Any Number Can Play is a moderately entertaining if unspectacular little flick, given extra "oomph" by the presence of Clark Gable in the leading role. It's a familiar role for Gable -- an honest rogue, a man's man who lives by his own code of honor and always plays fair, even while making sure no one makes a sucker of him. By 1949, Gable could have played this role in his sleep, but he finds ways of breathing new life into this familiar part. It's a good thing he does, too, as he gets little help from co-star Alexis Smith, also playing a familiar role -- the ice queen who longs to be melted -- but never managing to imbue it with more than a spark of life. The rest of the cast is quite good, especially Frank Morgan, Lewis Stone, Barry Sullivan, and Mary Astor. And if the non-stop interiors stifle director Mervyn LeRoy a bit, he still keeps the pacing fairly taut and makes the most of a routine screenplay. Any Number Can Play is not all aces, but Gable and his colleagues turn it into a winning hand -- barely.
