Wager of Love (1990)
Starring: Shelly Johnson, Lisa Cook, Cathy Samson, Linda Richardson, Steve Landers, Elliot Silverman, Peter Locker, Mark Bibian
Director: Jason Holt
Review Summary
In this erotic casino video adventure, four women embark upon their annual pleasure cruise and end up betting on which of them is the most seductive. The movie chronicles each of their efforts to prove their claims. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide (Gambling Movie)
Movie Details
Title: Wager of Love
Running Time: 75 Minutes
Country: USA
Genre: Soft-core Sex Film
The Love Wager (1933)
Director: A. Cyran
Writer: Moira Dale (writer)
Genre: Comedy
Review Summary
A wager forms the basis of this convoluted British drama. The trouble begins when a general bets his son, a novelist, that the lad will be unable to earn 1500 pounds in a year. The young man needs the money so he can marry his girl. (Casino Royale Online)
Opportunity knocks when some of his father's jewels are stolen. The lad's friend, an advice columnist, suggests that the general offer a 1500 pound reward for the stones. She then helps the son capture the thieves, earn the reward, and win the bet.
The Love Wager (1927)
Review Summary
A low-budget drama with high-budget pretensions, The Love Wager begins by focusing on the relationship between care-worn mother Lucy Beaumont and her scampish son Arthur Rankin. (Casino Wagering)
Upset that her boy never comes home before 3 AM, Beaumont decides to go to the police to search for Rankin, but en route she is struck down and killed by a car driven by her own son.
Sentenced to 20 years for manslaughter, Rankin commits suicide, whereupon his cellmate Sheldon Lewis rifles through the kid's pockets, finding a letter of introduction to pretty socialite Lenore Bushman.
Upon his release, Lewis makes a beeline to Grey's home, and immediately begins formulating plans to steal the girl's pearl necklace. (Online Wager)
So what does this have to do with a "love wager"? Well, it seems that wealthy bachelor Gaston Glass has bet millionaire W. W. Watson that he, Glass, can make his own living for six months without relying on his family's money.
If he succeeds, Glass will permit to marry Bushman, who happens to be Watson's daughter.
Cast: Lucy Beaumont, Jane Grey, Gaston Glass
Director: Henry Otto
Writers: Jules Furthman (writer), Josephine Quirk (writer)
Release Date: 21 February 1927 (USA) more
Genre: Crime
The Wager (2007)
The Wager is a story about an Oscar-nominated actor, played by Travis, whose life is falling apart around him even as his star is ascending. (China Wager)
As the red-carpet day approaches, will Michael Steele sell his soul to win the statue? Will the tabloids get a scoop on a scandalous affair, with the family-and-values man Michael caught in a compromising position with costar Cassandra?
Will Steele’s wife stand by him? Can Steele withstand rumors about inappropriate relations with a young boy? Ultimately, the real issue is whether Steele’s faith is strong enough to see him through all this testing. (Wager Guide)
The titular wager, it appears, is a prophetic challenge for Steele to actually manage his life according to The Sermon on the Mount—and every curve ball being thrown at him is designed by God to challenge his convictions. It’s tough to turn the other cheek when you’ve got an anger problem; and when you’re stinking rich it’s hard to cast oneself in the role of “the poor in spirit.”
The rest of the cast is pretty decent, too. Nancy Stafford is particularly engaging as Steele’s sister Annie, and it’s always fun seeing Bronson Pinchot—particularly in a role like this one, where he gets to play an over-the-top film director (even if the role peters out long before the film’s final reel). (Wagering Online)
Sadly the film’s weakest point is its failure to really explore the central premise in much depth. Steele’s struggle doesn’t seem to be focused on The Sermon on the Mount so much as with the New Testament in general. Which is okay—it just seems a little like bait-and-switch.
Director: Judson Pearce Morgan
Writers: Judson Pearce Morgan (writer)
Genre: Drama more
Tagline: Faith is found when tested.
Plot: When the life of mega film star, Michael Steele (Travis), is destroyed right before the most important day of his life, his faith is put to the ultimate test.