The Best Movies About Roulette

Roulette is still one of the main staples of casinos and the first thing that punters look for once they have checked in, or in these times, logged in.

The attraction of the colours and a large selection of numbers and strategies, the long glittering spin, and the rattling suspense of the ball have had gamblers enticed for decades.

That has led to the game featuring in many films over the years that tap into the suspense, with big money on the line for effect. All these films are usually set in glamorous locations featuring trusted casinos not on Gamstop in the UK or other international sites. This article will provide a short review of those films.

Casablanca

Casablanca, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, is a classic film released in 1943.

Bogart plays the part of Rick Blaine, a grumpy ex-patriate nightclub owner in Casablanca, Morocco at the start of WWII. Despite being pressured by the authorities, Rick’s café has become a haven for fearful refugees looking to obtain letters that will help them escape to America. But one day Ilsa, a former girlfriend of Rick’s, and her Bulgarian husband, show up to his cafe and he faces some tough decisions along the way to help them secure an exit.

Casablanca won 3 Oscars at the 1944 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Michael Curtiz. Bogart was nominated for the Best Actor role but lost out to Paul Lukas.

The film is one of the first to feature roulette and capitalizes on the suspense factor immediately as Rick needs to get a win to pay for the couple’s exit visas. But Rick needs to keep his reputation intact, so he must play it very cool. Rick advises the Bulgarian man to bet on 22. Knowing the dealer, Rick communicates the plot discreetly and a 22 comes up twice to secure their visa money. Rick stays nonchalant when hugging his former lover and encourages them to cash out and leave immediately, while the dealer implies that the group are still losing on the night. This keeps his reputation intact around Casablanca, while the pair get their visa to the US.

Diamonds Are Forever

The next film to feature roulette was the James Bond feature Diamonds are Forever and no other film character sells the casino atmosphere like 007. Bond, played this time by the enigmatic Sean Connery, is tracking a diamond smuggling ring, and this leads him to Las Vegas, where he discovers an evil plot involving a rich businessman named Blofeld.

In the roulette scene of this film, Sean Connery’s entry to the table arena stands out for its suave charm and charm and charisma. Amid games of craps, roulette, romance and fake diamonds, the film’s plot starts to take shape.

The James Bond franchise has other memorable high-stakes gambling scenes, such as in the film Casino Royale, starring Daniel Craig. Craig squares off against his latest nemesis, a French mathematician and trafficker named Le Chiffre. Again, the film was mostly shot in another non-UK casino in the Czech Republic, featuring sunshine, glamour, and riches.

The Gambler

The Gambler was set in 1971 and stars James Caan in the leading role as Axel Freed. Freed plays a character that epitomize the downside of betting, as his habits get the best of him. In modern days, Axel Freed would likely be a character that seeks out non-GamStop casinos to evade the restrictions brought in to protect problem gamblers.

Axel Freed is a university professor, but side of the school, he can’t control his gambling. When he loses all of his money, he borrows from his girlfriend, then turns to his mother, before the loan sharks start chasing him. Freed still cannot stop gambling despite his world crumbling and it is this type of scenario that has unfortunately played out in the UK and led to the UK Gambling Commission taking a more active approach to regulation.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang features another leading character that is perfect for the casino theme in Robert Downey Jr. His own personal story is one of success, popularity, and charisma, but he has had his own brushes with excess and vices. Downey Jr and the rest of these leading characters epitomize the gambling personality so well in that it is frowned upon in society, but these larger-than-life characters were not created to follow the rules and be restricted by a gaming commission. Although it is important to regulate the vulnerable punter, it is a fine line between protection and losing the freedom to pursue your own desires.

Although it is not a very well-known film, it scooped 5 Oscar wins and 16 nominations, with Downey Jr. grabbing the Best Actor prize, while Val Kilmer and Michelle Monaghan took the Best Supporting Actor and Actress awards.

The film has a twist on the gambling theme because it doesn’t involve a casino table, but rather the life-or-death choice of Russian Roulette.

Run Lola Run

Another modern take on the roulette game is in the film Run Lola Run, which again features a leading character in Franka Potente that is living on the edge of life. Filmmakers understand that stretching the boundaries of a personality is a selling point for films and it involves yet another story of bad guys, debt, running away, and suspense.

Lola gets a phone call from her boyfriend who has lost 100,000 in German Deutschemarks on a subway train. The money belongs to a very bad guy and she 20 minutes to find the cash or he will rob a store for the money.

The plot finds Lola in a casino where buys a chip of 100 marks and starts betting at roulette. After two wins in a row, she banks 129k marks, which is enough to bail out her boyfriend. At this point, he has discovered a homeless man that took the gangster’s cash and pursues him for the money. This leads to a fatal turn of events before Lola arrives from the casino and he asks her: “What is in the bag?”