Who's Got the Action?

Who's Got the Action? (1962) is a comedy film about a man suffering from an addiction to gambling starring Dean Martin, Lana Turner, Eddie Albert, and Walter Matthau. The film was written by Alexander Rose and Jack Rose, and directed by Daniel Mann.

Plot

The gambling habit of lawyer Steve Flood (Dean Martin) is beginning to get on the nerves of his wife Melanie (Lana Turner), who initially suspects him of marital infidelity. When she learns about the gambling, Melanie talks Steve's law partner Clint Morgan (Eddie Albert), an old flame, into helping her act as a fictitious horse race bookie offering unusually attractive terms to clients.

The plan is for Steve to lose enough money to permanently rid him of the betting habit, but it goes awry when he suddenly begins winning bets on a number of long-shot horses. Flood’s winning streak attracts the attention of two horse-playing judges, Boatwright (Paul Ford) and Fogel (John McGiver), who persuade Flood to place bets for them with his mysterious “bookie.” Melanie and Morgan are astounded when the judges begin winning large wagers as well.

The make-believe bookmaking activity arouses the ire of syndicate mobster Tony Gagoots (Walter Matthau), who is furious to know who’s “getting the action.” Gagoots’s mistress, a nightclub singer named Saturday Knight (Nita Talbot), happens to be the Floods’ next-door neighbor, and assists Melanie in raising cash for the gambling payoffs by purchasing various furnishings from the Floods’ apartment (using Gagoots’ ill-gotten money).

The source of the mysterious “bookmaking” is traced to the Floods’ apartment by Gagoots through an illegal telephone wiretap. He and a team of thugs descend upon the apartment, where they are surprised to find all the defecting gamblers assembled. They are thunderstruck when a coercive interrogation reveals that Melanie Flood is the “bookie” they have been seeking.

Steve Flood ultimately convinces Gagoots to forgive all of their gambling debts by arguing that only by marrying his mistress Saturday can he avoid the risk of incriminating testimony. In one stroke this fulfills Saturday’s long-sought goal, saves the Floods’ marriage, insulates Gagoots from future prosecution and clears Melanie’s $18,000 gambling payoff burden.

Cast

• Dean Martin as Steve Flood
• Lana Turner as Melanie Flood
• Eddie Albert as Clint Morgan
• Walter Matthau as Tony Gagouts
• Paul Ford as Judge Boatwright
• Nita Talbot as Saturday Knight
• John McGiver as Judge Fogel
• Jack Albertson as Hodges

Production notes

The storyline is based on the 1960 novel Four Horse Players Are Missing by Alexander Rose, who also plays a minor role in the film (“Mr. Goody”). This novel, in turn, was closely related to the Damon Runyon short story Little Miss Marker.

Many of the scenes were filmed on location in Flood’s/Knight’s luxurious penthouse apartments in the historic Talmadge building on Los Angeles’ Wilshire Boulevard; much of the automobile driving shown runs up and down Wilshire.

References

External links

• Who's Got the Action? at the Internet Movie Database
• Who's Got the Action? at AllMovie