Playing Around 1930

Alice White plays Sheba Miller, a working-class stenographer who dreams of a life beyond her means. Her father, Richard Carlyle, plays Pa Miller and runs a small cigar store, while her devoted boyfriend Jack, a soda jerk who loves her, is portrayed by William Bakewell. He has even asked for her father’s consent to marry, but Sheba hesitates to commit while his wages stay modest and the future feels uncertain.

One evening they sneak away to the exclusive nightclub Pirates Den, where the price of drinks and the glitter of the city heave into sharp contrast with their everyday life. A tense moment at the door spurs a quarrel and nearly sends them home, but the night takes a turn when a leg contest is announced. Sheba decides to enter, and to everyone’s surprise, she wins first prize. The prize is presented by Nickey Solomon, a flashy gangster who wears wealth like armor and exudes danger. Chester Morris stars as Nickey Solomon, and his stylish swagger casts a spell over the evening and over Sheba’s imagination.

The dazzling new attention from Nickey seduces Sheba, and she begins to pull away from Jack. As Nickey’s world of glamour swallows her attention, Sheba finds herself drawn deeper into his orbit, leaving Jack on the sidelines as she becomes more entangled in the life Nickey represents. The spark of romance quickly morphs into a troubling lure, and the couple’s relationship is put to the test by the lure of fast money and thrilling nights.

Meanwhile, Nickey, short on cash, robs a neighborhood cigar store and, in the confusion, shoots the man behind the counter. He doesn’t realize that the shot also wounds Sheba’s father. The moment when they realize the consequences of the crime is quiet and devastating: Nickey’s carelessness has put Sheba’s family at risk in a way she never anticipated.

The truth begins to surface as the couple returns to the scene of the crime. Nickey feigns concern for Sheba, promising that her father is fine and that he is merely at the police station helping to identify a thief. In truth, the father lies in a hospital bed, enduring the gunshot wound, while the day-to-day life of the Miller family hangs in the balance.

Jack, driven by love and a sense of justice, enlists the police to help set a trap for Nickey. The plan hinges on Nickey’s vanity and overconfidence, and it works: Nickey confesses to the crime, unaware that he is walking into a carefully laid frame. The police detain him at the train station before he can escape, and the gangster’s misstep is clear for all to see.

Back at the hospital, Sheba receives the news that her father is perfectly fine, a relief that shifts her perspective. The experience leaves her humbled, and she makes a practical, grounded choice about her future. In the end, she agrees to marry Jack, accepting his modest salary of $35 a week and choosing a life built on stability rather than the fleeting glamour of Nickey Solomon’s world.