Take a Chance was based on the hit Broadway musical of the same name, though only one of the original songs, Eadie Was a Lady, has been retained. The thinnish plot involves the misadventures of a pair of pickpockets, played on Broadway by Jack Haley and Sid Silvers and on film by James Dunn and Cliff “Ukelele Ike” Edwards. Tired of fleecing the suckers in a travelling carnival, our heroes head to Broadway, where they get mixed up with gangsters.
Category: Pre Code
Jeannette Vaubernier, an impulsive shopgirl en route to deliver a hat, dreams of luxury and position as she saunters through the woods, and attracted by a pool of water, she disrobes and plunges in. Cosse de Brissac, a handsome private in the King’s Guards, comes to her rescue and they become sweethearts. Meanwhile, Jean Du Barry, a shrewd roué, takes note of her at the millinery shop and tricks her into staying at La Gourda’s, where she soon becomes a favorite among the men.
College football player is asked to dope a star teammate by his crooked gambler brother. He refuses, but they player is doped anyway and collapses and dies. A detective has the whole game re-enacted to find important clues.
Lombard plays a socialite who is engaged to a womanizing gold digger who intends to carry on an affair with another woman even after getting married. While vacationing in Florida her father introduces her to a man that he prefers she marry, a respectable Viennese doctor whom she finds herself attracted to.
Flamboyant Zani grew up and works in the zoo. He loves animals so much that he steals animal furs from the women who wear them. Zani coaxes young beautiful Eve, an orphan, to escape her caretakers while on a group visit to the zoo. Dr. Grunbaum, the zoo director, is forced to organize a search party to capture both Zani and Eve. Zani proves too elusive and harbors Eve in a bear cave. However, when evil zookeeper Heinie discovers them, he draws the authorities’ attention to their hideout…
A criminal known as Thunderbolt is imprisoned and facing execution. Into the next cell is placed Bob Moran, an innocent man who has been framed and who is in love with Thunderbolt’s girl. Thunderbolt hopes to stave off the execution long enough to kill young Moran for romancing his girl.
Burton is a brilliant, albeit self-seeking prosecution attorney who, having sent an innocent man, Wallace, to his death is filled with remorse and resigns and becomes a crusading defense attorney. He soon finds himself defending himself of a false murder charge.