paul and keeping the family together as chaos erupts around high-stakes gambling. Her loyalty is a stabilizing force that rekindles Charley’s sense of duty and love.

🎭 Drama 👪 Family

Paul Enley Kyng (Darryl Hickman)

Paul is Charley and Lon’s teenage son who is ashamed of his father’s line of work. He resents the casino’s influence on his life, yet he ultimately steps up during the crisis, defending the staff and seeking respect from his father. The brawl at the prom and his later actions reflect his struggle to reconcile family loyalty with personal identity.

🎓 Teen Drama 👪 Family

Robbin Elcott (Wendell Corey)

Robbin Elcott is Lon’s sister’s duplicitous husband, a dealer who owes money to a gangster and engages in schemes to stay afloat. He is entangled in criminal pressures and the casino’s underworld, illustrating how greed and deceit threaten Charley’s lawful operation. His presence contributes to the tension around trust and loyalty within the family.

🎭 Drama 💰 Greed

Alice Elcott (Audrey Totter)

Alice Elcott is Lon’s weak and duplicitous sister who lives with the Kyngs, illustrating the fragile alliances inside the extended family. Her character heightens the sense of vulnerability and deception surrounding the casino life. Her presence compounds the emotional strain on Lon and Charley.

🎭 Drama 🃏 Deception

Ada (Mary Astor)

Ada is Charley’s former girlfriend who tries to rekindle their past relationship, testing Charley’s resolve. Her intrusion into the story underscores themes of loyalty and temptation and serves as a reminder of the choices Charley must make beyond business.

🎭 Drama 💔 Unrequited love

Jim Kurstyn (Frank Morgan)

Jim Kurstyn is a big-time gambler on a winning streak, threatening to bankrupt the casino. He taunts Charley with bravado but comes to respect him for his fair dealing. His arc highlights the volatility of high-stakes gambling and the price of pride.

🎭 Drama 🃏 High-stakes Gambling

Ed (Edgar Buchanan)

Ed is a seasoned figure in the casino environment, providing steady support as the pressures surrounding the Kyngs escalate. His calm presence helps anchor the drama as events unfold around the main family.

🎭 Drama 🛡️ Loyalty

Smitty (Douglas Fowley)

Smitty is a casino staff member who represents the everyday workers whose livelihoods depend on the fair operation of the house. His presence adds texture to the casino world beyond the main family drama.

🎭 Drama 🧰 Casino Work

Danny, the Cashier (Robert B. Williams)

Danny the Cashier handles the money on the casino floor, embodying the mechanics of the house that Charley fights to protect. His role emphasizes the practical consequences of the casino’s fate on staff.

🎭 Drama 💵 Cashier

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 16:03

Major Themes – Any Number Can Play (1949)

Explore the central themes of Any Number Can Play (1949), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

💖 Family

Charley struggles to balance his role as a casino owner with his duty to his wife Lon and his son Paul, highlighting the tension between work and family. Lon's loyalty and Paul's desire for a normal life expose the fragility of their domestic bonds. The film tracks reconciliations and tender moments that reveal love as a stabilizing force amid temptation.

🃏 Gambling

Gambling serves as the engine of the plot, with high-stakes games that test fair dealing and tempt faulty loyalties. The casino's fortunes rise and fall with each roll of the dice, culminating in a pivotal clash between the owner, a legendary gambler, and opportunistic rivals. Deceptions, loaded dice, and the psychology of risk are explored as characters chase money and status.

🛡️ Integrity

Charley's commitment to fair play and responsibility is tested when criminals pressure him and his own staff to bend the rules. He ultimately gambles everything to defend his principles and the livelihood of his employees, choosing humility over conquest. The ending underlines personal integrity and the power of choosing family over profit.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 16:03

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Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Fathers rebuilding fractured families like in Any Number Can Play

A father's crisis prompts a desperate struggle to mend his broken relationships with his children.Movies like Any Number Can Play featuring fathers at a personal crossroads, striving to reconnect with their children after a period of estrangement. If you enjoyed the central family drama and Charley Kyng's journey of reconciliation, you'll find similar stories of paternal redemption and healing here.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern follows a father figure, often flawed or preoccupied with his career, whose world is shaken by a health scare, financial trouble, or moral dilemma. This catalyst forces him to re-evaluate his priorities, leading to a central conflict as he attempts to bridge the gap with a resentful child or spouse, culminating in a cathartic resolution.

Why These Movies?

Movies are grouped here based on their shared focus on the paternal redemption arc, the emotional tension of family estrangement, and the hopeful, character-driven resolution that mends the fractured bonds.

Stories about business and moral crossroads like Any Number Can Play

A business owner's livelihood is threatened, forcing a tense confrontation with their own integrity.If you liked the tense professional dilemmas in Any Number Can Play, explore more movies about business owners grappling with ethical conflicts. These films feature high-stakes decisions, internal corruption, and the struggle to maintain integrity under pressure, similar to Charley Kyng's casino危機.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative typically revolves around a business or establishment that becomes the center of conflict. The owner faces a dual threat: often a dishonest employee or partner compromising the business's integrity, and a personal crisis that questions the venture's very nature. The story builds steadily towards a climactic event that forces a definitive choice, clearing the path for a morally sound resolution.

Why These Movies?

These films are connected by their central theme of ethical business dilemmas, the tense atmosphere of a enterprise under internal and external pressure, and a straightforward narrative that pits personal integrity against professional survival.

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Any Number Can Play Summary

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Any Number Can Play Summary

Any Number Can Play Timeline

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Any Number Can Play Timeline

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More About Any Number Can Play

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