Oklahoma Gambling US State Laws, Gaming Age & Casino List

Best Run in terms of anything
Ingrid Bergman: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Casablanca, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Gaslight, Spellbound, The Bells of St. Mary’s, Notorious, June Night, Adam Had Four Sons, Rage in Heaven, Saratoga Trunk, Swedes in America, Arch of Triumph, American Creed, Under Capricorn, and Joan of Arc.
Olivia De Havilland: The Snake Pit, Santa Fe Trail, Their Boots On, The Heiress, To Each His Own, In This Our Life, My Love Came Back, The Strawberry Blonde, The Male Animal, The Well Groomed Bride, Hold Back the Dawn, Thank Your Lucky Stars, Devotion, The Dark Mirror, Princess O'Rourke, and Government Girl.
Judy Garland: Andy Hardy Meets Debutante, Strike Up the Band, Little Nellie Kelly, Meet Me in St. Louis, Presenting Lily Mars, For Me and My Gal, Thousands Cheer, Girl Crazy, Babes on Broadway, Life Begins for Andy Hardy, Ziegfeld Girl, In the Good Old Summertime, The Pirate, Words and Music, Easter Parade, The Harvey Girls, Till the Clouds Roll By, and Ziegfeld Follies.
Gene Tierney: Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake, Heaven Can Wait, Laura, Leave Her to Heaven, Dragonwyck, The Razor’s Edge, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Tobacco Road, The Return of Frank James, Hudson's Bay, The Shanghai Gesture, A Bell for Adano, China Girl, Sundown, Belle Starr, Thunder Birds, Rings on Her Fingers, The Iron Curtain, and That Wonderful Urge.
Bette Davis: In This Our Life, Thank Your Lucky Stars, The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Little Foxes, The Letter, Now, Voyager, Beyond the Forest, Winter Meeting, June Bride, A Stolen Life, Deception, Hollywood Canteen, Old Acquaintance, Mr. Skeffington, Shining Victory, The Bride Came C.O.D., Watch on the Rhine, All This, and Heaven Too, and The Corn Is Green.
Joan Crawford: When Ladies Meet, Possessed, Mildred Pierce, Hollywood Canteen, Humoresque, Flamingo Road, It's a Great Feeling, Daisy Kenyon, Reunion in France, They All Kissed the Bride, Strange Cargo, Susan and God, Above Suspicion, and A Woman's Face.
Carole Lombard: They Knew What They Wanted, To Be or Not to Be, Vigil in the Night, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
Agnes Moorehead: Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, Dark Passage, Journey into Fear, The Big Street, The Youngest Profession, Government Girl, Jane Eyre, Dragon Seed, Since You Went Away, The Seventh Cross, Mrs. Parkington, Our Vines Have Tender Grapes, Tomorrow, the World!, Keep Your Powder Dry, Her Highness and the Bellboy, Johnny Belinda, The Lost Moment, Summer Holiday, The Woman in White, The Stratton Story, Station West, The Great Sinner, and Without Honor.
Shirley Temple: A Kiss for Corliss, Fort Apache, Adventure in Baltimore, The Story of Seabiscuit, Mr. Belvedere Goes to College, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, Since You Went Away, Kiss and Tell, I'll Be Seeing You, Honeymoon, Kathleen, Young People, Miss Annie Rooney, The Blue Bird, and That Hagen Girl.
Ava Gardner: The Killers, The Hucksters, Singapore, One Touch of Venus, The Bribe,The Great Sinner, Major Barbara, East Side, West Side, Reunion in France, Fancy Answers, H. M. Pulham, Esq., Shadow of the Thin Man, Babes on Broadway, This Time for Keeps, Joe Smith, American, We Do It Because, Sunday Punch, Kid Glove Killer, Calling Dr. Gillespie, Mighty Lak a Goat, Du Barry Was a Lady, Hitler's Madman, Ghosts on the Loose, Two Girls and a Sailor, Lost Angel, Young Ideas, Swing Fever, Maisie Goes to Reno, 3 Men in White, She Went to the Races, Blonde Fever, and Whistle Stop.
Katharine Hepburn: The Philadelphia Story, Song of Love, Adam's Rib, Undercurrent, Without Love, State of the Union, The Sea of Grass, Stage Door Canteen, Dragon Seed, Woman of the Year, and Keeper of the Flame.
Maureen O Hara: Dance, Girl, Dance, How Green Was My Valley, The Black Swan, The Spanish Main, Miracle on 34th Street, Sinbad the Sailor, A Bill of Divorcement, They Met in Argentina, To the Shores of Tripoli, Ten Gentlemen from West Point, Immortal Sergeant, This Land Is Mine, The Fallen Sparrow, Buffalo Bill, Sentimental Journey, Do You Love Me, The Homestretch, The Foxes of Harrow, Forever Amber, The Forbidden Street, Father Was a Fullback, Sitting Pretty, and A Woman's Secret.
Lauren Bacall: The Big Sleep, Dark Passage, Key Largo, Confidential Agent, and Confidential Agent.
Vivien Leigh: Caesar and Cleopatra, Anna Karenina, 21 Days, Waterloo Bridge, and That Hamilton Woman.
Greer Garson: Mrs. Miniver, The Valley of Decision, Desire Me, That Forsyte Woman, The Miracle of Sound, Pride and Prejudice, Random Harvest, Blossoms in the Dust, Madame Curie, The Youngest Profession, When Ladies Meet, Adventure, Mrs. Parkington, and Julia Misbehaves.
Claudette Colbert: The Palm Beach Story, Since You Went Away, Bride for Sale, Sleep, My Love, Without Reservations, Family Honeymoon, Arise, My Love, Boom Town, Remember the Day, Skylark, No Time for Love, Practically Yours, So Proudly We Hail!, Guest Wife, Tomorrow Is Forever, The Secret Heart, and The Egg and I.
Lana Turner: Johnny Eager, Honky Tonk, Ziegfeld Girl, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Somewhere I’ll Find You, Week-End at the Waldorf, Green Dolphin Street, Homecoming, The Three Musketeers, The Youngest Profession, Keep Your Powder Dry, We Who Are Young, Cass Timberlane, Slightly Dangerous, and Marriage Is a Private Affair.
Rita Hayworth: Gilda, Cover Girl, Blondie on a Budget, Tales of Manhattan, You Were Never Lovelier, The Lady from Shanghai, The Strawberry Blonde, You'll Never Get Rich, The Loves of Carmen, Affectionately Yours, My Gal Sal, Susan and God, Down to Earth, Tonight and Every Night, Blood and Sand, Angels Over Broadway, The Lady in Question, Music in My Heart, and Blondie on a Budget.
Joan Fontaine: Rebecca, Suspicion, The Constant Nymph, Jane Eyre, The Affairs of Susan, Ivy, Letter from an Unknown Woman, This Above All, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, The Emperor Waltz, From This Day Forward, You Gotta Stay Happy, and Frenchman's Creek.
Jennifer Jones: The Song of Bernadette, Since You Went Away, Love Letters, Duel in the Sun, Madame Bovary, We Were Strangers, Portrait of Jennie, and Cluny Brown.
Hedy Lamarr: Comrade X, Come Live With Me, H.M. Pulham, Esq., Samson and Delilah, Tortilla Flat, Dishonored Lady, Ziegfeld Girl, Boom Town, Crossroads, The Strange Woman, White Cargo, Experiment Perilous, The Conspirators, Let's Live a Little, I Take This Woman, and The Heavenly Body.
Ginger Rogers: The Barkleys of Broadway, Tender Comrade, Kitty Foyle, Tom, Dick and Harry, I'll Be Seeing You, Roxie Hart, The Major and the Minor, Lucky Partners, Primrose Path, Week-End at the Waldorf, Once Upon a Honeymoon, Lady in the Dark, Magnificent Doll, Heartbeat, and It Had to Be You.
Barbara Stanwyck: East Side, West Side, Hollywood Canteen, Ball of Fire, The Lady Eve, Sorry, Wrong Number, Double Indemnity, Meet John Doe, You Belong to Me, Remember the Night, The Gay Sisters, The Great Man's Lady, Flesh and Fantasy, Lady of Burlesque, California, My Reputation, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, The Bride Wore Boots, Christmas in Connecticut, Cry Wolf, The Two Mrs. Carrolls, Variety Girl, The Other Love, The Lady Gambles, and B.F.'s Daughter.
Veronica Lake: Sullivan’s Travels, This Gun for Hire, The Glass Key, I Married a Witch, So Proudly We Hail, Bring on the Girls, Miss Susie Slagle’s, The Blue Dahlia, I Wanted Wings, Forty Little Mothers, The Hour Before the Dawn, Ramrod, Hold That Blonde, Duffy's Tavern, Miss Susie Slagle's, Out of This World, Slattery's Hurricane, The Sainted Sisters, Isn't It Romantic?, Star Spangled Rhythm, and Saigon.
Setsuko Hara: Late Spring, Toyuki, Hebihimesama, Totsugu hi made, Onna no machi, Futari no sekai, Shimai no Yakusoku, Anî no hânayomê, Ôinaru kanô, Kêkkon no seitaî, A Story of Leadership, Kibô no aozora, Seishun no kiryû, Wakai sensei, Midori no daichi, Haha no chizu, Hawai Mare Oki Kaisen, Hawai Maree oki kaisen, Ahen senso, Bôrô no kesshitai, Toward the Decisive Battle in the Sky, Searing Wind, Suicide Troops of the Watchtower, Ikari no umi, Young Eagles, Shôri no hi made, Kita no san-nin, Koi no fuunjî, Midori no kokkyô, Reijin, Midori no kokkyô, No Regrets for Our Youth, Yuwaku, Kakedashi jidai, A Ball at the Anjo House, Onnadake no yoru, Sanbon yubi no otoko, Toki no teizo: zengohen, Fujisancho, Taifuken no onna, Kofuku no genkai, President and a female clerk, Tonosama Hotel, Ojôsan kanpai, Aoi sanmyaku, and Zoku aoi sanmyaku.
Betty Grable: Down Argentine Way, Mother Wore Tights,When My Baby Smiles at Me, The Dolly Sisters, Pin Up Girl, Springtime in the Rockies, Coney Island, The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend, Tin Pan Alley, Sweet Rosie O'Grady, A Yank in the R.A.F., Footlight Serenade, I Wake Up Screaming, Song of the Islands, Diamond Horseshoe, Do You Love Me, The Shocking Miss Pilgrim, Four Jills in a Jeep, Moon Over Miami, and Hollywood Bound.
Deborah Kerr: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus, Contraband, Penn of Pennsylvania, A Battle for a Bottle, Love on the Dole, Major Barbara, Major Barbara, Edward, My Son, Hatter's Castle, The Day Will Dawn, If Winter Comes, Perfect Strangers, and I See a Dark Stranger.
Donna Reed: Shadow of the Thin Man, Calling Dr. Gillespie, It's a Wonderful Life, Convicted Woman, The Get-Away, Babes on Broadway, The Courtship of Andy Hardy, The Bugle Sounds, Mokey, Apache Trail, Eyes in the Night, Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case, The Human Comedy, The Man from Down Under, Thousands Cheer, See Here, Private Hargrove, Green Dolphin Street, Chicago Deadline, Beyond Glory, The Picture of Dorian Gray, They Were Expendable, Faithful in My Fashion, and Gentle Annie.
Kim Hunter: A Matter of Life and Death, When Strangers Marry, You Came Along, The Seventh Victim, Tender Comrade, and A Canterbury Tale.
Alida Valli: The Third Man, Piccolo mondo antico, The Paradine Case, The Miracle of the Bells, We the Living, T'amerò sempre, I pagliacci, Apparizione, The Song of Life, The Two Orphans, The First Woman Who Passes, Light in the Darkness, The Secret Lover, Manon Lescaut, The Last Enemy, Red Tavern, Beyond Love, Schoolgirl Diary, Invisible Chains, Stasera niente di nuovo, The Za-Bum Circus, Life Begins Anew, and Eugenia Grandet.
Anne Baxter: 20 Mule Team, The Magnificent Ambersons, Five Graves to Cairo, The Razor's Edge, Yellow Sky, The Great Profile, Swamp Water, Charley's Aunt, Sunday Dinner for a Soldier, The Fighting Sullivans, The North Star, Smoky, The Purple Heart, The Eve of St. Mark, Guest in the House, You're My Everything, The Walls of Jericho, Homecoming, The Luck of the Irish, Blaze of Noon, Angel on My Shoulder, and A Royal Scandal.
Teresa Wright: The Little Foxes, Mrs.. Miniver, Enchantment, Shadow of a Doubt, The Best Years of Our Lives, Pursued, The Trouble with Women, The Pride of the Yankees, The Little Foxes, Casanova Brown, and The Imperfect Lady.
Mary Astor: The Maltese Falcon, The Palm Beach Story, The Great Lie, Act of Violence, Meet Me in St. Louis, Fiesta, East Side, West Side, Young Ideas, Blonde Fever, Turnabout, Brigham Young, Across the Pacific, Claudia and David, Little Women, Any Number Can Play, Desert Fury, and Cynthia.
Ann Sheridan: They Drive by Night, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Kings Row, Nora Prentiss, I Was a Male War Bride, Honeymoon for Three, One More Tomorrow, City for Conquest, Torrid Zone, Castle on the Hudson, It All Came True, Navy Blues, George Washington Slept Here, Wings for the Eagle, Juke Girl, Silver River, The Unfaithful, Edge of Darkness, Thank Your Lucky Stars, Cinderella Jones, Shine On, Harvest Moon, and Good Sam.
Ida Lupino: They Drive by Night, Devotion, In Our Time, The Sea Wolf, High Sierra, Thank Your Lucky Stars, Out of the Fog, Life Begins at Eight-Thirty, Moontide, Ladies in Retirement, Hollywood Canteen, Forever and a Day, The Hard Way, Pillow to Post, Road House, The Man I Love, Escape Me Never, Deep Valley, Not Wanted, Never Fear, and Lust for Gold.
Joan Bennett: Man Hunt, The Woman in the Window, Scarlet Street, The House Across the Bay, The Man I Married, The Son of Monte Cristo, Green Hell, She Knew All the Answers, Wild Geese Calling, The Reckless Moment, Secret Beyond the Door, Hollow Triumph, The Woman on the Beach, Margin for Error, Twin Beds, Confirm or Deny, The Wife Takes a Flyer, Colonel Effingham's Raid, The Macomber Affair, Girl Trouble, and Nob Hill.
Tallulah Bankhead: A Royal Scandal, Stage Door Canteen, and Lifeboat.
Jane Greer: Out of the Past, Pan-Americana, Two O'Clock Courage, Sinbad the Sailor, George White's Scandals, The Falcon's Alibi, Dick Tracy, The Bamboo Blonde, Station West, Sunset Pass, They Won't Believe Me, and The Big Steal.
Margaret O'Brien: Jane Eyre, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Unfinished Dance, Our Vines Have Tender Grapes, Lost Angel, Three Wise Fools, Big City, Little Women, Tenth Avenue Angel, The Secret Garden, Music for Millions, Bad Bascomb, Journey for Margaret, You, John Jones!, and The Canterville Ghost.
Lucille Ball: Without Love, Ziegfeld Follies, Dance, Girl, Dance, The Big Street, Du Barry Was a Lady, The Marines Fly High, You Can't Fool Your Wife, A Girl, a Guy and a Gob, Too Many Girls,Thousands Cheer, Seven Days' Leave, Easy Living, Abbott and Costello in Hollywood, Look Who's Laughing, Valley of the Sun, Lured, Easy to Wed, Two Smart People, Her Husband's Affairs, Sorrowful Jones, The Dark Corner, Lover Come Back, Best Foot Forward, and Meet the People.
Cyd Charisse: Ziegfeld Follies, Escort Girl, Something to Shout About, Thousands Cheer, Mission to Moscow, The Harvey Girls, Till the Clouds Roll By, In Our Time, Three Wise Fools, Fiesta, The Unfinished Dance, On an Island with You, and The Kissing Bandit.
Susan Hayward: The Lost Moment, Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman, My Foolish Heart, Adam Had Four Sons, Sis Hopkins, They Won't Believe Me, Canyon Passage, And Now Tomorrow, Deadline at Dawn, Hit Parade of 1943, Star Spangled Rhythm, A Letter from Bataan, Young and Willing, Tulsa, The Saxon Charm, House of Strangers, Tap Roots, Among the Living, Reap the Wild Wind, The Forest Rangers, Jack London, The Fighting Seabees, and The Hairy Ape.
June Allyson: The Secret Heart, Music for Millions, Best Foot Forward, Meet the People, Two Girls and a Sailor, Girl Crazy, All Girl Revue, Her Highness and the Bellboy, The Three Musketeers, Good News, The Stratton Story, Words and Music, High Barbaree, Till the Clouds Roll By, The Sailor Takes a Wife, Two Sisters from Boston, and The Bride Goes Wild.
Susan Peters: Young Ideas, Tish, Santa Fe Trail, The Big Shot, Random Harvest, Keep Your Powder Dry, Song of Russia, Assignment in Brittany, The Sign of the Ram, Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant, Andy Hardy's Double Life, A New Romance of Celluloid: Personalities, Sockaroo, River's End, Meet John Doe, The Strawberry Blonde, Scattergood Pulls the Strings, Three Sons o' Guns, Young America Flies, Money and the Woman, and The Man Who Talked Too Much.
Betty Hutton: Duffy's Tavern, Hollywood Victory Caravan, Dream Girl, Red, Hot and Blue, Star Spangled Rhythm, One for the Book, Happy Go Lucky, Strictly G.I., Skirmish on the Home Front, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, Cross My Heart, The Perils of Pauline, The Stork Club,Here Come the Waves, And the Angels Sing, Incendiary Blonde, The Fleet's In, and Let's Face It.
Celeste Holm: Road House, Gentleman's Agreement, Come to the Stable, The Snake Pit, Everybody Does It, Chicken Every Sunday, A Letter to Three Wives, Three Little Girls in Blue, and Carnival in Costa Rica.
Celia Johnson: In Which We Serve, Brief Encounter, This Happy Breed, Dear Octopus, and A Letter from Home.
Jane Wyman: Brother Rat and a Baby, Bad Men of Missouri, Johnny Belinda, The Lost Weekend, An Angel from Texas, Flight Angels, Gambling on the High Seas, My Love Came Back, Tugboat Annie Sails Again, Honeymoon for Three, You're in the Army Now, The Body Disappears, Larceny, Inc., My Favorite Spy, Footlight Serenade, Princess O'Rourke, Make Your Own Bed, The Doughgirls, Crime by Night, One More Tomorrow, Night and Day, The Yearling, Magic Town, Cheyenne, A Kiss in the Dark, and The Lady Takes a Sailor.
Angela Lansbury: National Velvet, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Gaslight, The Harvey Girls, The Private Affairs of Bel Ami, If Winter Comes, The Hoodlum Saint, Till the Clouds Roll By, The Red Danube, The Three Musketeers, Tenth Avenue Angel, State of the Union, and Samson and Delilah
Jean Simmons: Hamlet, Kiss the Bride Goodbye, Give Us the Moon, Black Narcissus, The Way to the Stars, Great Expectations, Caesar and Cleopatra, Meet Sexton Blake, Mr. Emmanuel, Sports Day, Adam and Evelyne, The Blue Lagoon, The Woman in the Hall, Uncle Silas, and Hungry Hill.
Jane Darwell: The Grapes of Wrath, My Darling Clementine,Untamed, Brigham Young, Private Nurse, Chad Hanna, Thieves Fall Out, Youth Will Be Served, The Devil and Daniel Webster, All Through the Night, It Happened in Flatbush, Young America, On the Sunny Side, Men of Texas, Small Town Deb, Music in Manhattan, Captain Tugboat Annie, Three Wise Fools, The Dark Horse, Sunday Dinner for a Soldier, She's a Sweetheart, I Live in Grosvenor Square, The Ox-Bow Incident, Gildersleeve's Bad Day, Tender Comrade, The Great Gildersleeve, The Impatient Years, Reckless Age, Stage Door Canteen, Government Girl, Train to Alcatraz, 3 Godfathers, Red Canyon, Keeper of the Bees, The Red Stallion, The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe, and Highways by Night.
Jeanne Crain: A Letter to Three Wives, Centennial Summer, Pinky, Leave Her to Heaven, In the Meantime, Darling, Margie, State Fair, Apartment for Peggy, The Gang's All Here, Home in Indiana, The Fan, You Were Meant for Me, and Winged Victory.
Linda Darnell: My Darling Clementine, Chad Hanna, The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe, A Letter to Three Wives, Unfaithfully Yours, Forever Amber, The Mark of Zorro, Star Dust, Rise and Shine, Blood and Sand, It Happened Tomorrow, The Song of Bernadette, City Without Men, Sweet and Low-Down, Summer Storm, Buffalo Bill, The Great John L., Hangover Square, The Walls of Jericho, Anna and the King of Siam, Centennial Summer, Fallen Angel, Everybody Does It, and Slattery's Hurricane.
Alice Faye: Fallen Angel, The Gang's All Here, Hello, Frisco, Hello, Tin Pan Alley, Four Jills in a Jeep, The Great American Broadcast, That Night in Rio, Little Old New York, Lillian Russell, and Week-End in Havana.
Deanna Durbin: Christmas Holiday, Lady on a Train, For the Love of Mary, Something in the Wind, Up in Central Park, Because of Him, I'll Be Yours, Can't Help Singing, The Amazing Mrs. Holliday, It Started with Eve, Nice Girl?, It's a Date, Hers to Hold, His Butler's Sister, and Spring Parade.
It’s Gene Tierney or Rita Hayworth for me

Best run in terms of anything
Ingrid Bergman: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Casablanca, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Gaslight, Spellbound, The Bells of St. Mary’s, Notorious, June Night, Adam Had Four Sons, Rage in Heaven, Saratoga Trunk, Swedes in America, Arch of Triumph, American Creed, Under Capricorn, and Joan of Arc.
Olivia De Havilland: The Snake Pit, Santa Fe Trail, Their Boots On, The Heiress, To Each His Own, In This Our Life, My Love Came Back, The Strawberry Blonde, The Male Animal, The Well Groomed Bride, Hold Back the Dawn, Thank Your Lucky Stars, Devotion, The Dark Mirror, Princess O'Rourke, and Government Girl.
Judy Garland: Andy Hardy Meets Debutante, Strike Up the Band, Little Nellie Kelly, Meet Me in St. Louis, Presenting Lily Mars, For Me and My Gal, Thousands Cheer, Girl Crazy, Babes on Broadway, Life Begins for Andy Hardy, Ziegfeld Girl, In the Good Old Summertime, The Pirate, Words and Music, Easter Parade, The Harvey Girls, Till the Clouds Roll By, and Ziegfeld Follies.
Gene Tierney: Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake, Heaven can Wait, Laura, Leave Her to Heaven, Dragonwyck, The Razor’s Edge, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Tobacco Road, The Return of Frank James, Hudson's Bay, The Shanghai Gesture, A Bell for Adano, China Girl, Sundown, Belle Starr, Thunder Birds, Rings on Her Fingers, The Iron Curtain, and That Wonderful Urge.
Bette Davis: In This Our Life, Thank Your Lucky Stars, The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Little Foxes, The Letter, Now, Voyager, Beyond the Forest, Winter Meeting, June Bride, A Stolen Life, Deception, Hollywood Canteen, Old Acquaintance, Mr. Skeffington, Shining Victory, The Bride Came C.O.D., Watch on the Rhine, All This, and Heaven Too, and The Corn Is Green.
Joan Crawford: When Ladies Meet, Possessed, Mildred Pierce, Hollywood Canteen, Humoresque, Flamingo Road, It's a Great Feeling, Daisy Kenyon, Reunion in France, They All Kissed the Bride, Strange Cargo, Susan and God, Above Suspicion, and A Woman's Face.
Carole Lombard: They Knew What They Wanted, To Be or Not to Be, Vigil in the Night, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
Agnes Moorehead: Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, Dark Passage, Journey into Fear, The Big Street, The Youngest Profession, Government Girl, Jane Eyre, Dragon Seed, Since You Went Away, The Seventh Cross, Mrs. Parkington, Our Vines Have Tender Grapes, Tomorrow, the World!, Keep Your Powder Dry, Her Highness and the Bellboy, Johnny Belinda, The Lost Moment, Summer Holiday, The Woman in White, The Stratton Story, Station West, The Great Sinner, and Without Honor.
Shirley Temple: A Kiss for Corliss, Fort Apache, Adventure in Baltimore, The Story of Seabiscuit, Mr. Belvedere Goes to College, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, Since You Went Away, Kiss and Tell, I'll Be Seeing You, Honeymoon, Kathleen, Young People, Miss Annie Rooney, The Blue Bird, and That Hagen Girl.
Ava Gardner: The Killers, The Hucksters, Singapore, One Touch of Venus, The Bribe,The Great Sinner, Major Barbara, East Side, West Side, Reunion in France, Fancy Answers, H. M. Pulham, Esq., Shadow of the Thin Man, Babes on Broadway, This Time for Keeps, Joe Smith, American, We Do It Because, Sunday Punch, Kid Glove Killer, Calling Dr. Gillespie, Mighty Lak a Goat, Du Barry Was a Lady, Hitler's Madman, Ghosts on the Loose, Two Girls and a Sailor, Lost Angel, Young Ideas, Swing Fever, Maisie Goes to Reno, 3 Men in White, She Went to the Races, Blonde Fever, and Whistle Stop.
Katharine Hepburn: The Philadelphia Story, Song of Love, Adam's Rib, Undercurrent, Without Love, State of the Union, The Sea of Grass, Stage Door Canteen, Dragon Seed, Woman of the Year, and Keeper of the Flame.
Maureen O Hara: Dance, Girl, Dance, How Green Was My Valley, The Black Swan, The Spanish Main, Miracle on 34th Street, Sinbad the Sailor, A Bill of Divorcement, They Met in Argentina, To the Shores of Tripoli, Ten Gentlemen from West Point, Immortal Sergeant, This Land Is Mine, The Fallen Sparrow, Buffalo Bill, Sentimental Journey, Do You Love Me, The Homestretch, The Foxes of Harrow, Forever Amber, The Forbidden Street, Father Was a Fullback, Sitting Pretty, and A Woman's Secret.
Lauren Bacall: The Big Sleep, Dark Passage, Key Largo, Confidential Agent, Confidential Agent, and To Have and Have Not.
Vivien Leigh: Caesar and Cleopatra, Anna Karenina, 21 Days, Waterloo Bridge, and That Hamilton Woman.
Greer Garson: Mrs. Miniver, The Valley of Decision, Desire Me, That Forsyte Woman, The Miracle of Sound, Pride and Prejudice, Random Harvest, Blossoms in the Dust, Madame Curie, The Youngest Profession, When Ladies Meet, Adventure, Mrs. Parkington, and Julia Misbehaves.
Claudette Colbert: The Palm Beach Story, Since You Went Away, Bride for Sale, Sleep, My Love, Without Reservations, Family Honeymoon, Arise, My Love, Boom Town, Remember the Day, Skylark, No Time for Love, Practically Yours, So Proudly We Hail!, Guest Wife, Tomorrow Is Forever, The Secret Heart, and The Egg and I.
Lana Turner: Johnny Eager, Honky Tonk, Ziegfeld Girl, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Somewhere I’ll Find You, Week-End at the Waldorf, Green Dolphin Street, Homecoming, The Three Musketeers, The Youngest Profession, Keep Your Powder Dry, We Who Are Young, Cass Timberlane, Slightly Dangerous, and Marriage Is a Private Affair.
Rita Hayworth: Gilda, Cover Girl, Blondie on a Budget, Tales of Manhattan, You Were Never Lovelier, The Lady from Shanghai, The Strawberry Blonde, You'll Never Get Rich, The Loves of Carmen, Affectionately Yours, My Gal Sal, Susan and God, Down to Earth, Tonight and Every Night, Blood and Sand, Angels Over Broadway, The Lady in Question, Music in My Heart, and Blondie on a Budget.
Joan Fontaine: Rebecca, Suspicion, The Constant Nymph, Jane Eyre, The Affairs of Susan, Ivy, Letter from an Unknown Woman, This Above All, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, The Emperor Waltz, From This Day Forward, You Gotta Stay Happy, and Frenchman's Creek.
Jennifer Jones: The Song of Bernadette, Since You Went Away, Love Letters, Duel in the Sun, Madame Bovary, We Were Strangers, Portrait of Jennie, and Cluny Brown.
Hedy Lamarr: Comrade X, Come Live With Me, H.M. Pulham, Esq., Samson and Delilah, Tortilla Flat, Dishonored Lady, Ziegfeld Girl, Boom Town, Crossroads, The Strange Woman, White Cargo, Experiment Perilous, The Conspirators, Let's Live a Little, I Take This Woman, and The Heavenly Body.
Ginger Rogers: The Barkleys of Broadway, Tender Comrade, Kitty Foyle, Tom, Dick and Harry, I'll Be Seeing You, Roxie Hart, The Major and the Minor, Lucky Partners, Primrose Path, Week-End at the Waldorf, Once Upon a Honeymoon, Lady in the Dark, Magnificent Doll, Heartbeat, and It Had to Be You.
Barbara Stanwyck: East Side, West Side, Hollywood Canteen, Ball of Fire, The Lady Eve, Sorry, Wrong Number, Double Indemnity, Meet John Doe, You Belong to Me, Remember the Night, The Gay Sisters, The Great Man's Lady, Flesh and Fantasy, Lady of Burlesque, California, My Reputation, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, The Bride Wore Boots, Christmas in Connecticut, Cry Wolf, The Two Mrs. Carrolls, Variety Girl, The Other Love, The Lady Gambles, and B.F.'s Daughter.
Veronica Lake: Sullivan’s Travels, This Gun for Hire, The Glass Key, I Married a Witch, So Proudly We Hail, Bring on the Girls, Miss Susie Slagle’s, The Blue Dahlia, I Wanted Wings, Forty Little Mothers, The Hour Before the Dawn, Ramrod, Hold That Blonde, Duffy's Tavern, Miss Susie Slagle's, Out of This World, Slattery's Hurricane, The Sainted Sisters, Isn't It Romantic?, Star Spangled Rhythm, and Saigon.
Setsuko Hara: Late Spring, Toyuki, Hebihimesama, Totsugu hi made, Onna no machi, Futari no sekai, Shimai no Yakusoku, Anî no hânayomê, Ôinaru kanô, Kêkkon no seitaî, A Story of Leadership, Kibô no aozora, Seishun no kiryû, Wakai sensei, Midori no daichi, Haha no chizu, Hawai Mare Oki Kaisen, Hawai Maree oki kaisen, Ahen senso, Bôrô no kesshitai, Toward the Decisive Battle in the Sky, Searing Wind, Suicide Troops of the Watchtower, Ikari no umi, Young Eagles, Shôri no hi made, Kita no san-nin, Koi no fuunjî, Midori no kokkyô, Reijin, Midori no kokkyô, No Regrets for Our Youth, Yuwaku, Kakedashi jidai, A Ball at the Anjo House, Onnadake no yoru, Sanbon yubi no otoko, Toki no teizo: zengohen, Fujisancho, Taifuken no onna, Kofuku no genkai, President and a female clerk, Tonosama Hotel, Ojôsan kanpai, Aoi sanmyaku, and Zoku aoi sanmyaku.
Betty Grable: Down Argentine Way, Mother Wore Tights, Down Argentine Way, When My Baby Smiles at Me, The Dolly Sisters, Pin Up Girl, Springtime in the Rockies, Coney Island, The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend, Tin Pan Alley, Sweet Rosie O'Grady, A Yank in the R.A.F., Footlight Serenade, I Wake Up Screaming, Song of the Islands, Diamond Horseshoe,
Deborah Kerr: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus, Contraband, Penn of Pennsylvania, A Battle for a Bottle, Love on the Dole, Major Barbara, Major Barbara, Edward, My Son, Hatter's Castle, The Day Will Dawn, If Winter Comes, Perfect Strangers, and I See a Dark Stranger.
Donna Reed: Shadow of the Thin Man, Calling Dr. Gillespie, It's a Wonderful Life, Convicted Woman, The Get-Away, Babes on Broadway, The Courtship of Andy Hardy, The Bugle Sounds, Mokey, Apache Trail, Eyes in the Night, Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case, The Human Comedy, The Man from Down Under, Thousands Cheer, See Here, Private Hargrove, Green Dolphin Street, Chicago Deadline, Beyond Glory, The Picture of Dorian Gray, They Were Expendable, Faithful in My Fashion, and Gentle Annie.
Kim Hunter: A Matter of Life and Death, When Strangers Marry, You Came Along, The Seventh Victim, Tender Comrade, and A Canterbury Tale.
Alida Valli: The Third Man, Piccolo mondo antico, The Paradine Case, The Miracle of the Bells, We the Living, T'amerò sempre, I pagliacci, Apparizione, The Song of Life, The Two Orphans, The First Woman Who Passes, Light in the Darkness, The Secret Lover, Manon Lescaut, The Last Enemy, Red Tavern, Beyond Love, Schoolgirl Diary, Invisible Chains, Stasera niente di nuovo, The Za-Bum Circus, Life Begins Anew, and Eugenia Grandet.
Anne Baxter: 20 Mule Team, The Magnificent Ambersons, Five Graves to Cairo, The Razor's Edge, Yellow Sky, The Great Profile, Swamp Water, Charley's Aunt, Sunday Dinner for a Soldier, The Fighting Sullivans, The North Star, Smoky, The Purple Heart, The Eve of St. Mark, Guest in the House, You're My Everything, The Walls of Jericho, Homecoming, The Luck of the Irish, Blaze of Noon, Angel on My Shoulder, and A Royal Scandal.
Teresa Wright: The Little Foxes, Mrs.. Miniver, Enchantment, Shadow of a Doubt, The Best Years of Our Lives, Pursued, The Trouble with Women, The Pride of the Yankees, The Little Foxes, Casanova Brown, and The Imperfect Lady.
Mary Astor: The Maltese Falcon, The Palm Beach Story, The Great Lie, Act of Violence, Meet Me in St. Louis, Fiesta, East Side, West Side, Young Ideas, Blonde Fever, Turnabout, Brigham Young, Across the Pacific, Claudia and David, Little Women, Any Number Can Play, Desert Fury, and Cynthia.
Ann Sheridan: They Drive by Night, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Kings Row, Nora Prentiss, I Was a Male War Bride, Honeymoon for Three, One More Tomorrow, City for Conquest, Torrid Zone, Castle on the Hudson, It All Came True, Navy Blues, George Washington Slept Here, Wings for the Eagle, Juke Girl, Silver River, The Unfaithful, Edge of Darkness, Thank Your Lucky Stars, Cinderella Jones, Shine On, Harvest Moon, and Good Sam.
Ida Lupino: They Drive by Night, Devotion, In Our Time, The Sea Wolf, High Sierra, Thank Your Lucky Stars, Out of the Fog, Life Begins at Eight-Thirty, Moontide, Ladies in Retirement, Hollywood Canteen, Forever and a Day, The Hard Way, Pillow to Post, Road House, The Man I Love, Escape Me Never, Deep Valley, Not Wanted, Never Fear, and Lust for Gold.
Joan Bennett: Man Hunt, The Woman in the Window, Scarlet Street, The House Across the Bay, The Man I Married, The Son of Monte Cristo, Green Hell, She Knew All the Answers, Wild Geese Calling, The Reckless Moment, Secret Beyond the Door, Hollow Triumph, The Woman on the Beach, Margin for Error, Twin Beds, Confirm or Deny, The Wife Takes a Flyer, Colonel Effingham's Raid, The Macomber Affair, Girl Trouble, and Nob Hill.
Tallulah Bankhead: A Royal Scandal, Stage Door Canteen, and Lifeboat.
Jane Greer: Out of the Past, Pan-Americana, Two O'Clock Courage, Sinbad the Sailor, George White's Scandals, The Falcon's Alibi, Dick Tracy, The Bamboo Blonde, Station West, Sunset Pass, They Won't Believe Me, and The Big Steal.
Margaret O'Brien: Jane Eyre, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Unfinished Dance, Our Vines Have Tender Grapes, Lost Angel, Three Wise Fools, Big City, Little Women, Tenth Avenue Angel, The Secret Garden, Music for Millions, Bad Bascomb, Journey for Margaret, You, John Jones!, and The Canterville Ghost.
Lucille Ball: Without Love, Ziegfeld Follies, Dance, Girl, Dance, The Big Street, Du Barry Was a Lady, The Marines Fly High, You Can't Fool Your Wife, A Girl, a Guy and a Gob, Too Many Girls,Thousands Cheer, Seven Days' Leave, Easy Living, Abbott and Costello in Hollywood, Look Who's Laughing, Valley of the Sun, Lured, Easy to Wed, Two Smart People, Her Husband's Affairs, Sorrowful Jones, The Dark Corner, Lover Come Back, Best Foot Forward, and Meet the People.
Cyd Charisse: Ziegfeld Follies, Escort Girl, Something to Shout About, Thousands Cheer, Mission to Moscow, The Harvey Girls, Till the Clouds Roll By, In Our Time, Three Wise Fools, Fiesta, The Unfinished Dance, On an Island with You, and The Kissing Bandit.
Susan Hayward: The Lost Moment, Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman, My Foolish Heart, Adam Had Four Sons, Sis Hopkins, They Won't Believe Me, Canyon Passage, And Now Tomorrow, Deadline at Dawn, Hit Parade of 1943, Star Spangled Rhythm, A Letter from Bataan, Young and Willing, Tulsa, The Saxon Charm, House of Strangers, Tap Roots, Among the Living, Reap the Wild Wind, The Forest Rangers, Jack London, The Fighting Seabees, and The Hairy Ape.
June Allyson: The Secret Heart, Music for Millions, Best Foot Forward, Meet the People, Two Girls and a Sailor, Girl Crazy, All Girl Revue, Her Highness and the Bellboy, The Three Musketeers, Good News, The Stratton Story, Words and Music, High Barbaree, Till the Clouds Roll By, The Sailor Takes a Wife, Two Sisters from Boston, and The Bride Goes Wild.
Susan Peters: Young Ideas, Tish, Santa Fe Trail, The Big Shot, Random Harvest, Keep Your Powder Dry, Song of Russia, Assignment in Brittany, The Sign of the Ram, Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant, Andy Hardy's Double Life, A New Romance of Celluloid: Personalities, Sockaroo, River's End, Meet John Doe, The Strawberry Blonde, Scattergood Pulls the Strings, Three Sons o' Guns, Young America Flies, Money and the Woman, and The Man Who Talked Too Much.
Betty Hutton: Duffy's Tavern, Hollywood Victory Caravan, Dream Girl, Red, Hot and Blue, Star Spangled Rhythm, One for the Book, Happy Go Lucky, Strictly G.I., Skirmish on the Home Front, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, Cross My Heart, The Perils of Pauline, The Stork Club,Here Come the Waves, And the Angels Sing, Incendiary Blonde, The Fleet's In, and Let's Face It.
Celeste Holm: Road House, Gentleman's Agreement, Come to the Stable, The Snake Pit, Everybody Does It, Chicken Every Sunday, A Letter to Three Wives, Three Little Girls in Blue, and Carnival in Costa Rica.
Celia Johnson: In Which We Serve, Brief Encounter, This Happy Breed, Dear Octopus, and A Letter from Home.
Jane Wyman: Brother Rat and a Baby, Bad Men of Missouri, Johnny Belinda, The Lost Weekend, An Angel from Texas, Flight Angels, Gambling on the High Seas, My Love Came Back, Tugboat Annie Sails Again, Honeymoon for Three, You're in the Army Now, The Body Disappears, Larceny, Inc., My Favorite Spy, Footlight Serenade, Princess O'Rourke, Make Your Own Bed, The Doughgirls, Crime by Night, One More Tomorrow, Night and Day, The Yearling, Magic Town, Cheyenne, A Kiss in the Dark, and The Lady Takes a Sailor.
Angela Lansbury: National Velvet, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Gaslight, The Harvey Girls, The Private Affairs of Bel Ami, If Winter Comes, The Hoodlum Saint, Till the Clouds Roll By, The Red Danube, The Three Musketeers, Tenth Avenue Angel, State of the Union, and Samson and Delilah.
Jean Simmons: Hamlet, Kiss the Bride Goodbye, Give Us the Moon, Black Narcissus, The Way to the Stars, Great Expectations, Caesar and Cleopatra, Meet Sexton Blake, Mr. Emmanuel, Sports Day, Adam and Evelyne, The Blue Lagoon, The Woman in the Hall, Uncle Silas, and Hungry Hill.
Jeanne Crain: Pinky, Home in Indiana, Leave Her to Heaven, In the Meantime, Darling, Winged Victory, State Fair, The Gang's All Here, Margie, The Fan, You Were Meant for Me, Centennial Summer, Apartment for Peggy, and Apartment for Peggy.
Jane Darwell: The Grapes of Wrath, The Great Gildersleeve, It Happened in Flatbush, Government Girl, The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe, The Ox-Bow Incident, The Impatient Years, Music in Manhattan, Untamed, Brigham Young, Chad Hanna, All Through the Night, Small Town Deb, On the Sunny Side, The Devil and Daniel Webster, Young America, Thieves Fall Out, Youth Will Be Served, Private Nurse, Stage Door Canteen, Highways by Night, Reckless Age, Tender Comrade, Gildersleeve's Bad Day, My Darling Clementine, Train to Alcatraz, 3 Godfathers, Red Canyon, I Live in Grosvenor Square, Captain Tugboat Annie, Sunday Dinner for a Soldier, She's a Sweetheart, The Dark Horse, Three Wise Fools, Keeper of the Bees, The Red Stallion, and Men of Texas.
Jean Arthur: The More the Merrier, Arizona, Too Many Husbands, The Talk of the Town, A Foreign Affair, The Impatient Years, A Lady Takes a Chance, and The Devil and Miss Jones.
Elizabeth Taylor: National Velvet, There's One Born Every Minute, Lassie Come Home, Courage of Lassie, Cynthia, Julia Misbehaves, A Date with Judy, Little Women, Life with Father, Conspirator, The White Cliffs of Dover, and Jane Eyre.
Virginia Mayo: The Best Years of Our Lives, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Smart Girls Don't Talk, The Girl from Jones Beach, White Heat, Flaxy Martin, Colorado Territory, Always Leave Them Laughing, The Kid from Brooklyn, Seven Days Ashore, The Princess and the Pirate, Wonder Man, Out of the Blue, A Song Is Born, Follies Girl, Up in Arms, Jack London, and Red Light.
Myrna Loy: Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, The Red Pony, The Senator Was Indiscreet, That Dangerous Age, So Goes My Love, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, Northward, Ho!, The Thin Man Goes Home, I Love You Again, Third Finger, Left Hand, Shadow of the Thin Man, Love Crazy, Show Business at War, The Best Years of Our Lives, and Song of the Thin Man.
Margaret Sullavan: The Mortal Storm, The Shop Around the Corner, Back Street, Appointment for Love, and Cry 'Havoc'.
Joan Leslie: Sergeant York, High Sierra, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Too Young to Know, Northwest Stampede, Janie Gets Married, Two Guys from Milwaukee, Repeat Performance, Where Do We Go from Here?, I Am an American, Laddie, Alice in Movieland, Susan and God, Star Dust, Young as You Feel, High School, Military Academy, The Wagons Roll at Night, The Great Mr. Nobody, Foreign Correspondent, Thieves Fall Out, Thank Your Lucky Stars, The Sky's the Limit, Rhapsody in Blue, Cinderella Jones, Hollywood Canteen, Nine Lives Are Not Enough, The Hard Way, This Is the Army, and The Male Animal.
Linda Darnell: Forever Amber, Unfaithfully Yours, A Letter to Three Wives, Star Dust, The Mark of Zorro, It Happened Tomorrow, City Without Men, Slattery's Hurricane, My Darling Clementine, Anna and the King of Siam, Hangover Square, Summer Storm, Buffalo Bill, The Song of Bernadette, Brigham Young, Blood and Sand, Chad Hanna, The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe, Rise and Shine, The Walls of Jericho, Centennial Summer, The Great John L., Sweet and Low-Down, Everybody Does It, and Fallen Angel.
It’s Gene Tierney or Joan Fontaine for me

My grandfather had a collection of gambling books. When I was younger and not of age to legally gamble, I sometimes read a few of his books.
One book was about prop bets, cons, scams, etc. The book had a fictional narrator named Turk, and a friend that I can’t remember his name. The two of them would use casual dialogue to discuss various scams, ways of making a quick buck, and how to get away with your bets (or cons).
Things like trivia about Reno, Nevada being further west on a map then Los Angeles, how many outs are in a complete inning (6, because their is a top and bottom half of an inning, each team gets 3 outs).
Or sneaky cons like when wagering on a round of golf, to apply Vaseline to your clubs before playing, since Vaseline makes the ball go straighter when hit.
There were obscure prop bets like betting on what sugar cube a fly would land on. Spraying ammonia on a cube would increase the chances of a fly landing on it because they are attracted to the smell.
Or winning a bet on how two people (you and your friend/gambling buddy) can stand on a postcard without physically touching each other. Place the postcard underneath a door, with the edges sticking out on each side, then each person on opposite sides of the door stands on one edge and holds the doorknob to keep their balance.
I know this is really unusual, and this book may be like 50 or more years old, but has anyone else heard of it?

(shitposting/throwaway account)
I must start by emphasizing that my analysis is based on my Eastern-European country's example alone, but I'm pretty sure you'll find overlaps with yours. I'll be looking at the following state employed categories of workers in this order: 1. healthcare; 2. legal; 3. education; 4. social; 5. police; 6. bureaucrats; 7. transportation; but first I must talk about these in general.
All of the above categories are in non-profit-oriented sectors, meaning that they are paid by the taxes of citizens and provide services in exchange, so the state at best tries to evade their lossmaking, which potentiality is a burden in the eyes of the neolib/neocon statesmen. However, they make up a significant portion of the workforce, and as such the voting age population, moreover, in my experience at least, the voter-turnout tends to be much higher among their ranks for the obvious reasons that for them a change in their respective ministry's personnel promises significant changes in their fields.
As our first general conclusion: the state employee tends to be more vote-cucked than workers in the private sector, because the latter more easily understands that no matter who's in charge in the parliament, his boss in the firm will remain the same and besides, a lot of them know that it is these very bosses that dictate to or lobby at the ministries, while the state employee remains to have hope because she's promised changes in personnel at the ministerial level, in essence a change of "bosses, policies, directions."
Now the overwhelming evidence so far is that while every fucking party, even the most insignificant one, tends to have at least a few paragraphs about healthcare, transportation, police, etc. reform, when finally in power, do basically jack shit to implement their own programs. You'll also find that state employees are also more inclined to read these political programs for two main reasons: 1. they are at the very least a trained workforce, but among them many hold diplomas, so their literacy level is above the general toiling masses in the private sector; 2. the promise of change in the ministries composition poisons them with "voter's hope."
Second general point. Almost all of the above categories contain non-productive workers, meaning that they do not produce new values, and unlike, say, cashiers in a supermarket ( https://pastebin.com/0k34xvEZ ), they aren't exploited in a strict Marxian sense of the term. The state allocates funds for the operation of 50 hospitals, but there's nobody "above them" who profits off of their work. This, however, does not mean that 1. their working conditions can't be absolutely horrible; 2. that inside these sectors there are no formal hierarchies with widely (and unfairly) differing wages; 3. that there's no further stratification possible at the formally equal levels (!), usually tied to corruption.
Which leads me to the third and final general point. Five out of the seven categories mentioned in my first paragraph offer lucrative potentials for corruption. (Can you guess which five I'm talking about? Of course you can.) This, again, differentiates them from almost all workers in the private sector. The possibility for corruption, i.e. extra-services, illegal or para-legal benefits, favorable client processions or rulings, etc. provided in exchange for a citizen's bribe offers a "second income" to those who are willing to dirty their hands working in these fields. Importantly, this introduces a weird intra-institutional dynamic into these fields, splitting these workers in schematically speaking two main categories: 1. those who take the bribes; 2. those who don't. With this comes the spontaneous creation of two main cliques inside the state employed workforce, the dirty bribe-havers on the one hand, and the loyal (to the official rules, to the "cause") dupes on the other. Which clique is more materially inclined to hold together no matter what and even wage war against the other if threatened? The corrupt one, obviously. It is an interesting and rare dynamic where the informal group inside the formal system itself can become more organized, centralized, militant than the group that follows the formal rules and an idealized cause, and this dynamic reaches its apex when the informal and corrupt group basically appoints all the leaders inside the institution while being disincentivized from changing the formal rules they do not adhere to.
Let's now proceed with the promised categories one by one.
1. Healthcare workers
What kind of people tend to become healthcare workers in the first place? (Yes, I realize that the following goes outside the scope of "class analysis" as promised in my title, but psychological typology and class do tend to intertwine.) Not long ago I successfully snuck myself in to a healthcare university's freshman party held at a pub. After talking to them my impressions was that these future healthcare workers tend to have either a very developed capacity for acquiring lexical knowledge or a very well developed emotional intelligence, a capacity for empathy. Even the most mediocre diagnostician has to have an almost lexical knowledge of viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites, while most nurses-soon-to-be, my impression was, would treat the most annoying asshole patient with equal care as the most grateful ones. Yet these distinctions are superficial at best, since these two qualities often overlap, and I've recently skimmed books on ethics related to healthcare that basically attest to this point. However there are those among freshmen, who, from day one "knew" that they'll be working in this or that very specialized and typically well paid field. These people typically tend to emigrate to Western European countries for better wages or become corruptible, join the "corrupt clique" as I said above, as soon as the opportunity arises. But my tirade is about the state employed.
On the gender front, the overwhelming majority of nurses, pediatricians, dermatologists, and dentists inside the state sector tend to be women, while the overwhelming majority of surgeons, oncologists, obstetricians (!!), heads of departments, and other highly specialized and better paid, etc. tend to be men in my experience. I'm absolutely sure that the wage differential between men and women inside this field is astonishing and I'm kind of baffled how feminists in my country don't focus on this, instead babbling about much more fashionable radlib nonsense I'd rather spare you from me detailing.
In terms of corruptibility, there are positions which are more keen to practice it. A good example are obstetricians. Little gifts (typically wine, champagne, but more efficaciously few dozen bucks, etc. are snuck into their pockets before (if you are superstitious) or after your child is being delivered (if you are results-oriented, yet still rather superstitious). Or take the case of a single broken leg of your teenage child who is brought to spend at least a week in a crammed room. Just go to the head of the department, bribe them with a few dozen bucks, and he'll get a less crammed room with a cleaner better bed. Does your grandma have aggressively spreading cancer, yet her surgery is postponed for 2 more months now? Hundred bucks and they can reschedule her surgery for this week.
All of the above leads to two phenomena. First, a stratification inside formally equal positions, where one nurse, one surgeon, etc. take bribes and soon roll into the workplace with a Mercedes car, them being the "upper 10%" of the same workplace and position. IIRC like 90% of the bribery going on goes to 10% of the healthcare workers, yet officially they can not be distinguished on legal pay levels. A kind of "healthcare aristocracy" is formed.
What are the barriers to the radicalization to state employed healthcare workers? First of all, moralism, which is the bourgeois ideological parasite that feeds on their emotional intelligence mentioned above. How many times in my country have we talked about nurse (etc.) strikes, yet they know that ultimately this would mean a few dozen sick people dying, so they abhor the idea.
2. Legal workers
First of all what should be established here is the fact that inside this field most try to get out of the state sector ASAP for the simple reasons that the private sector promises way bigger bucks than the state does. Typically those who become judges (employees of the state) are the ones who had very strong PHDs and credentials and then proceeded to climb the ladder, or those in the private sphere who published papers, while most lawyers try to divorce themselves from the state as soon as possible. Let me give you an example. Most law post-grads will spend a few years dealing with cases where the state promises every convict a right to a lawyer. That lawyer will be you. Poor Ass dickhead commits a petty crime and can't afford a private lawyer? The state assigns you, you get 100 Poor Ass Dickheads in a few years, you now have credentials and may petition to join a private firm.
In my experience the field of law is riddled with literal psychopaths, but on a brighter note those who become judges tend to be truthful persons. Now all of this is complicated by the appointing system, wherein the mayor of a town, or the government appoints people to crucial positions, like constitutional judges and so on. So there's a rather specific spread to this. If you are a lumpen and commit your nth thievery you'll get processed at the speed of a product does on an assembly belt. If you are a prole, a petit-bourgeois, you'll get a fair trial. Corruption does not enter at this level. Corruption enters the picture at the level of people with political connections and/or tons and tons of money, and typically when they are rightfully charged. A mafia boss can easily bribe a judge. A person with political connections will easily get through the cracks of law. I think what must be emphasized here is this asymmetry: poor ass folk get instant assrape, the folk in between can get a fair deal, the upper class always win. Naturally these are further complicated if the case actually threatens those in power.
In conclusion, I have a rather mixed view of this profession. On the one hand, i.e. when it matters to those who are in power, they will be always the ruling hands of capital. When it comes to the most vulnerable they'll always rule against. When it comes to cases involving the middle classes, well diploma'd (P.M..C s), and "well adjusted" proles, that doesn't threaten capital, you'll very likely have a fair trial.
For their potential to radicalize them. Tricky question. Every state-employed court is a mixed bag. Say, in a leftist town with a leftist mayor leftist judges tend to hold positions. These people every month see two dozen cases that point to a single or an interconnected societal issue: alcoholism, poverty, cultural misery, etc. and I do believe that these judges could be radicalized. However, the main problem is that they are forbidden by law to join parties and so on. For this reason only they should be labeled "nonexistent" in the eyes of radicals when it comes to spreading the basis of the party in a targeted manner. "Objectively" there are many socially conscious judges, yet they are unreachable.
3. Workers in education
Very weird, this one, at least on the gender front. Take this series: "kindergarten -> elementary school -> middle school -> higher education" and you'll see an inverse relationship between educational levels and women's participation, meaning that at the lower levels you'll see more women, and the higher levels you'll see barely any.
The most crucial thing when talking about teachers from a Marxist perspective, is to acknowledge the fact that these people, disregarding their best intentions, generally tend to perpetuate value systems and preconcieved-dogma on a mass scale. They, after receiving a diploma at certain universities, as time passes, tend to forget more and more about their own passions and interests in certain fields and substitute it with "teaching" the official textbook to the students, at least from the lowest-to-mid level of education. As far as I'm concerned the "teacher" is as much the victim of the education system as the student is, with predictably analogous results on both ends. The education system itself grinds up the teacher's and the student's motivation on the long run. (Maybe the most immune from this is the kindergarten teacher.)
Moreover, as we climb the institutional ladder (kindergarten -> [...] -> university) bourgeois indoctrination enters the picture more and more, especially in the humanities (politology, arts, x-studies, etc.) but in the STEM fields as well, where they receive a singular "key" to life (math, statistics, engineering, IT), all of which are just processes of preparation for the highly specialized fields in the capitalist workplace.
In my country there are quite literal obstacles to radicalizing these personnel. In the range from kindergarten to elementary school the teachers are basically duping themselves, thinking that the cute child retards they are dealing with somehow represent an invariable human nature which leads them to be the experts and uncritical supporters of notions of society's general "human nature" as such, while those teachers ranging from low-to-mid level education, tend to focus on literally beating into kids "the facts," while those ranging from mid-to-high education are often the worst: the middle school / gymnasium teacher lowers his/her previous passion in literature, math, etc. to a hobby which withers away as the years pass and the "follow-the-textbook" attitude becomes more and more tempting, while the higher education assholes are the most dangerous, because they, as professors, convinced themselves that they are participants in a rather important academic discourse, which, ultimately just reproduces the values and attitudes of the current capitalist system.
Let me give you two examples from my country. There's a prominent STEM professor who had a hilarious breakdown when teaching first or second year students which was captured on video and widely spread on youtube. He asked at his first colloquium: what percentage of participants understand derivations, and after merely around 10-20% of the students held up their hands he started a long tirade against the students and their supposed inadequacy, while this is obviously a structural issue. Second example would be one of my philosophy professors who had a 10 minutes breakdown about how none of us have actually read Plato before, which was followed up about his reminiscence of his youth where everybody who got to that point knew that shit (hint: he was referencing socialism, without admitting to himself that the general breakdown of literacy and so on could be attributed to our regime change).
In my experience in effect teachers are the most reactionary force inside a capitalist means of production, the wast majority of whom are conditioned to blame systemic problems as personal one, worse, those "on the top," i.e. academics are even more up their own asses, convincing themselves that "only if these idiots understood my teaching better, we'd be living in a better world..." I have never met a single teacher who could even be slightly considered to be a communist, because they live inside a sheltered field of discourse that will always reinforce the ruling ideology either directly or indirectly.
On the voter and union front we get a very similar picture. These assholes typically tend to vote for the eternal opposition because, as it turns out, no party taking power actually gives them better wages, albeit they always promise, so in my eyes this bloc is eternally captured in an eternal struggle without results.
4. Social workers
I said about healthcare workers that a good chunk of them join that workforce because they have rather high emotional intelligence. I'll say about social workers that a lot of them join the field because a good chunk of them are either religious (typically Christian) or totally high on moralist ideology. My ex-gf became a social worker, one of my best comrades is a christian-communist, okay? Both of them are Christians. What I respect about my soc-worker comrade is the fact that he does not even pretend to delude himself. He is communist enough to admit that structurally or systematically speaking, his org. offering food on a daily basis to the lumpen doesn't change shit.
A social worker deals with extremes on a daily basis. Alcoholic half-rotten bodied schizo hobos on the one hand, which make up like 85% of his clientele, and those very few cases where a workable and semi-talented youngster walks in who just needs a job and a place to stay in.
But these extremes the social worker has to deal with is not restricted to the "nature" of his clientele. At the very least on a subconscious level a social worker know that his or her field shouldn't exist at all, or, just like communism, the movement itself should become redundant when the sources of the problems are dealt with finally.
In terms of the "objective effects" of his job, at least from a Marxist perspective, a social worker halts absolute lumpenization. As such he or she is our ally on a structural level. Marx & Engels spent several dozen passages detailing how the lumpen always chose the side of reaction, while tying "lumpenization" to a generalized "demoralization" of this stratum. So even if the social worker couldn't be radicalized, his work ultimately aligns himself with communist processes: "the less lumpen = the less fuel for reaction."
As for hindrances that could halt their radicalization... Similarly to healthcare workers these people tend to have an affinity for empathy, and so on. Still, there's a crucial difference. While the nurse and doctor deals with you "as a physical body," the social worker will inevitably see you as a social entity. From this fact alone they are more radicalizable than, say, healthcare workers. Yet, if they were to strike, literally nothing would happen, since they work on the lumpen.
5. Police
Hierarchy. There are the grunts, parodied in "Reno 911!". There are the actual higher ups, who tend to be either more intelligent or more employment-year sawwy than the others. The most educated, distinguished, intellectual stratum inside the police were and always be detectives. These people tend to be the intellectuals inside this ragged institution. There are also policemen who teach at police academies. In my country these tend to be the most pessimistic regarding the road our country is taking, because they tend to be collected from the most experienced of the policeforce.
I observed an interesting trend inside the police force in my country. The older one officer may be the more likely he is more nostalgic towards our socialist past, before the regime change. The younger the police officer, the more inclined to be drawn towards the profession for possibilities of sadism. Meanwhile, the older generation officers, who mostly teach now, complain about how the new recruits can barely read or count as such.
(I've discussed this in detail here: https://www.reddit.com/stupidpol/comments/i4g9wq/the_lefts_attitude_towards_the_police_is/ ) In terms of gender composition you'll find that the highest % of women will be at the level of regular grunts, while seriously underrepresented on higher levels.
Remember my "general section" above, and its lines about the formal and informal structures? Well, I'm certain that his state employed sector has the most obvious lines distinguishing the two. I've spoken to a rookie who gave me a confession: he was required to beat up a hobo just to be accepted into his "in-group." Naturally he pretends now that he's sorry about all of that, but really, if an org. has such widespread and "informal" requirements, what's there to be surprised about?
In terms of sex, I'd say roughly 20-30% of the total police force is female, while like 95% of detectives and higher ups are male, lol.
As for corruption, you, as a citizen are basically gambling. Are you being caught for DUI? You have like 33% chance of convincing the officer if you offer enough in cash that you'll go free. (Again, see the parallel with the legal apparatus above.) The most brutal, centralized, militant corruption cliques are inside the police force. These policemen can easily triple their net incomes via accepting bribes and so on.
The main obstacle to radicalizing the police (beyond the rather obvious reasons) is that they are legally forbidden from joining parties or running as candidates in elections. Still, as we know well, the far right in almost all countries have organic relationships with them. As the above cited link suggest, and I will say explicitly here, the left should drop its "ACAB" attitude and try to find persons inside the police who openly sympathize with them for the single reason that being close to power, moreover, getting updates from those close to power, will always be useful. Another way to look at it is this: the secret services will always try to infiltrate your org if you are successful. Well then, why don't you try to infiltrate the executive branch yourself, as a member of a communist org?
6. bureaucrats
Which is a very broad category, including your driver licensing boards, monitors of tax payments, unemployment clerks, and so on. These people have a very high chance of being corrupted. What part of society typically becomes such a bureaucrat? Well, honestly, the most mediocre one(s).
In terms of corruptibility their answer to this question is: "okay, when, where, how much?" But then again I'm talking about the uppermost 10-20% of them. Those under the ladder literally can't afford being as corrupted as them.
Are there tendencies that hinder the bureaucrats becoming class conscious and so on? Yes and no. I think we should look at the 1917 revolution's example, where thousands of ex-Tsarist bureaucrats started to support the Bolsheviks for a single reason: the proved to be the ONLY alternative to utter chaos.
Interestingly, at least for me, in terms of genders and so on, this stratum tends to be the most balanced in my experience, if not female dominated.
As for hindrances in terms of radicalizing them, at least in my country, the picture is thus: lower-level bureaucrats are constantly being fired and hired on the municipal level. You are a fucking 1337 if you manage to hold your job for more than half a year as a mid-level bureaucrat, say, in the institution of tax office. The very few who get the opportunity to advance inside the hierarchy also get the broadening possibility for corruption. I would go as far to say that from mid level onward your chances to succeed towards higher levels effectively hinges on your capacity to corrupt yourself, at certain point which the designated gestapo will notice you and say to you that you are a "trustworthy guy/gal" who should try to join the higher echelons of bureaucratic corruption.
7. transportation
First of all, from a Marxist perspective one should note that some of these workers are actually value-producing when they are transporting commodities from place A to place B, but in my country thanks to neolibs/neocons these railway sections have already been privatized, so...
In terms of gender composition a rather baffling picture emerges. I've been using trains since year 3 of my life up until to now, which would mean like 150-300 travels in total, not counting all those times I've been waiting for trains at train stations, and I can only tell you that like 98% of train conductors are male in my country, not even kidding. For long distance buses these numbers somewhat soften, I'd say that throughout my life I've taken like 50-75 long distance bus rides, out of which like 85% were male bus drives. A radical shift happens in local mass transportation (trams, metros, buses) where like 30% of the drivers are women. I'll leave the conclusions to feminists better trained than I am. As for conductors (you know, assholes who validate your ticket and such) on trains, long range buses, and local transportation I'd say 60% has been male, 40% women.
In terms of their potential to be radicalized, since my country is ex-socialist, I'd say this would be rather promising overall, were it not for the fact that their unions have been overtaken by absolutely reformist/party specific leadership. On the one hand like 90% of them know that under socialism "this shit worked 200% better," while the official union simps for this or that capitalist party.
----
To close. I attempted to give you all a kind of inside look to Eastern-European realities. Realities in a country with which the socialist experiment lives on at the level of actually existing memories. What you take from this is completely up to you. Still, I'd like you to compare your country's experiences to mine, and give us fruitful comparisons. I know for a fact, for example, that my "capitalism fucked up our national railroad system" will resonate with Englishmen, for whom'st the privatization of their railroads proved to be an absolute disaster.
Cheers.

Best run in terms of anything
Ingrid Bergman: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Casablanca, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Gaslight, Spellbound, The Bells of St. Mary’s, Notorious, June Night, Adam Had Four Sons, Rage in Heaven, Saratoga Trunk, Swedes in America, Arch of Triumph, American Creed, Under Capricorn, and Joan of Arc.
Olivia De Havilland: The Snake Pit, Santa Fe Trail, Their Boots On, The Heiress, To Each His Own, In This Our Life, My Love Came Back, The Strawberry Blonde, The Male Animal, The Well Groomed Bride, Hold Back the Dawn, Thank Your Lucky Stars, Devotion, The Dark Mirror, Princess O'Rourke, and Government Girl.
Judy Garland: Andy Hardy Meets Debutante, Strike Up the Band, Little Nellie Kelly, Meet Me in St. Louis, Presenting Lily Mars, For Me and My Gal, Thousands Cheer, Girl Crazy, Babes on Broadway, Life Begins for Andy Hardy, Ziegfeld Girl, In the Good Old Summertime, The Pirate, Words and Music, Easter Parade, The Harvey Girls, Till the Clouds Roll By, and Ziegfeld Follies.
Gene Tierney: Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake, Heaven Can Wait, Laura, Leave Her to Heaven, Dragonwyck, The Razor’s Edge, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Tobacco Road, The Return of Frank James, Hudson's Bay, The Shanghai Gesture, A Bell for Adano, China Girl, Sundown, Belle Starr, Thunder Birds, Rings on Her Fingers, The Iron Curtain, and That Wonderful Urge.
Bette Davis: In This Our Life, Thank Your Lucky Stars, The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Little Foxes, The Letter, Now, Voyager, Beyond the Forest, Winter Meeting, June Bride, A Stolen Life, Deception, Hollywood Canteen, Old Acquaintance, Mr. Skeffington, Shining Victory, The Bride Came C.O.D., Watch on the Rhine, All This, and Heaven Too, and The Corn Is Green.
Joan Crawford: When Ladies Meet, Possessed, Mildred Pierce, Hollywood Canteen, Humoresque, Flamingo Road, It's a Great Feeling, Daisy Kenyon, Reunion in France, They All Kissed the Bride, Strange Cargo, Susan and God, Above Suspicion, and A Woman's Face.
Carole Lombard: They Knew What They Wanted, To Be or Not to Be, Vigil in the Night, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
Agnes Moorehead: Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, Dark Passage, Journey into Fear, The Big Street, The Youngest Profession, Government Girl, Jane Eyre, Dragon Seed, Since You Went Away, The Seventh Cross, Mrs. Parkington, Our Vines Have Tender Grapes, Tomorrow, the World!, Keep Your Powder Dry, Her Highness and the Bellboy, Johnny Belinda, The Lost Moment, Summer Holiday, The Woman in White, The Stratton Story, Station West, The Great Sinner, and Without Honor.
Shirley Temple: A Kiss for Corliss, Fort Apache, Adventure in Baltimore, The Story of Seabiscuit, Mr. Belvedere Goes to College, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, Since You Went Away, Kiss and Tell, I'll Be Seeing You, Honeymoon, Kathleen, Young People, Miss Annie Rooney, The Blue Bird, and That Hagen Girl.
Ava Gardner: The Killers, The Hucksters, Singapore, One Touch of Venus, The Bribe,The Great Sinner, Major Barbara, East Side, West Side, Reunion in France, Fancy Answers, H. M. Pulham, Esq., Shadow of the Thin Man, Babes on Broadway, This Time for Keeps, Joe Smith, American, We Do It Because, Sunday Punch, Kid Glove Killer, Calling Dr. Gillespie, Mighty Lak a Goat, Du Barry Was a Lady, Hitler's Madman, Ghosts on the Loose, Two Girls and a Sailor, Lost Angel, Young Ideas, Swing Fever, Maisie Goes to Reno, 3 Men in White, She Went to the Races, Blonde Fever, and Whistle Stop.
Katharine Hepburn: The Philadelphia Story, Song of Love, Adam's Rib, Undercurrent, Without Love, State of the Union, The Sea of Grass, Stage Door Canteen, Dragon Seed, Woman of the Year, and Keeper of the Flame.
Maureen O Hara: Dance, Girl, Dance, How Green Was My Valley, The Black Swan, The Spanish Main, Miracle on 34th Street, Sinbad the Sailor, A Bill of Divorcement, They Met in Argentina, To the Shores of Tripoli, Ten Gentlemen from West Point, Immortal Sergeant, This Land Is Mine, The Fallen Sparrow, Buffalo Bill, Sentimental Journey, Do You Love Me, The Homestretch, The Foxes of Harrow, Forever Amber, The Forbidden Street, Father Was a Fullback, Sitting Pretty, and A Woman's Secret.
Lauren Bacall: The Big Sleep, Dark Passage, Key Largo, Confidential Agent, Confidential Agent, and To Have and Have Not.
Vivien Leigh: Caesar and Cleopatra, Anna Karenina, 21 Days, Waterloo Bridge, and That Hamilton Woman.
Greer Garson: Mrs. Miniver, The Valley of Decision, Desire Me, That Forsyte Woman, The Miracle of Sound, Pride and Prejudice, Random Harvest, Blossoms in the Dust, Madame Curie, The Youngest Profession, When Ladies Meet, Adventure, Mrs. Parkington, and Julia Misbehaves.
Claudette Colbert: The Palm Beach Story, Since You Went Away, Bride for Sale, Sleep, My Love, Without Reservations, Family Honeymoon, Arise, My Love, Boom Town, Remember the Day, Skylark, No Time for Love, Practically Yours, So Proudly We Hail!, Guest Wife, Tomorrow Is Forever, The Secret Heart, and The Egg and I.
Lana Turner: Johnny Eager, Honky Tonk, Ziegfeld Girl, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Somewhere I’ll Find You, Week-End at the Waldorf, Green Dolphin Street, Homecoming, The Three Musketeers, The Youngest Profession, Keep Your Powder Dry, We Who Are Young, Cass Timberlane, Slightly Dangerous, and Marriage Is a Private Affair.
Rita Hayworth: Gilda, Cover Girl, Blondie on a Budget, Tales of Manhattan, You Were Never Lovelier, The Lady from Shanghai, The Strawberry Blonde, You'll Never Get Rich, The Loves of Carmen, Affectionately Yours, My Gal Sal, Susan and God, Down to Earth, Tonight and Every Night, Blood and Sand, Angels Over Broadway, The Lady in Question, Music in My Heart, and Blondie on a Budget.
Joan Fontaine: Rebecca, Suspicion, The Constant Nymph, Jane Eyre, The Affairs of Susan, Ivy, Letter from an Unknown Woman, This Above All, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, The Emperor Waltz, From This Day Forward, You Gotta Stay Happy, and Frenchman's Creek.
Jennifer Jones: The Song of Bernadette, Since You Went Away, Love Letters, Duel in the Sun, Madame Bovary, We Were Strangers, Portrait of Jennie, and Cluny Brown.
Hedy Lamarr: Comrade X, Come Live With Me, H.M. Pulham, Esq., Samson and Delilah, Tortilla Flat, Dishonored Lady, Ziegfeld Girl, Boom Town, Crossroads, The Strange Woman, White Cargo, Experiment Perilous, The Conspirators, Let's Live a Little, I Take This Woman, and The Heavenly Body.
Ginger Rogers: The Barkleys of Broadway, Tender Comrade, Kitty Foyle, Tom, Dick and Harry, I'll Be Seeing You, Roxie Hart, The Major and the Minor, Lucky Partners, Primrose Path, Week-End at the Waldorf, Once Upon a Honeymoon, Lady in the Dark, Magnificent Doll, Heartbeat, and It Had to Be You.
Barbara Stanwyck: East Side, West Side, Hollywood Canteen, Ball of Fire, The Lady Eve, Sorry, Wrong Number, Double Indemnity, Meet John Doe, You Belong to Me, Remember the Night, The Gay Sisters, The Great Man's Lady, Flesh and Fantasy, Lady of Burlesque, California, My Reputation, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, The Bride Wore Boots, Christmas in Connecticut, Cry Wolf, The Two Mrs. Carrolls, Variety Girl, The Other Love, The Lady Gambles, and B.F.'s Daughter.
Veronica Lake: Sullivan’s Travels, This Gun for Hire, The Glass Key, I Married a Witch, So Proudly We Hail, Bring on the Girls, Miss Susie Slagle’s, The Blue Dahlia, I Wanted Wings, Forty Little Mothers, The Hour Before the Dawn, Ramrod, Hold That Blonde, Duffy's Tavern, Miss Susie Slagle's, Out of This World, Slattery's Hurricane, The Sainted Sisters, Isn't It Romantic?, Star Spangled Rhythm, and Saigon.
Setsuko Hara: Late Spring, Toyuki, Hebihimesama, Totsugu hi made, Onna no machi, Futari no sekai, Shimai no Yakusoku, Anî no hânayomê, Ôinaru kanô, Kêkkon no seitaî, A Story of Leadership, Kibô no aozora, Seishun no kiryû, Wakai sensei, Midori no daichi, Haha no chizu, Hawai Mare Oki Kaisen, Hawai Maree oki kaisen, Ahen senso, Bôrô no kesshitai, Toward the Decisive Battle in the Sky, Searing Wind, Suicide Troops of the Watchtower, Ikari no umi, Young Eagles, Shôri no hi made, Kita no san-nin, Koi no fuunjî, Midori no kokkyô, Reijin, Midori no kokkyô, No Regrets for Our Youth, Yuwaku, Kakedashi jidai, A Ball at the Anjo House, Onnadake no yoru, Sanbon yubi no otoko, Toki no teizo: zengohen, Fujisancho, Taifuken no onna, Kofuku no genkai, President and a female clerk, Tonosama Hotel, Ojôsan kanpai, Aoi sanmyaku, and Zoku aoi sanmyaku.
Betty Grable: Down Argentine Way, Mother Wore Tights, Down Argentine Way, When My Baby Smiles at Me, The Dolly Sisters, Pin Up Girl, Springtime in the Rockies, Coney Island, The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend, Tin Pan Alley, Sweet Rosie O'Grady, A Yank in the R.A.F., Footlight Serenade, I Wake Up Screaming, Song of the Islands, Diamond Horseshoe,
Deborah Kerr: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus, Contraband, Penn of Pennsylvania, A Battle for a Bottle, Love on the Dole, Major Barbara, Major Barbara, Edward, My Son, Hatter's Castle, The Day Will Dawn, If Winter Comes, Perfect Strangers, and I See a Dark Stranger.
Donna Reed: Shadow of the Thin Man, Calling Dr. Gillespie, It's a Wonderful Life, Convicted Woman, The Get-Away, Babes on Broadway, The Courtship of Andy Hardy, The Bugle Sounds, Mokey, Apache Trail, Eyes in the Night, Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case, The Human Comedy, The Man from Down Under, Thousands Cheer, See Here, Private Hargrove, Green Dolphin Street, Chicago Deadline, Beyond Glory, The Picture of Dorian Gray, They Were Expendable, Faithful in My Fashion, and Gentle Annie.
Kim Hunter: A Matter of Life and Death, When Strangers Marry, You Came Along, The Seventh Victim, Tender Comrade, and A Canterbury Tale.
Alida Valli: The Third Man, Piccolo mondo antico, The Paradine Case, The Miracle of the Bells, We the Living, T'amerò sempre, I pagliacci, Apparizione, The Song of Life, The Two Orphans, The First Woman Who Passes, Light in the Darkness, The Secret Lover, Manon Lescaut, The Last Enemy, Red Tavern, Beyond Love, Schoolgirl Diary, Invisible Chains, Stasera niente di nuovo, The Za-Bum Circus, Life Begins Anew, and Eugenia Grandet.
Anne Baxter: 20 Mule Team, The Magnificent Ambersons, Five Graves to Cairo, The Razor's Edge, Yellow Sky, The Great Profile, Swamp Water, Charley's Aunt, Sunday Dinner for a Soldier, The Fighting Sullivans, The North Star, Smoky, The Purple Heart, The Eve of St. Mark, Guest in the House, You're My Everything, The Walls of Jericho, Homecoming, The Luck of the Irish, Blaze of Noon, Angel on My Shoulder, and A Royal Scandal.
Teresa Wright: The Little Foxes, Mrs.. Miniver, Enchantment, Shadow of a Doubt, The Best Years of Our Lives, Pursued, The Trouble with Women, The Pride of the Yankees, The Little Foxes, Casanova Brown, and The Imperfect Lady.
Mary Astor: The Maltese Falcon, The Palm Beach Story, The Great Lie, Act of Violence, Meet Me in St. Louis, Fiesta, East Side, West Side, Young Ideas, Blonde Fever, Turnabout, Brigham Young, Across the Pacific, Claudia and David, Little Women, Any Number Can Play, Desert Fury, and Cynthia.
Ann Sheridan: They Drive by Night, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Kings Row, Nora Prentiss, I Was a Male War Bride, Honeymoon for Three, One More Tomorrow, City for Conquest, Torrid Zone, Castle on the Hudson, It All Came True, Navy Blues, George Washington Slept Here, Wings for the Eagle, Juke Girl, Silver River, The Unfaithful, Edge of Darkness, Thank Your Lucky Stars, Cinderella Jones, Shine On, Harvest Moon, and Good Sam.
Ida Lupino: They Drive by Night, Devotion, In Our Time, The Sea Wolf, High Sierra, Thank Your Lucky Stars, Out of the Fog, Life Begins at Eight-Thirty, Moontide, Ladies in Retirement, Hollywood Canteen, Forever and a Day, The Hard Way, Pillow to Post, Road House, The Man I Love, Escape Me Never, Deep Valley, Not Wanted, Never Fear, and Lust for Gold.
Joan Bennett: Man Hunt, The Woman in the Window, Scarlet Street, The House Across the Bay, The Man I Married, The Son of Monte Cristo, Green Hell, She Knew All the Answers, Wild Geese Calling, The Reckless Moment, Secret Beyond the Door, Hollow Triumph, The Woman on the Beach, Margin for Error, Twin Beds, Confirm or Deny, The Wife Takes a Flyer, Colonel Effingham's Raid, The Macomber Affair, Girl Trouble, and Nob Hill.
Tallulah Bankhead: A Royal Scandal, Stage Door Canteen, and Lifeboat.
Jane Greer: Out of the Past, Pan-Americana, Two O'Clock Courage, Sinbad the Sailor, George White's Scandals, The Falcon's Alibi, Dick Tracy, The Bamboo Blonde, Station West, Sunset Pass, They Won't Believe Me, and The Big Steal.
Margaret O'Brien: Jane Eyre, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Unfinished Dance, Our Vines Have Tender Grapes, Lost Angel, Three Wise Fools, Big City, Little Women, Tenth Avenue Angel, The Secret Garden, Music for Millions, Bad Bascomb, Journey for Margaret, You, John Jones!, and The Canterville Ghost.
Lucille Ball: Without Love, Ziegfeld Follies, Dance, Girl, Dance, The Big Street, Du Barry Was a Lady, The Marines Fly High, You Can't Fool Your Wife, A Girl, a Guy and a Gob, Too Many Girls,Thousands Cheer, Seven Days' Leave, Easy Living, Abbott and Costello in Hollywood, Look Who's Laughing, Valley of the Sun, Lured, Easy to Wed, Two Smart People, Her Husband's Affairs, Sorrowful Jones, The Dark Corner, Lover Come Back, Best Foot Forward, and Meet the People.
Cyd Charisse: Ziegfeld Follies, Escort Girl, Something to Shout About, Thousands Cheer, Mission to Moscow, The Harvey Girls, Till the Clouds Roll By, In Our Time, Three Wise Fools, Fiesta, The Unfinished Dance, On an Island with You, and The Kissing Bandit.
Susan Hayward: The Lost Moment, Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman, My Foolish Heart, Adam Had Four Sons, Sis Hopkins, They Won't Believe Me, Canyon Passage, And Now Tomorrow, Deadline at Dawn, Hit Parade of 1943, Star Spangled Rhythm, A Letter from Bataan, Young and Willing, Tulsa, The Saxon Charm, House of Strangers, Tap Roots, Among the Living, Reap the Wild Wind, The Forest Rangers, Jack London, The Fighting Seabees, and The Hairy Ape.
June Allyson: The Secret Heart, Music for Millions, Best Foot Forward, Meet the People, Two Girls and a Sailor, Girl Crazy, All Girl Revue, Her Highness and the Bellboy, The Three Musketeers, Good News, The Stratton Story, Words and Music, High Barbaree, Till the Clouds Roll By, The Sailor Takes a Wife, Two Sisters from Boston, and The Bride Goes Wild.
Susan Peters: Young Ideas, Tish, Santa Fe Trail, The Big Shot, Random Harvest, Keep Your Powder Dry, Song of Russia, Assignment in Brittany, The Sign of the Ram, Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant, Andy Hardy's Double Life, A New Romance of Celluloid: Personalities, Sockaroo, River's End, Meet John Doe, The Strawberry Blonde, Scattergood Pulls the Strings, Three Sons o' Guns, Young America Flies, Money and the Woman, and The Man Who Talked Too Much.
Betty Hutton: Duffy's Tavern, Hollywood Victory Caravan, Dream Girl, Red, Hot and Blue, Star Spangled Rhythm, One for the Book, Happy Go Lucky, Strictly G.I., Skirmish on the Home Front, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, Cross My Heart, The Perils of Pauline, The Stork Club,Here Come the Waves, And the Angels Sing, Incendiary Blonde, The Fleet's In, and Let's Face It.
Celeste Holm: Road House, Gentleman's Agreement, Come to the Stable, The Snake Pit, Everybody Does It, Chicken Every Sunday, A Letter to Three Wives, Three Little Girls in Blue, and Carnival in Costa Rica.
Celia Johnson: In Which We Serve, Brief Encounter, This Happy Breed, Dear Octopus, and A Letter from Home.
Jane Wyman: Brother Rat and a Baby, Bad Men of Missouri, Johnny Belinda, The Lost Weekend, An Angel from Texas, Flight Angels, Gambling on the High Seas, My Love Came Back, Tugboat Annie Sails Again, Honeymoon for Three, You're in the Army Now, The Body Disappears, Larceny, Inc., My Favorite Spy, Footlight Serenade, Princess O'Rourke, Make Your Own Bed, The Doughgirls, Crime by Night, One More Tomorrow, Night and Day, The Yearling, Magic Town, Cheyenne, A Kiss in the Dark, and The Lady Takes a Sailor.
Angela Lansbury: National Velvet, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Gaslight, The Harvey Girls, The Private Affairs of Bel Ami, If Winter Comes, The Hoodlum Saint, Till the Clouds Roll By, The Red Danube, The Three Musketeers, Tenth Avenue Angel, State of the Union, and Samson and Delilah.
Jean Simmons: Hamlet, Kiss the Bride Goodbye, Give Us the Moon, Black Narcissus, The Way to the Stars, Great Expectations, Caesar and Cleopatra, Meet Sexton Blake, Mr. Emmanuel, Sports Day, Adam and Evelyne, The Blue Lagoon, The Woman in the Hall, Uncle Silas, and Hungry Hill.
Jeanne Crain: Pinky, Home in Indiana, Leave Her to Heaven, In the Meantime, Darling, Winged Victory, State Fair, The Gang's All Here, Margie, The Fan, You Were Meant for Me, Centennial Summer, Apartment for Peggy, and Apartment for Peggy.
Jane Darwell: The Grapes of Wrath, The Great Gildersleeve, It Happened in Flatbush, Government Girl, The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe, The Ox-Bow Incident, The Impatient Years, Music in Manhattan, Untamed, Brigham Young, Chad Hanna, All Through the Night, Small Town Deb, On the Sunny Side, The Devil and Daniel Webster, Young America, Thieves Fall Out, Youth Will Be Served, Private Nurse, Stage Door Canteen, Highways by Night, Reckless Age, Tender Comrade, Gildersleeve's Bad Day, My Darling Clementine, Train to Alcatraz, 3 Godfathers, Red Canyon, I Live in Grosvenor Square, Captain Tugboat Annie, Sunday Dinner for a Soldier, She's a Sweetheart, The Dark Horse, Three Wise Fools, Keeper of the Bees, The Red Stallion, and Men of Texas.
Jean Arthur: The More the Merrier, Arizona, Too Many Husbands, The Talk of the Town, A Foreign Affair, The Impatient Years, A Lady Takes a Chance, and The Devil and Miss Jones.
Elizabeth Taylor: National Velvet, There's One Born Every Minute, Lassie Come Home, Courage of Lassie, Cynthia, Julia Misbehaves, A Date with Judy, Little Women, Life with Father, Conspirator, The White Cliffs of Dover, and Jane Eyre.
Virginia Mayo: The Best Years of Our Lives, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Smart Girls Don't Talk, The Girl from Jones Beach, White Heat, Flaxy Martin, Colorado Territory, Always Leave Them Laughing, The Kid from Brooklyn, Seven Days Ashore, The Princess and the Pirate, Wonder Man, Out of the Blue, A Song Is Born, Follies Girl, Up in Arms, Jack London, and Red Light.
Myrna Loy: Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, The Red Pony, The Senator Was Indiscreet, That Dangerous Age, So Goes My Love, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, Northward, Ho!, The Thin Man Goes Home, I Love You Again, Third Finger, Left Hand, Shadow of the Thin Man, Love Crazy, Show Business at War, The Best Years of Our Lives, and Song of the Thin Man.
Margaret Sullavan: The Mortal Storm, The Shop Around the Corner, Back Street, Appointment for Love, and Cry 'Havoc'.
Joan Leslie: Sergeant York, High Sierra, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Too Young to Know, Northwest Stampede, Janie Gets Married, Two Guys from Milwaukee, Repeat Performance, Where Do We Go from Here?, I Am an American, Laddie, Alice in Movieland, Susan and God, Star Dust, Young as You Feel, High School, Military Academy, The Wagons Roll at Night, The Great Mr. Nobody, Foreign Correspondent, Thieves Fall Out, Thank Your Lucky Stars, The Sky's the Limit, Rhapsody in Blue, Cinderella Jones, Hollywood Canteen, Nine Lives Are Not Enough, The Hard Way, This Is the Army, and The Male Animal.
Linda Darnell: Forever Amber, Unfaithfully Yours, A Letter to Three Wives, Star Dust, The Mark of Zorro, It Happened Tomorrow, City Without Men, Slattery's Hurricane, My Darling Clementine, Anna and the King of Siam, Hangover Square, Summer Storm, Buffalo Bill, The Song of Bernadette, Brigham Young, Blood and Sand, Chad Hanna, The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe, Rise and Shine, The Walls of Jericho, Centennial Summer, The Great John L., Sweet and Low-Down, Everybody Does It, and Fallen Angel.

1. Liberty Bell

Invented and designed by a San Francisco mechanic named Charles Fey in 1895, the Liberty Bell is the first slot machine. The main symbols here include horseshoes, stars, spades, diamonds, hearts, and Liberty Bells. Once three bells are aligned, the machine pays 50 cents.
Having a coin slot at the top, it features small reels in the middle and a paytable at the bottom. It works like this - players insert a Nickel and pull a lever on the right-hand side to spin the reels. Although the Operator Bell and Liberty Bell have been removed from casinos, the original Liberty Bell on display can be seen in the Liberty Belle saloon in Reno, Nevada.

2. Lion's Share

One of the most famous slot machines, Microgaming’s classic slot Lion's Share, gained a lot of success back in 2014, due to news channels that discussed the topic on how Lion's Share's progressive jackpot hasn’t been hit for two decades. Thousands of people have tried but no one was lucky enough to pull it off.
Although the machine only featured 3 reels and only 1 payline, Lion’s Share has managed to become one of the most popular releases in Vegas, so popular that people waited in line just to put a coin into it and try spinning those reels.
Eventually, a New Hampshire couple hit the $2.4 million progressive jackpot in MGM’s Grand’s Lion’s Share. Soon after, MGM Grand made a decision to retire the Lion's Share machine since it required a lot of maintenance. Still, the game became part of slot history with a jackpot that took 20 years to win.

3. Megabucks

Created by IGT, Megabucks has managed to become one of the world's best progressive slot machines. The game is also responsible for numerous big wins throughout the entire jackpots’ history. Also known as the biggest money jackpots of all time, Megabucks slot machines are described as simple games with a massive progressive jackpot. One of the biggest wins was when an anonymous engineer won a staggering $39.7 million at Las Vegas' Excalibur, back in 2003.
As for the other big wins hit on this machine, there was a cocktail waitress Cynthia Jay Brennan who snagged an incredible $34.9 million at Vegas' Desert Inn, as well as a retired flight attendant hitting $27.5 million at Vegas' Palace Statio­n. J­ohanna Huendl won $22.6 million whereas an Illinois businessman hit $21.3 million on the very first spin.
However, after winning the prize, one of the winner's family members had a tragic accident, which (as some believe) only supported the theory of a Megabucks curse. Other unfortunate stories are just believed to be urban legends, including anecdotes about underage players, as well as casino employees, being big winners but not being able to claim their jackpots because of specific state laws and regulation.

4. Wheel of Fortune

IGT’s Wheel of Fortune has proven to be the second most famous slot machine of all time. Featuring a bonus feature just like the real show, the slot machine is usually played by many slot fans and can be found in numerous casinos all over the globe. Although the game comes in more variations, probably the most popular one is still its 3-reel version, with a colourful wheel at the top.
The Wheel of Fortune multiplayer game features a bank of machines where every player gets their own screen. What makes the game even more exciting is the multiplayer edition where people can play the bonus round together, which really intensifies the game show aspect.
In a 5-reel Wheel of Fortune slot, however, Wild symbols will help players land winning combos and, if you’re lucky enough, you may get a Super Wild that will boost your win up to 5x! Last but not least, the Triple Action Bonus is activated by getting at least 3 Triple Action Bonus symbols anywhere on the reels. But still, none of the newer Wheel of Fortune slots measure up to the original one because of the large progressive jackpot involved.
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5. Mega Fortune

Featuring 5 reels and 25 paylines, NetEnt’s Mega Fortune slot became very popular among players as it usually grows into a multimillion-euro amount before being hit. The main symbols here include luxury cars, yachts, and expensive jewellery, Mega Fortune is an online slot machine game which justifies its theme that comes with the largest ever online slot jackpots.
The game offers a few different features that make the entire gameplay more fascinating, however, by far the most interesting ones are the 3 different progressive jackpots: Mega Jackpot, Major Jackpot and Rapid Jackpot. There are counters for all 3 of these that are displayed above the reels. Champagne is the Scatter and if you land at least 3 of them simultaneously, you will trigger Free Spins bonus round. Likewise, Wheel of Luck is the Bonus symbol, and if you land 3 or more symbols in succession from left to right on an active payline, you will activate the Bonus game.
What’s interesting about this slot is the fact that a Finnish man won a huge jackpot worth €17.8 million while spinning the reels of Mega Fortune. This record from 2013, has been passed by Mega Moolah, but the game is still proof how rich players can get after playing Mega Fortune.
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6. Mega Moolah

Powered by Microgaming and being among most popular slot games, Mega Moolah is a 25-payline progressive slot which has served as a competitor to Mega Fortune's big jackpots. Followed by African safari music, the game features antelopes, elephants, giraffes, lions, monkeys and zebras as the main symbols.
Landing at least 3 Scatters at the same time will trigger 15 Free Spins. What’s more, all wins hit during Free Spins are tripled, whereas Free Spins can also be retriggered. Players can win one of the 4 Progressive Jackpots within the randomly triggered Bonus round.
The game paid some of the largest slot machine jackpots that have ever been triggered. In 2015,for example, Mega Moolah gained international recognition when a British soldier Jon Heywood won a massive €17,879,645.
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7. Cleopatra

Inspired by the famous Egyptian theme and Developed by IGT, Cleopatra is a 20-payline classic game that managed to stand out above similar releases. Featuring ancient Egyptian music, the main symbols here include Cleopatra, the Eye of Horus, scarabs, and pyramids. Landing at least 3 Sphinx symbols will trigger the Cleopatra Bonus, which awards 15 Free Spins. All prizes, except for the 5 Cleopatra symbols, are tripled in the Free Spins round.
The game has been so successful that it inspired its creators to make a sequel, Cleopatra II, with richer graphics and engaging sound effects. But even if you choose the original game, you'll be playing a classic that's still enjoyed by various players today. And, in case you land 5 Cleopatra symbols you’ll get a jackpot of 10,000 coins.

8. Book of Ra

Having a popular Ancient-Egypt theme, Book of Ra has always been one of the best choices to play in land based and online casinos. Powered by Novomatic, Book of Ra is a 9 payline video slot that offers plenty of bonus features and big payouts. With entertaining narrative and energising gameplay, there are numerous ways to win here.
In case you land 5 archaeologists simultaneously, you’ll get an impressive 5,000x your line bet. Earning big bucks, however, comes from the Free Spins feature. What players need to do is land at least 3 Scatter books to trigger the Free Spins feature. Pages of the book will flip and randomly determine which symbol will expand during the 10 Free Spins.
Although hitting the jackpot may not be easy, with only a few one in between, when big wins come, they can be big.

9. Starburst

There’s no denying NetEnt’s Starburst slot became kinda legendary in the iGaming universe. With its dark background and shiny space looking gemstones, Starburst slot features 5 reels and 10 paylines. The well-known futuristic music in this release is also easily noticeable, as is the game’s expanding Wild.
More precisely, the Wilds may only occur on the reels 2, 3 and 4, and, once 1 or more wilds appear on those reels, the Starburst Wild feature will be activated. During this feature, Starburst wilds expand to cover the entire reel and remain while the other reels re-spin. Should a new wild land during a re-spin, it expands and stays along with any previously expanded Starbursts for another re-spin.
Another cool feature is that Starburst pays both ways, instead of only paying you for landing at least 3 identical symbols on adjacent reels starting with the reel furthest to the left. The maximum single spin payout for a person (betting the $200 maximum) is $100,000. But, in order for that to happen, you must land five bars on consecutive reels on an active payline. Players love this slot, probably because it’s suitable for both newbies and experienced players.

10. Immortal Romance

Powered by Microgaming, Immortal Romance is based on sci-fi and the cult of Vampires which has become one of the popular casino slot machines in the last couple of years. Apart from superb graphics and great audio and visual effects, the slot features 5 reels and 243 paylines, and the theoretical RTP rate of 96.86%. The four main characters are Amber, Troy, Michael and Sarah.
When it comes to features and bonus games, Immortal Romance offers different variants. Wild Desire feature can occur randomly, and as soon as it does, it can turn 1 to 5 reels completely Wild. Likewise, landing 3 or more Scatters anywhere on the reels in this game, activates the Chamber of Spins feature which cannot be triggered during Wild Desire.
The game is still among the most popular slots, as many players still try their luck in this slot in the hope to get the highest multiplier possible.

11. Gonzo’s Quest

Beautifully designed video slot powered by NetEnt, Gonzo Quest features 5 reels and 20 paylines. The story is based on the famous conquistador Gonzalo Pizzaro who is on his way to the Peruvian ruins and just about to experience the unique quest.
Now, Gonzo’s Quest has become one of the most popular slot games of all time, probably because it comes with a few interesting features, Avalanche Multipliers feature being the most interesting one of all. In Essence, the reels in the slot move in a cascading manner which resemble an Avalanche. As you activate each new Avalanche, you will win a multiplier. Multipliers are displayed above the reels, and go up to 5x, that is if you land 4 or more avalanches simultaneously.

12. Age of the Gods

Being among famous slot machines and inspired by Ancient Greek mythology, Age of the Gods is a 5-reel, 20-payline progressive slot powered by Playtech. The main characters are Athena, Zeus, Hercules, and Poseidon power up 4 free game modes that offer extra wilds and win multipliers! Once you start spinning, you’ll come across a series of bonus features, such as Athena Free Games, Zeus Free Games, Poseidon Free Games and Hercules Free Games.
Wild logo is the game’s wild card and it substitutes for all symbols, with the exception of the Scatter. Landing at least 3 Scatters anywhere on the reels simultaneously triggers the Bonus game. Moreover, landing 5 God symbols in any order on an active payline will get you 200x your line bet!
During the main game, any spin can activate the Age of the Gods Mystery Jackpot. This mini game guarantees a win of up to 4 progressive jackpots. All you gotta do is click on the coins to reveal jackpot symbols, and if you match 3 identical ones, you will win that jackpot.

13. Money Honey

Having a cute theme, Money Honey is a 5-reel and a 243 payline slot themed around honey. With Wilds, Free Spins, Scatters and multipliers, it is a fast-paced exciting creation featuring vibrant colours. Likewise, it is a mobile-optimized slot which may be an excellent choice if you’re new to online gambling or if you’ve been playing for years.
Just like in other games, Wilds will help you win payouts as they are able to replicate most other symbols on the reels once a winning combination has been made. Another symbol you may want to keep your eyes on is a Money Wheel card. Once you manage to land at least 3 of them on your reels after a spin, the bonus game begins, and you spin a big wheel to choose a prize.

14. Quick Hit

And our selection wouldn’t be complete without Bally's Quick Hit slot. Featuring traditional Las Vegas symbols with sharp graphics and relaxed music, the video slot has 5 reels, 3 rows, and 30 paylines. Once you decide how many paylines you want to bet on, your gaming adventure can begin. There are Scatters symbols and three bonus games to benefit from.
The biggest payout here comes from landing the triple seven symbol. Should you land 5 of these lucky numbers on the reels at the same time, you will win 5,000 coins, whereas if you land five wild symbols, you’ll get 12,500 coins.
Those looking for hitting a jackpot should pay attention to Quick Hit Platinum symbols as 5 of these contribute to 5,000x players’ original bet amount – and even more, with the max bet activated. The second-highest jackpot can be hit by landing 9 Quick Hit Slot symbols. Both the Quick Hit Platinum and regular Quick Hit symbols must occur on or within one position of the first payline to be eligible for a jackpot win.

15. SlotZilla Zip Line

And now something completely different. We’re finishing our selection of famous slots in style, with the world’s largest slot machine - StotZilla Zip Line - 128 feet tall which has two take-off levels. This $12 million SlotZilla zip line took more than a year to build and opened its doors in 2014 and has already had more than 2 million riders so far.
The 11-story slot machine is decorated with over-sized dice, a glass of martini, a pink flamingo, video reels, coins, and two showgirls - Jennifer and Porsha. SlotZilla offers two different rider experiences - the upper Zoomline and a lower Zipline. This unique machine has a huge video screen with reels and a gigantic arm, replicating a true slot machine experience.

Continuing
We are mapping along, rather, I was mapping along and Leo was monitoring our various gas levels. He was still a bit skittish about being gassed in some abandoned mine; even more so after I told him to do a couple off deep-knee bends and watch his monitor.
He remained ramrod straight up from that point on. Heavier gasses always collect nearer the floor. It’s just that they usually become mixed with the moving surface air and don’t remain pooled for overly long.
We’re trudging along, slip-sliding through the goo, poo, and shmoo of the mine floor. Mud, organic detritus, but oddly enough, no animals; no signs at all, not even spoor. I don’t mean just the larger critters like cats and rats and elephants, but no evidence of spiders, scorpions, snakes, or unicorns.
I puzzled a bit, then a thought hit. I dipped my gas monitor slowly to the floor of the mine while Leo kept a keen eye on me.
“Holy shit,” I said, “This whole mine is one, huge death gulch. It’s just we’re too tall to tell.”
I didn’t realize just how long this mine’s been static and atmospherically stratified.
This is not supposed to be able to happen.
I key the mike on our radios.
“Guys, heads up. Stratified air column. Breathable air levels OK above four feet, below that SCBA must be worn. Be advised. Careful walking around. You might cause the stagnant heavier-than-air gasses to mix and waft upwards. Walk slowly and with purpose. Check your Self Rescuers. High alert status.”
A stratiform air column like this is not such an unusual situation in many mines and caves.
But it is when the air column has such a strong, obvious upper airflow, and still develops such a heavily stratified vertical air column with the heavier gasses still concentrated toward the base; well, that’s one for the books.
After a bit of consideration over the scenario, I get back on the radio.
“OK, guys,” I say over the radio, “New plan: evacuation. Photograph everything on the way out. Let’s rendezvous at the first inner drift ASAP. Mind your monitors. If you must go into any hollow or declivity, use your SCBA. Apply caution. Maximum effort.”
“Roger that,” I received from Chuck and Al.
Leo and I walked stiffly back to our pre-arranged meeting point.
We all meet and we’re fine. All gas monitor levels are in the green. Some gas levels that should be in the serious green were just hovering in the lower green. But all within acceptable values.
“Chuck,” I say, “You’re the tallest. Spark an orange smoke-bomb and hold it high above your head.”
We had specially-designed MIL-spec luminous-smoke smoke-bombs.
As I said: Back off, man. We’re scientists.
He did so and the orange smoke was immediately wafted into a horizontal layer that spread above our heads through the mine on the obvious airflow.
“OK, as I expected.” I said, “OK, guys, watch this.”
I spark a purple smoke-bomb and drop it into the lowest divot on the mine floor.
The purple smoke mooched around near the ground. It spread laterally but didn’t rise.
It formed pools, impoundments, and puddles.
“Stratified lower air column with a strong active upper airflow. OK, that’s a new one.” I said.
We spent the rest of the day in the mine carefully documenting this weird phenomenon. If this isn’t one for Science Magazine and the Weather’s Prize, I don’t know what is.
Back at camp, after de-gearing, and checking that we hadn’t brought any nasties along with us, we formulated our revenge.
“This fucking mine aggravates me. We did everything by the book, yet it still threw us a curve,” Chuck notes, peevishly.
“Looks like we are going to need to re-write some geochemistry books,” I reply.
“Well,” Al adds, “We’re getting more data than any lab will know what to do with. What are we going to do about the mine, I mean besides close it? It’s easy as deadly as that one where Leo knocked on that locker of old explosives.”
Leo bristles. Chuck and Al laugh. I shake my head and grab a beer.
“Rock?,” Leo asks, “You’ve been awfully quiet. Your thoughts on the subject?”
“Oh, hell. There’s no question about it.” I say, “We’re going to kill this fucking mine. Kill it fucking true and dead.”
Chuck, Al, and Leo look at me and say: “Now you’re talkin’!”
I lay out the plans for the next two days.
“It’s going to take some doing, but I want you guys to prepare the adit for dynamiting. Stay close to the entrance as I don’t want to have to suit up to drag your hapless asses out.” I tell them.
“And the good Doctor?” Al asks.
“Oh, I’m going to gin up a special little surprise for our friend,” I say, “I’ve got to map the gas concentrations in the mine from the geochemical and air data sample data we took.”
“Uh, oh. This sounds ominous,” Chuck says.
“Oh, no, no, no. Nothing like that. Just the proper amount of unstable chemicals delivered to the proper place.” I reply, with a very evil-looking increasing Grinch-like grin.
“Doctor. You’re doing that thing again. You’re scaring your colleagues.” Al says with wide eyes.
I do a quick Groucho-style eyebrow waggle, give a small wave, take my cold beer, and saunter over to the back of my truck while I open up the trailer.
I start with an inventory of our remaining explosives.
The guys begin work on getting the adit ready for demolition.
It’s taking me a bit more time than I planned, so I allow Chuck and Leo to go back into the mine and get some further airflow and gas concentration data.
I work that new information into my maps. I’m up all hours, posting data, verifying data, swearing at missed data points and outliers, smoking cigars, having my toddies for warmth, strength and inspiration, mapping and contouring data.
The guys are just leaving me alone to my own devices. They drop by every so often with a cold beer, being inquisitive, but I’m being ambiguous.
“Thanks for the suds, but you’re going to have to wait just a little while longer,” I tell them, grinning evilly.
I’ve even gone to skipping meals, I’m that focused.
Finally, I’m done. The mine has been mapped as to concentrations of six different gasses.
I’ve located the perfect spot in the mine for my little gift; the place where isocons, lines connecting equal values of concentration, of methane and oxygen intersect.
I’m going to let this nasty old hole in the ground help us destroy it.
The mine adit’s been worked, charged, and primed. In fact, the demo wire leading back to the portal is grounded out against the leg of my camp chair.
After dinner dishes, I call everyone over to my truck. I have an announcement to make.
“OK, guys, here’s the deal,” as I whip back the sheet of tarpaulin to reveal my masterwork.
There lies a six-foot-long torpedo composed of multiple layers of various explosives. It weighs about 450 or so pounds. It would weigh more, but that’s the last of our explosives for the season. I have no intentions of taking any back. I hate the paperwork.
We have a battery-powered wheeled A-frame we can use to drag the thing to its final resting place.
The guys look. Blink. Look again, eyes wide, and just slowly say: “F….U…C….K…”
“Yeah,” I beam, “She’s a beaut, ain’t she?”
“Holy hopping fuck, Rock,” Chuck says, “We just want to kill this mine, not vaporize it.”
“You people just don’t listen.”, I say, shaking my head.
“Remember: ‘Nothing succeeds like excess’.” I profess.
Leo asks me what’s all in it.
“Oh. A little of this, a little of that, a lot of love…” I say.
“No. Really.” Leo persists.
“OK. Full disclosure,” I begin, “From the center out: Torpex, Kinestik and HELIX binaries. Then, Tyvek and duct tape. Layer two: RDX, PETN, ANFO, Tyvek, and duct tape. Layer three: Seismogel, Tyvek and duct tape. Layer four: 40% Extra Fast Dynamite, 60% Extra Fast Dynamite, Tyvek and duct tape. Layer five: Blasting caps, Primacord, C-4, Tyvek and duct tape. All wrapped up in jolly Kevlex blasting skin.”
One of our radio-controlled detonators is the cherry on top.
I smile as I sproing the little detonator’s antenna.
“SPROING, SPROING, SPROING,” sproinged the antenna as it waved cheerily to and fro.
“Rock,” Al says, “That’s…ah, I don’t know. That’s just overkill personified. I fucking love it.”
“Gentlemen, here’s the deal.,” I say, “Miners left their mark. Taggers leave their mark. I’d appreciate it if you all would sign this little creation as our proper and fitting final testimonial to our desert adventures.”
“Doctor,” they all say, “We’d be honored.”
We manhandle the thing down out of my truck. We assemble the electric woky that we’ll use to sling the thing into the mine, in just such a precise position, tomorrow after morning chow.
The day’s shot, and it’s dinner time.
Leo attempts again but redeems himself with grilled bratwurst and fresh-made sourdough buns, corn on the cob, sauerkraut, boiled buttered baby potatoes, and banana, chocolate, and marshmallow dessert burritos.
After clean up, we sit around and reflect. We also have a couple of tots.
And a few toddies.
With a couple of shots.
We add to that a few beers.
And the better part of a bottle of my best Polish vodka.
I have to admit, that after those last two days of mapping and fabrication, I’m a bit on the snoozy side.
I say good night to my colleagues and sleep the sleep of the just, dreaming my dreamy little demolition dreams.
The next morning, after a quick breakfast of sausage, egg, and cheese hash brown pies and coffee, I wander over to my truck to inspect, for one final time, our last creation together.
It’s not there.
“The fuck?” I say, “I could have sworn I left it here last night…”
I hear Chuck, Al, and Leo calling me back over to camp central.
I wander over and there it is, by creation, nestled all snug and secure in its travel cradle.
But it’s not the same as I left it last night. Something’s changed…
My guys, my stalwart colleagues, used all our remaining spray paint and committed an act of art on the goofy thing.
Leo may have had a sheltered life, but he sure knows how to paint.
The thing is aglow with transparent taupe, sky-blue pink, hot beige, electric mauve, neon periwinkle, fluorescent peach, and shocking lavender.
Chuck and Al were obviously responsible for all the geo-graffiti on the device.
“Reunite Gondwanaland!”
“Protest dinoflagellates! Signed: * he Mesozoic society against perverted practices.*!”
“All my faults are normal!”
“Geologists know how to make the bedrock!”
“Let’s get dates and funky. We’ll all be (Mg, Fe^{²⁺)₂(Mg,} Fe^{²⁺)₅Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂”}
And other similar sad stabs at geological humor.
Plus there were three bold signatures, with room for one more.
I was moved. It was a really nice touch by my students, nay, my colleagues.
“Guys,” I say, “that is a violent work of art.”
“Not until it’s signed by its author,” Al says and hands me a Sharpie.
With a flourish, I sign the device: “Dr. Rocknocker. From the best field team in the history of detonic chemistry and geology. [date] Nevada, USA.”
Leo looks over and says, “Well, Doctor. We ready to go now?”
“Yeah,” I reply, briefly wiping my eyes as a quick dust storm must have blown through, “I do believe it is time.”
We suit up in our mine access gear, leaving back fully 75% of the usual kit, just taking our gas monitors, SCBA gear, and Self Rescuers. We’re going to need all hands on deck to wheel this thing up to the mine.
“Doc,” Al suggests, “How about this? I’ll get the Land Cruiser, and back it down here. We hook up the A-frame to the trailer hitch, leave the frame in neutral and I’ll drag it up to the adit.”
“Damn good thinking,” I reply.
“Make it so, gentlemen. I’ll meet you up there.”
Al does so and just to impress me, backs the damn thing all the way up the access trail right to the mine’s adit.
He later tells me he likes to fish, has a boat, and spends a lot of his summers backing a boat trailer up and down a lake access ramp.
We unhook the A-frame and engage the electric motor. Luckily, my selected spot is in the middle of the main tunnel, down about 350 meters.
Al says he’ll park the truck, we’ll deliver the device, and can all ride back to camp in the Land Cruiser.
45 minutes later, we’re bouncing down the access road with the empty A-frame trailer in tow.
We were done and dusted in less than an hour. I figured this would take us at least half a day.
I explain that I want the adit blown first, to seal off the mine one way or the other. Then we’ll wait an hour or so, and then initiate the device. I want it all nice and quiet in the mine when I pop this party favor.
The guys go through the safety dance, and when I say “HIT IT!,” the mine adit explodes inward and downward. There’s a huge blow of dust as the debris settles. This mine is permanently closed for business.
Now, I want to drive the last nail in its metaphorical coffin.
But first, I want to savor the moment. I pop a bottle of not-too-terribly-expensive Dom champagne I’ve had hidden all this time. It’s been shaken, rattled, rolled, frozen, thawed, warmed, and finally iced for just such an occasion.
It should still be OK. I think.
I tell Leo to break out the Solo Cozy cups as it’s time for the Tamandar to toast.
We’re standing around my worktable, flanked by plastic tumblers of posh, sort of expensive French champagne.
It tasted of furniture polish. I thought it went off but then remembered, the pricier the fizzwater, the funkier the taste.
There are the obligatory toasts to Alfred Nobel, E. I. du Pont de Nemours, Ascanio Sobrero (the father of nitroglycerine) and Kievan Rus', the forefather of vodka.
We salute each other in turn and slurp down this awfully pricey and awful giggle water.
Leo goes to the back of my truck, gets a bottle of vodka, some ice, a lime, and a can of bitter lemon.
He grabs my glass, tosses out the contents, and creates for me my signature cocktail.
“Now, things are right in the universe.” He says.
The remainder of my crew follows suit for themselves.
Once all that is sorted, I pull the radio detonator out of my vest pocket. I gently set it on the table. We’re all in the cardinal positions, one per side.
“Mr. Albert. If you would. Please press the first button.” I say.
He does, and the unit powers up. “Beep.”
“Mr. Charles. Please engage the second.”
He does, and after a bit of blinking, it’s solid yellow. We have a radio connection.
“Mr. Leonard. Please press the third button.”
He does. The device vibrates, buzzes, lights flicker, stock prices fluctuate, winds shift, tides change, and suddenly, all remaining system lights are bright green.
That leaves the final flip-top button.
I flick open the cover.
“Gentlemen,” I say, “I can’t thank you enough for all your hard work this field season. We’ve been through a lot together. We’ve re-written old texts and will be writing some new ones. Seldom before have I had the privilege of working with such capable and affable scientists of your caliber. As this is the final shot of our field season, I’d be obliged if you gave me a literal hand.”
I place my palm above the button. Leo puts his hand atop mine. Then Al does the same, with Chuck bringing up the last.
“Rock. Ah, Doctor Rocknocker. We’d be grateful if you gave the word.” They say in unison.
“Gentlemen, the word is given:…3…2…1…HIT IT!”
We as one, mashed the big, shiny red button.
The throbbing desert above the mine cracked along a series of deep fault lines. A huge and hitherto undetected underground reservoir of gaseous methane gas lying far below the deepest mine drift detonated with the fury of a newborn volcano. This was followed seconds later by the eruption of millions of tons of boiling carbon dioxide and oxygen combustion-reaction products. These blew hundreds of feet into the air, lifting a huge piece of the roof of the mine in an explosion that echoed to the far side of the state and back again. This piece of desert real estate rose like a giant geological pancake, artfully flipped over, hung ever so briefly in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't, then flopped back down in the very same place from where it originated.
Well, that mine is well and truly dead.
We all agreed it was "a good gig."
So that was the last shot that ended our field season. At camp we didn’t have a final field blowout, there was no need. It would be overegging the pudding at this point. We did however run through a case of cold beer, a whole box of my best cigars, and the remainder of my stock of bourbon and vodka.
“Well, Rock,” Chuck says, “It’s official. We have to go back to town. We’re out of cigars. Can’t run a camp without cigars now, can we?”
“That's the conditions that prevail,” I reply, smiling at the ancient reference. Besides, they didn’t know I always have a spare box hidden in my truck.
So we retired for the night and everyone awoke to our last field breakfast on the campfire.
I decided to use all our last provisions for a glorious final field feed.
Besides the orange and cinnamon rum-ice glazed cinnamon rolls already baking in the fire, I was making eggs to order, cheesy hash browns, twice-fried French toast, elk sausage, ‘collision mats’ as Al dubbed my light and airy pancakes, back bacon, baked beans, fried green tomatoes, wild mushrooms, and homemade sourdough split-rolls with Nevada ‘Desert Delight’ candied honey.
And camp coffee, of course. With just a touch of Napoleon brandy, to put a fire in the belly.
Just a light morning field repast.
After breakfast dishes, we all pitched in packing. That took all of an hour.
We had plenty of time, so I worked on my usual after breakfast cigar. Al continued to try and teach Leo how to play cribbage. Chuck futzed around with the truck, shoveling out the accumulation of desert in the truck’s footwells.
“Well. Can’t put it off any longer,” I mused.
“Gents. It’s been an honor. Mount up! Remember: keep the shiny side up and the greasy side down. See you in the Bureau’s backlot in Reno.” I say by way of final motivation.
We got in our vehicles, fired them up, and headed down the dusty trail for the last time this season.
I was in for a bit of a shock as I was passed by the guys a short time down the path.
Leo was actually driving. Off-road. And actually not doing too bad.
But Al was riding shotgun white-knuckling it. He was having none of this as I could hear him screaming instructions at Leo.
Chuck was snoring in the back seat.
It was a pleasant drive back to Reno. The truck and trailer were virtually empty compared to our inbound journey. Sure, the trailer bounced around a bit more, but since it was empty, who cares?
Little traffic, the sky as clear as a fake confession, I actually had squirreled away a few cigars in my field vest and I was puffing contentedly away as I motored down the highway.
An hour or so later, I realized I needed fuel. I saw I was only about 60 miles from the town of Shitewater, Nevada. They actually had a gas station. And an air hose.
How 20th century.
I wheel in and am greeted by an attendant.
“Gas, mister?”
“Yeah, fill’er up. Here are the keys, she has three tanks. Two saddle and one rear.”
“OK. No problem. Regular or high test?”
“She deserves the best ya’ got. Oh, and check the oil and blinker light fluid. I’ve been bush for the last month.”
“Can do!” he says and begins his tasks.
I see they have a little general store with their gas station. I wander over to see what they have that I didn’t know I couldn’t live without.
“Ding, ding,” dinged the door dinger.
An older silver-haired woman behind the counter greets me. I do so in return.
“Help you, son?” she asks.
“Thanks. Just lookin’ while getting gas.,” I reply.
“OK.”
“Jesus,” she exclaims, “That’s some hogleg you got there.”
I sort of forgot I was still wearing my sidearm.
“I apologize, ma’am. I am licensed.” I explain, “I can go lock it in my truck…”
“No need, sonny,” she says, “Everyone out here is carrying.”
“OK. Thanks. ‘Sides, I’m just window shopping,” I say.
I look around and decide on a couple of pounds of their homemade ‘desert jerky’. The free samples taste uber good and so it falls into that ‘don’t ask, they won’t tell’ you of what it’s made.
I bought the kids some cactus candy. They’ll get a kick out of that.
There’s this really nice custom made Bowie knife with a sheath that catches my eye. The matron explains that her husband makes them now since he’s retired.
“Yeah,” she says, “He used to be a miner. 40 years diggin’ out gold, silver, nickel, vanadium…”
“Vanadium?” I ask.
“Yep. From the Pandora’s Box mine. It’s not that far from here.” She says.
“Now there’s a coincidence,” I say, “I’m a geologist. I just am right now returning from that mine. Or, at least, where that mine used to be.”
“What do you mean?” she asks.
I tell her that I’m with the Bureau, and what my team and I have been up to for the last couple of months.
“Wait here,” she asks, “ELMER!” she yells, “Come here, you got to meet this guy.”
Her husband Elmer walks out and greets me.
“Go on, son,” she asks, “Tell Elmer what you just told me.”
“Well, sir,” I said, “As I was telling your wife, my team and I are just returning from what used to be the Pandora’s Box mine. We blasted that mine good and shut. It was abandoned, worked out, and was a potential death trap. We closed it down good and proper.”
Elmer looks crossly at me.
I wonder, did I say something wrong?
He grabs my hand and shakes it heartily.
“God damn, son. It’s about time!,” he exclaims, “About time someone killed that worthless pit.”
I just stood there, looking puzzled.
“Oh, she paid good when she paid, “he continued, “But she demanded blood sacrifice. I had many friends crippled by that mine. Then there was the gas. Fires, explosions, burnouts. Didn’t never kill no one, but sure scarred some for life. Then the pay run out. Then local kids used it as a hangout. Bad idea. But you can’t tell them that. I always said if they don’t close that hole, it’s gonna take some life.”
“Sir,” I say, “I can report to you, without fear of contradiction, that the Pandora’s Box mine will never harm another living being. My team and I saw to that.”
“Damn fine, son,” he says, “Who are you, if I may ask?”
“I’m Dr. Rocknocker, late of Houston, Albuquerque, and Reno. All my friends call me ‘Rock’,” I tell him.
“Well, Rock,” Elmer says, shaking my hand again, “I’m Elmer and this is my wife, Esme. Damn nice to meet you.”
“I’m sorry,” I ask, directing to the matron, “Your name again?”
“Oh. It’s Esme. Short for Esmeralda.,” she smiles, “My parents were very German.”
I just stood there with this very odd smile on my face.
“How’s this for a coincidence?,” I say, “Esme is my wife’s name, short for Esmeralda. Her parents are very German as well.”
She lights up, laughs, and pats me on the shoulder.
“Funny old thing, life,” Elmer notes.
Elmer shows me the Bowie knife I had my eye on. It’s a truly nice expression of the craft of knife making. Although, the asking price was a bit steep.
So, Elmer showed me the ‘private stock’ he and Esme made.
Elmer specialized in knives and Esme specialized in native jewelry.
I spent far too much, but it was from Es to Es. They gave me a dandy discount.
I also ended up with a Bowie knife, at a 40% discount.
I also got Elmer’s address and contact info. He said it would be fine if I wanted to interview him about the history of mining in this part of Nevada from a “grunts-eye view”.
After settling up with the gas jockey, plus an extra tenner for him as he scraped the bug juice and desert shmoo off my windshield, I’m back on the road, headed to Reno.
Four and a half hours later, I’m in Dr. Sam Muleshoe’s Reno Bureau office. I’m sipping his expensive hooch and he’s smoking one of my cigars.
The guys haven’t arrived yet. I figured it’s because they have three bladders to keep drained and I have only one.
They found the safety blitz behind my seat before we hit the highway.
It’s going to take me at least two-three days to finalize everything here before I leave.
Explosives manifests, and that annoying associated paperwork. Initial field reports. Expense accounts had to be padded. Letters of recommendation for my guys. Reports to their schools about their ‘grades’ and award of field credits. This is going to take some time.
Sam tells me that the hotel we stayed in still has plenty of room. The Bureau would foot the bill for another few days if that’s what it took.
Just then, Al, Chuck, and Leo stroll into Sam’s office.
“Well,” I say, “Looks like I fulfilled my contract. Even after all I did, you guys went ahead and lived.”
“Just made it back,” Al replies, “The truck’s back in the hands of the bureau and now we’re here.”
“Yes, you are,” I note, “All set to get back to the world?”
Three heads, in unison, shake no.
“Sam,” I ask, “Can the Bureau reserve four rooms for a couple of days? My guys need to decompress some before returning back to the daily grind.”
I slide a couple of cigars his way.
“I see no problem with that,” he replies, smiling. “Besides from the looks of all you, it’ll take you that long to scrape the Nevada desert off your epidermis.”
“OK, guys,” I say, “See you later. Make it tomorrow, at the hotel. Exit interviews. Al, Chuck, please clean and bring my Glocks. Now, the lot of you, shoo.”
Sam and I go over particulars for the rest of the day, at least until his private stock runs out.
“Let’s pick this up in a while,” Sam says, “Day after tomorrow. Leave me your keys, I’ll get the Bureau guys to give your truck the once over. Oh, if you want, you can leave the trailer here. Talked with Harry. No need for you to make a side trip to Albuquerque after all you guys have done. It’s Bureau property, after all. Let us worry about it.”
“I have…no objections,” I say, stone-faced. Sam laughs.
“Go get the shit you need for now out of your truck and we’ll drag you over to the hotel,” Sam says.
And true to his word, a Bureau employee drops me at the hotel.
Up to my room, after I see the guy’s signatures in the hotel register, I drop all my gear, pick up the phone and make a quick call.
“Hi, hon. We’re done,” I say, “In the hotel in Reno. A couple of days to finish up paperwork and I’ll be on the way home. Love to you and the girls.”
I hate talking to answering machines, but Es was out with the kids evidently.
Drawing the shades after remembering Myanmar, I lock the door, I peel and traipse to the bathtub.
“Calgon, take me away…” bubble, bubble.
It’s been a long couple of months.
Later, I work on the mountain of paperwork and finalize all the exit interviews.
Chuck, Al, and Leo will be leaving tomorrow. They want to take me to dinner tonight at some local hotspot before they depart.
“Thanks, guys. We’ll see,” I say, “I’ve got to work through this bookkeeping. Call me around 1900, I should know by then.”
“Rock,” Leo says, forcefully, “No fucking way. We’re taking you to dinner and you’re damn well gonna be there. Got that, mister?”
I poof an exclamation.
“Message received’, I laugh. “OK. See you in the lobby at 1900 hours.”
“Sir!” I add. “Now scat.”
“Yeah, he’ll do fine.” I smile, returning to my paperwork.
I work through the landslide of form-filling and filing. I talk with Es and she was out at the park, feeding the ducks with the kids. I realize that’s gonna cost me. Everything else is going along well at home. They’re all eagerly awaiting my return.
Back to my pencil-pushing. Letters finished. Interviews annotated. Manifests finally finished. I take a break, pour myself a cocktail, fire up a smoke, and look at the clock.
“What the fuck, over?” I wonder, “Two hours ago it was 1300 hours. Now it’s 1830. Damn.”
Paperwork-induced time-warp.
I meet the guys in the lobby. Leo has laid on cabs for us. He’s taking us all to the Eldorado Resort’s Roxy Bistro and Restaurant.
Or, as Leo puts it, “His father is…”.
We have no protestations.
We arrive at the resort and it’s packed. No visible empty tables. And they don’t take reservations.
Leo saunters up, elbows us aside and says: “Gentlemen, this is my turf. Watch and learn.”
Ten minutes later, we’re seated at one of the nicer tables in the restaurant. We already have a round of Rocknocker cocktails before us.
“I bribed the bartender,” Leo smiles and tips his glass in the time-honored Midwestern tradition.
We salute his ingenuity.
Amuse-bouche arrives as do the menus.
Tiny cognac-boiled quail eggs on a bed of puréed mushrooms. The pre-appetizers are tiny, delicate, and very, very rich.
The menus are varied, but beef heavy. I could go for a nice steak, but for some odd reason, there are no prices listed on the menus.
Leo pipes up, “Gents, by your discretion. I’m buying. Have what you want, stuff the price. It’s the very least I could do.”
“Well, then,” I say, “Let’s see if they have something off the menu.”
Leo asks what I’m up to.
“Well,” I say, “They have ribeye, New York strip, and T-bone. They must have a porterhouse or two hanging around back there.”
Chuck, Leo, and Al look at me, nod, smile, and fold their menus.
“Porterhouse sounds good.” They all concur. “Brilliant, Herr Doctor.”
Leo gives the garçon the high sign. He hurries over.
He and Leo converse for a few seconds and the garçon scurries off.
“He’s checking,” Leo reports.
The garçon returns and says that, yes, they do have dry-aged and hung porterhouse steak available. But, it will have to be cut to order, and that’s going to be expensive, he warns.
Leo dismisses that thought with a backward wave of his hand.
“I’d like one, 20 ounces, done medium. Mushrooms, corn, and a baked potato.” Leo orders.
The garçon is scribbling like mad on his order pad.
Al orders the same, though medium-rare. Chuck ups the ante to a 24-ounce steak, medium-rare as well.
They all sit and stare at me, knowing that a circus is about to erupt.
“Hmm…no grilled bierkaese sandwiches? Pity. OK, guess I’ll not break a new tradition. I’d like a porterhouse, 40 ounces, done blue. Grilled mushrooms and onions, corn, no potato, please.” I request.
The garçon writes down the order, declares “Very good, sir,” and scurries off.
Leo, Al, and Chuck look disappointed.
“Well, hell. That wasn’t any fun at all,” Leo groans.
The dinner came with house-made rolls, soup, and salad course.
Oh, yes; very nice.
Our steaks begin to arrive. They look and smell bloody wonderful.
After this, the sommelier arrives and places two free-standing ice buckets on opposite sides of the table. He brings a large bottle up to Leo. He inspects it and evidently it passed muster. Both ice buckets receive one of their own.
The sommelier stands at rapt attention.
Leo continues, “Rock, remember that Dom you had for us out in the field”?
Chuck snickers, “How can we forget?”
Leo continues, “It’s not that it was bad, or bounced around the back of your truck for a month or two in the desert heat. It was a 1991. Terrible year” he shudders.
“If you say so,” I reply.
The sommelier is shaking his head in fervent agreement.
“Now this is the real McCoy,” Leo asserts, “Dom Perignon, 1963. It’s the best.”
Leo gives the sommelier the high sign. He goes through the oenophile’s safety dance, Leo sips a soupçon and pronounces it fit.
We are all poured a glass. In a real champagne glass, not a Solo cup to be seen.
Leo proposes a toast to us all and our futures.
CLINK!
I don’t care what anyone says, it still reminds me of bubbly furniture polish.
We finish dinner, which was spectacular. They are actually one of the few who knew how to do blue.
A person pushing a cart appears.
“Oh, I can’t,” I say, “The pot is full.”
Leo is aghast.
“Doctor Rocknocker! Turning down a cigar?”
“Oh, my apologies. Thought that was the dessert cart.” I said.
The cheapest cigar on the cart was $45. I joked that I’d take a box. I instead chose one that was $65.
It was exquisite. I asked for the cigar’s pedigree. I’d quite like to look them up and see if they’re available in Houston. For only very special occasions.
Leo arranged for me to receive the information.
The check arrives after our second round of after-dinner brandies.
Leo grabs it, signs it, and returns it to the garcon.
“Don’t worry, guys. This one’s on me. Dad actually. Whatever.” Leo smiles.
We stand up, walk out, and into the resort’s lobby.
“Well, I’m off gambling. Anyone want to accompany me?” Leo asks.
“Leo,” I remind him, “Let’s not backslide.”
“But I’m just trying to be…,” he replies, “Oh. Yeah. Gotcha.”
Leo decides he wants to try his luck at craps. I could never figure that game out as I choose to cab it back to the hotel. Al and Chuck are going to hang around, just for shits and giggles.
I bid them goodnight and head back to my room.
The next day, it’s early and everyone’s up, packing their cars.
I understand why Leo didn’t want to take his new Cayenne into the field.
Sheesh. A Porsche SUV.
I’m hanging around one extra day, so I’m seeing everyone off.
Al, Chuck, and I all shake hands. There’s the obligatory small talk and promises to stay in touch. We all know these white lies. We’ll try, but life is never a guarantee.
“Drive safe, guys,” I say, “It’s been a privilege.”
With that, Chuck and Al wheel out of the Bureau’s back lot, and down the road in opposite directions.
Leo is taking a bit longer, with his all leather six-piece matched luggage set.
Well, Leonard,” I say, “I guess this is it. It was a bit shaky at first, but I’m pleased to tell you, you’ve really made some huge strides this last month.”
“Yeah, no shit.,” Leo smiles, “I suppose my Dad’s going to be in for a bit of a shock. But, that’s on him. Fuck ‘em if they can’t take a joke, right?”
“Leo,” I say, “Remember when we first met and you told me how your Dad worked to get you here?”
“Yeah? So?” he asks.
“I recall you said he ‘ran to your major professor’ after he found out I was running the show,” I noted.
“Yeah?” Leo was sore perplexed.
“You also said this all occurred after your father did some research on me,” I added.
“Yes…?” Leo said.
“Well, maybe,” I said, “Just maybe, your father had an ulterior motive…?”
Leo stopped, looked at me, and just pondered.
“Maybe…,” I said, “He was intent on my tutelage for you for some reasons beyond the scientific…?”
Leo’s eyes went wide.
“Fuckbuckets. I never thought of that.” He said.
“OK,” I replied, “Now you have something to keep you occupied on your way home. Drive safe, Leo. Keep in touch. Stay lucky.”
We shake hands, Leo gets into his ridiculous contraption and eases out of the lot and down the road.
“I hate long goodbyes,” I muse.
Back in Sam’s office, I deposit the pile of paperwork I had completed for this project. There will be more reports later, but my expense account’s been vetted, and Sam hands me a nice check, which includes a healthy bonus.
“We can cash that here for you before you go if you want,” Sam notes.
“Thanks. I’m good,” I say, “I’m leaving the trailer, as expected. I’m hot-footing it back to Houston, so that’s 32 plus hours driving. Definitely have to take a night’s snooze somewhere along the line. Besides that, if my truck’s ready, I am as well. I appreciate everything, Sam. We’ll be in touch.”
“We will,” Sam replies, “Stay safe, you old pyro and other kinds of maniac. Your truck’s in back, ready to roll. See you on the flip side.”
We shake hands, I get to my truck and saddle up. After a very quick stop at the hotel to retrieve my leftover gear, I toss it in the back of my truck and prepare to hit the road.
I’m just about to hit it when a courier runs into the hotel. I’m futzing around, getting everything in road-trip order. A second or two later, I hear a knock on the window of my truck.
“You ‘Dr. Rocknocker’?” he asks.
“Yep,” I reply.
“Please sign here.” As he hands me a clipboard.
I scribble my unintelligible signature.
He hands me a package.
It’s a box of cigars from last night. Leo bought them from the restaurant and sent them here before he left.
“That’s going to make the drive that much more interesting.” I think.
Reno to Vegas. Vegas to Phoenix. Overnight in Tucson. On to El Paso, hard south at Ozona. Follow I-10 through San Antonio. Schuss through San Antone, next stop, Houston.
Made it intact. Damn, it’s good to be back home again.
After greetings and customary present disbursement, Esme leads me to my office. There are piles of mail.
There are three that are marked important.

1. We have a contractor in New Mexico. We can begin our dream house.
   
2. A road on our New Mexico property has been dozed. Here’s the bill. I fish the Bureau check out of my wallet. Oh, well. Easy come, easy go.
   
3. It’s a telegram from the Middle East. They’ve accepted my revised offer. They want me there in three months.
   

Well, as I say, it’s nut cuttin’ time.
“Es, can you and the kids be ready to move in three months?”
“We can, Rock,” she affirms, “Is that the letter from the Middle East?
“Yeah,” I say.
“And…” she prompts.
“They’ve made us an offer we can’t refuse. Especially with the new house being started.”
“Well,” Es smiles, “Guess I need to call Sally, my realtor friend. Looks like we have a house to sell...”

Requests for tips on running murder mysteries are a somewhat common question and it’s difficult to get good answers as they’re more complicated and in-depth than some more conventional adventures. Everyone brings up the three-clue rule, which is helpful, but that’s just one thing that goes into building a mystery. I have experience with mysteries and I’ve found that several times people have copied my answers (kindly crediting me) and pasted them when the question comes up again. I’ve decided to write a more thorough guide to how I run mystery adventures and hope that others will find it useful.
​
TWO TYPES
There are essentially two types of mysteries, the first involves solving a complete mystery, the second involves solving a crime. The first type is like an Agatha Christie mystery, there's a murder and the detective has to figure out how it happened and who did it. At the beginning all you know is that someone is dead. Sometime the murder isn’t actually what it appears to be, sometimes the suspects aren’t who you think they are. The detective has to go through all the possible suspects trying to discover who committed the crime, why, how, and then proving it.
The second type, solving the crime, is a police procedural. This is the type of mystery popularized by the TV show Columbo. Almost right from the beginning the detective knows who committed the murder, there may only be one suspect. There are similar mysteries in this vein where the detective may start out with two or three suspects, but he quickly narrows it down to the actual killer. This is the most common type of mystery we see because it can be resolved in an hour show. The challenge of the police procedural is in gathering enough evidence to prove the killer committed the crime and catching the criminal.
​
ROUND UP THE USUAL SUSPECTS
In the first type of mystery there are a larger number of suspects who must all be investigated and the detective is figuring out the mystery as he goes along. Every element must be discovered and it’s not always clear what’s actually happened, only that someone is dead.
There are two main variations of this style of mystery, “hardboiled” and “cozy.” Hardboiled mysteries are often told from the detective’s point of view, he’s a jaded antihero with his own personal code, The Maltese Falcon is a good example of this type. I think there are probably other games that can handle this style of mystery better than D&D, which usually has several party members and a setting that often doesn’t lend itself to the noir style.
Cozies cover a wide range of mysteries from Miss Marple and Sherlock Holmes to The Name of the Roseor The Thing. They’re called cozies because the setting itself confines the mystery to a small area. There are also usually a large number of possible suspects, although I recommend the DM limit the number to no more than a dozen.
There is another variation of this theme in which there are potentially dozens or even hundreds of suspects, much like the Jack the Ripper murders. My belief is that this doesn’t translate well to D&D, it’s not something easily solved in the confines of the game. The policemen who worked the Jack the Ripper case did thousand of interviews, had a pool of three hundred potential suspects, and held over eighty people for questioning, that’s not possible in the game.
In the “cozy” mystery the suspects are often together either in an area or literally confined, the detective knows the guilty party is present. Whether it takes place in a house, on a ship, or in an island, there are a limited number of suspects and there’s often a restriction on how long it can take to solve the crime. There’s a deadline involved because the weather will clear, the ship will dock, the wagon train will be leaving town.
The detective has to cast a wide net, question everyone involved, collect clues, check alibis, and then figure out the sequence of events. It's complicated for a DM because there are a large number of people involved. The DM has to create the actual crime and the clues surrounding it, but it’s also necessary to come up with other crimes or situations that suspects want to conceal. It’s not just one mystery that’s being solved, the detective has to figure out who everyone really is and what they’re trying to hide. The other suspects are often doing things that makes them look guilty, but that are not actually associated with the crime. They're embezzling or having an affair or something unconnected to the murder. It’s usually necessary to provide red herrings and misleading paths, the challenge for the detectives is in eliminating everyone so they can focus their attention on the actual killer. All the evidence they’re gathering is helped in reducing the number of possibilities.
Because so much is involved, the DM should limit the number of suspects. I recommend the DM go no higher than eight suspects and some of them should be easily eliminated. Not just for his own sake, but because the players will have a hard time keeping track of everyone if there are too many people involved. While you’ll find that some cozy novels often have a dozen suspects or more, I think it’s difficult for the DM and the players to handle so many at once. Even with eight, right from the start there should be a few suspects that can be ruled out immediately so the party only has to investigate about five or six. Shortly thereafter the detectives should be able to reduce that to three. There should always be two or sometime three suspects for the party to focus on, this stops the mystery from being solved too quickly, and it creates tension in the party. The players are each going to have their “favorite” suspects, let them work it out themselves.
In the police procedural most of this is unnecessary. The PCs know from the beginning it was one of about three people, or there’s a clue that strongly suggests someone in particular. It should be possible to immediately discount the other suspects and focus on the actual killer. The complications are based on how smart you want the killer to be, did he try to cover his tracks, did he frame someone else, is he looking for a battle of wits? These adventures go more quickly, there’s less work overall and it’s possible to have a recurring villain if the PCs know who did it, but can’t prove he did it. Or perhaps they can prove his guilt but the killer outsmarted them or he’s simply untouchable because of his position. Initially identifying the killer isn’t that hard, but gathering the evidence and getting him convicted is the issue.
​
I’M READY FOR MY CLOSE-UP
My experience has been that you should give all the suspects ordinary names if possible. Typical D&D names or historically accurate names can be confusing and the players lose track of who’s who. Even if you’ve already established that an NPC is Duke Æthelred, General Starketh Bloodraven, or the elven Ambassador Mellaril, the rest of the NPCs should be named Robert or Madeline. It’ll be easier for you and the players to keep everyone straight if the suspects are Greg, Marsha, Peter, and Cousin Oliver, rather than Æthelstan, Ælfgifu, Ælfthryth, and Cousin Æthelwulf. If it’s a police procedural there may only be one or two suspects, then their names aren’t as important.
Something I like to do is to find pictures online and use them for the suspects. If I imagine the duke’s wife has red hair, I’ll look around until I find a photo of a woman of the appropriate age with red hair who was sort of what I was picturing. After I gather all the photos I’ll print them out or show them on the screen, it helps the players recognize everyone. If you’re going to do it for one suspect, you’ve got to do it for all of them. Don’t tip your hand by having pictures for one of the important suspects while ignoring the others. I try to avoid using recognizable people, sometimes you can just search for “Irish women,” or something similar and you’ll find people with red hair (or whatever) of varying appearances.
A benefit of using pictures is that sometimes the players make assumptions based on appearances. The duke’s nephew looks suspicious so the PCs will investigate him thoroughly, the duke’s daughter looks innocent so they believe her stories and don’t follow up. The players make snap judgments based on photos and act on those judgments. Then when they learn the duke’s daughter was lying to them the entire time they’ll actually have an emotional reaction. They can’t believe she betrayed them, she looked so nice in her picture. That’s something that happens in real life as well, the DM shouldn’t feel guilty about enticing the players to judge people based on photos, we’ve all been warned that appearances can be deceiving.
​
DON’T THINK OF ELEPHANTS
This doesn’t apply to a police procedural as the PCs are aware of the crime and have learned about it after the fact, but if you’re running a cozy mystery, don’t tell your players in advance that there’s going to be a murder for them to solve. Don’t tell them what the adventure is about, present it as something else if possible; the duke has asked the PCs over to discuss his invasion of Freedonia, or he’s going to send them on a quest to recover some item. Then when they wake up in the morning and someone is dead, or they’re in the dining room and hear a scream, they can be drawn in immediately. If necessary, you can relate previous events in flashback. When they go to question the nephew you can mention that they saw everyone at dinner except him, or the maid seemed nervous about something when she was turning down the beds.
That involves you talking and describing instead of them doing, but what ends up happening is that if you tell them the adventure entails solving a mystery, they want to interrogate everyone and search for clues of a crime that hasn’t happened yet. They’re siting at dinner and an NPC says “Pass the salt” and the PCs are making Insight checks to figure out what he meant by that. They want to do a chemical analysis of everything on the table, they’re trying to check wine glasses to see if there’s poison or fingerprints. The PCs enter the house and one says, “I ‘accidentally’ bump into the butler, does he have a dagger under his vest?” The moment you say “murder mystery” the players are going to want to solve it, they’re not concerned with details like whether or not the murder has actually occurred. Keep the mystery a mystery.
​
RESPECT MY AUTHORITY
Something I’ve found, which I didn’t expect, is that some players feel their characters don’t have the authority to investigate a crime. They don’t feel right about interrogating people and searching houses. They’ll happily stab a goblin in the face and loot his cave, but they’re a guest of the duke, it’s not for them to frisk someone or search the house.
Have someone with authority on hand to let them know—or even order them—to solve the crime. The visiting ambassador has been murdered, the duke asks them to solve the crime. There’s been a series of murders by the docks, the sheriff asks them to look into it. Or put the party in a situation where they’re obligated to investigate the murder, an NPC contacted them, now he’s found dead on their doorstep. Once they take on the responsibility of being detectives it’s not as if they get badges and have an actual legal role, but they know they’re expected to solve the mystery and that they can act like investigators.
This doesn’t usually exist in stories or shows, the characters are police detectives, private investigators, or nosey old spinsters, they either have authority or act as if they do, but the DM should let the PCs know they’re responsible for solving the crime and have some power in that role.
​
I SHOT A MAN IN RENO, JUST TO WATCH HIM DIE
Crimes are composed of three parts, Motive, Means, and Opportunity. When the DM is planning the mystery an important part is the motive, why the murder occurs in the first place. There’s a reason the killer is willing to kill someone to get what he wants. In most mysteries discovering why the murder occurred goes a long way toward solving it.
For the DM, knowing why the murder took place determines everything that comes afterward. If the queen plans to seize power, she’s got to kill the king first. Her motive is power, she’s taking over the kingdom. That suggests she’s not going to just attack the king with a dagger, and she doesn’t want to make herself a suspect, not getting caught is part of committing the crime. If she’s alone with the king and stabs him in his sleep it’s going to be difficult for her to explain how she’s not the killer. The queen is probably going to choose some method that keeps her hands clean, getting blood all over yourself is a giveaway that you’ve been up to no good. Now the DM has to decide if she’s using poison, is she arranging an “accident,” is she hiring someone, is she getting a loveally to kill the king? Determining the motive will often lead to the means, how the crime was actually committed.
Once the why and how have been decided, the opportunity has to be considered. There has to be a reason the crime is being committed at that time. The DM has to determine if there was some sort of event occurring which made the crime necessary or convenient at that time, was the king’s bodyguard attending a joust that weekend, was there going to be a big party at the castle, was the king planning on divorcing his wife next month? The killer is going to choose a time to commit the murder because circumstances have forced his hand, or they’re going to help him commit the crime or get away with it.
The motive should be believable, the players should accept there’s a reason to want someone dead. Being evil isn’t enough, just because the royal advisor is Neutral Evil doesn’t mean he’s going to kill someone, there should a specific reason the royal advisor picked this time to commit murder. It’s important to come up with a convincing motive, and motives are usually related to things like jealousy, power, revenge, money, etc. Find the reason the murderer wants to kill and the rest will fall into place.
It’s also important to create a piece of evidence that will show the motive; a partially burned love letter, a treaty, a grant of deed. Somewhere in the course of investigating the crime there should be a piece of physical evidence that suggests or confirms the motive. The detective should be able to get possible motives from questioning the suspects and witnesses, but it’s useful for the PCs to discover something concrete that tells them why the murder was committed. Note that they may not initially understand that piece of evidence tells them the motive, but it should become clear in the course of solving the mystery.
​
JUST THE FACTS
There’s a lot of roleplaying in mysteries and the purpose is gathering information. The PCs have to speak to everyone, they’ll have questions, they need to keep track of what people said and a possible timeline. They should be able to get down to two or three and then really start to focus on the determining the killer. If your players don’t write things down and keep reliable notes, they’re going to have a hard time with this sort of mystery. It’s not something they can do off the cuff, at least one player has to be willing to create a file with a list of everyone and everywhere, the clues they’ve found, a timeline, alibis, etc. The DM should encourage the players to choose one person to take notes, it’s often helpful for the others to take some notes as well.
For the DM, a flow chart or “link list” is helpful. Write the mystery as it happened, including the details, but then keep notes to how everything is connected. You might have a page for what the nephew knows and it should include who he saw, what he did, how he interacted with the evidence, etc. Here’s a sheet I used (a Google Doc) which has some basic information. I had other pages which discussed the actions of the suspects and how they interacted with each other, but this sheet was useful for keeping track of where everyone was and how they interacted with suspects and clues. I also do something similar for each room. I keep a list of all the rooms and then a list of the clues in each room. As the PCs find the clues I check them off. This is a sample file with a list of Location Clues from one of my mysteries.
Talking to the NPC suspects are useful in helping to absolve or implicate others. The butler was sneaking around with the maid, but they didn’t kill the lord. However, not only do they clear each other of the crime, the butler saw the nephew downstairs whispering the in the library, the maid saw the lady in the upstairs hallway looking over the railing. Now the PCs know to focus on the lady and the nephew and see what they were up to. It doesn’t mean there’s a connection between the two, but it gives the players something to ask them about.
In the police procedural type of mystery, the players are going to quickly have a suspect or suspects, now they need to figure out how he did it. There’s some roleplaying, talking to witnesses, questioning the suspect, but there are less people involved. A lot of it is collecting the evidence and putting it together. This can be easy or difficult. The evidence can tell the players how the crime was committed, or they’ll have seemingly unconnected clues and they’ll need to figure out how they relate to each other. That can be frustrating in that the players aren’t actually detectives and may not put things together, and if you just have their characters roll to figure things out, the players might feel they’re not solving anything, they’re just going along for the ride.
There might also be a bit of cat and mouse between the party and the killer. It’s important to not only determine the murder’s motive, method, and opportunity, but his personality. Is he going to taunt the party, is he going to shift the blame, is he going to pretend to be an innocent bystander? In police procedurals the killer often develops an antagonistic relationship with the detective. They both know he did it, but the detective has to convincingly show that he did it by discovering the telltale mistake the killer made.
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THE RULE OF THREE (OR MORE)
There should be multiple ways to discover the same thing. The PCs will fail a roll, forget about something, ignore something, or not even check on a lead. If they don’t find the earring at the crime scene, they should find the single earring in the jewelry box, have a witness recall that the lady lost her earring, and the maid should remark that the lady asked her to look around for her earring. Even if the players catch on to the clue when it’s first presented, it’s fine to have the players learn all three of these clues. The repetition reinforces to them that the clue is a clue and it’s something important.
You might find that the players also find a clue but don’t really do much with the information. They know it’s a clue, but by itself it doesn’t mean anything to them. The players see the butler’s footstool is broken, but they can’t connect it with anything. The DM knows the stool broke when the butler fell off after trying to hide something on top of the armoire, but the players don’t know that, there need to be other clues associated with the situation to help the players make sense of it. The butler seems to be limping or has back pain, the person in the next room heard a noise like something falling during the night, the molding on the armoire is damaged, it looks like it’s pulled forward. All together this will get the PCs to focus on the butler and take extra care in searching his room, they’ll find the papers hidden on top of the armoire. They might even tell you directly that they search there, the clues were unnecessary, but it’s better to prepare clues for the PCs to find.
PCs should be able to find the clues they need to find, it’s up to them whether they realize they’re clues. Even so, I don’t allow my players to say, “I search the room,” I want to know what they’re searching—to a degree. If they say they’re searching the bed, that’s fine. I assume they search every inch of that bed, in the mattress, under the pillows, on top of the canopy, everywhere. If the desk has a hidden drawer and they tell me they’re searching the desk, they’re going to find the hidden drawer, the envelopes inside, and the items on top and inside. Have them make one roll for each large object, the floor is one object, the walls are one object, the fireplace is one object. When they look over an object, everything associated with that object is also investigated. Don’t make them tell you they’re picking up the decanter off the dresser, draining the wine, and seeing if the key is inside. If the bottle is on the dresser, and they search the desk, they realize there’s something suspicious about the bottle that warrants further examination. This means you need to keep a list of everything in the room and whether or not it’s a clue, one of the sheets I provided is useful for this purpose.
Some DMs might not like the notion of “I search the bed” encompassing everything related to the bed, and will want multiple searches, but I’ve found you’ll get one of two situations. A player never says that he searches inside the mattress and thus he never finds the murder weapon, of after the first bit of evidence is found inside a mattress, the PCs will tear open every mattress they find. Since they either need to find something or they find something and keep looking in the same place in the other rooms, you might as well just rule that “I search the bed” means they search every bit of the bed methodically.
If one PC misses some rolls someone else can check. I encourage the players to have multiple PCs search for things. It’s not necessary for everyone to be involved in every room and some PCs’ skills will lend themselves more to the detective role. The DM should make an effort to keep things moving along though, and if a PC has searched and missed something you can say, “Youdon’t find anything.” You can also say, “You searched thoroughly, there’s nothing there” if there is nothing there. Be careful about being too clever, if the poison was disposed of in the vase and they search the table with the vase, don’t just say, “You check the vase and there’s liquid inside,” you’ve got to tell them there’s something different about the liquid. “You take out the flowers and there’s something strange. The bottom of the stems are black and there’s an odd smell,” or “As you search the table you notice the flowers in the vase smell strange. There’s the smell of flowers, but also a bitter smell.” Let them ask follow questions or investigate further.
Even if you judge that noticing something has a high DC, the PCs should be able to find it if they specifically mention looking for it. Perhaps the wall in the study has a bunch of weapons and shields as decorations, and the clue is subtle and difficult to spot, when the murder weapon was returned to the wall it was placed crookedly or mounted the wrong way. If one of the PCs is specifically searching the wall, checking the weapons, he should definitely find that weapon was tampered with, no roll necessary. What he does with the information is up to him, but he should absolutely find that information. If someone says, “I look at the wall, do I see anything?” then you should apply the DC to his search. You might also want to use tiered DCs, the DC to find the misplaced weapon is 25, the DC to notice there’s something off about the wall is 15.
The DM should be aware that some clues are more important than others. The broken stool is really just a hint for the players to check the top of the armoire for the poison recipe which is the important thing. It doesn’t really matter if the PCs find all the clues surrounding the butler hiding the poison recipe. The broken stool, the bump in the night, the bruise and limp are ultimately just there so the players find his notes about making poison. If a player goes into the room and says, “I search the armoire,” he’s going to find the incriminating paper, that’s solid evidence. The players must find that evidence for the mystery to be solved, once they have it, whether they determine what happened to the stool or why the butler is limping is irrelevant.
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HISTORY IS ONE DAMN THING AFTER ANOTHER
If the DM has an idea for running a mystery several adventures in advance, it creates the possibility of connecting the mystery to other themes in the campaign. In a political campaign where the king’s two sons have been vying to succeed him, perhaps one of them takes matters into his own hands so he can inherit the throne a little earlier than nature intended. Perhaps an alliance between the elves and the dwarves is disrupted by the ambassador’s death.
The DM also has the opportunity to introduce clues that will assist in setting up or solving the mystery later on. The PCs were previously hired to recover the Dagger of Diomedes for a duke, imagine their surprise several adventures later when they learn he’s been murdered with it. Maybe they helped a mage obtain some rare spell components, he was working on a spell with unusual effects. Weeks or months later in real time, the crime scene shows signs of these effects, and the PCs immediately know whom to question. Assuming the mage isn’t the killer, he should be able to provide a list of suspects based on the people who had access to the spell.
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RED HERRINGS
Before refrigeration, fish were preserved by salting or smoking them. These preservation methods turned the fish red in color and gave them strong odor. Smelly red herrings are possibly part of the iron rations the PCs carry around with them while traveling (which could be why wandering monsters find them so easily). Some dog trainers used the smelly, preserved fish as ways to teach hunting dogs to follow a scent, but the person who popularized the term described a situation where herrings were used to confuse and lead someone away from the right trail, the opposite of its actual meaning. The term red herring is a red herring.
In mystery terms, a red herring is a “clue” which leads the detective into following a false path or coming to a wrong conclusion. In the Agatha Christie story, And Then There Were None, the killer fakes his own death early on thus leading the other guests to conclude that one of the remaining guests is the murderer. He then has free rein to murder the others without ever being suspected.
Red herrings can be used two ways in mysteries, by either leading the PCs to suspect someone else, or by distracting them from a suspect. The butler was seen sneaking around, he has a flimsy alibi, his tie was found at the crime scene, and he lies to the PCs. Eventually the PCs will discover that he didn’t kill the duke, he was actually sneaking around with the duke’s wife. He’s been hiding something and leading the PCs to suspect him as the murder, when in fact he was innocent of that crime. He accidentally created a false trail by trying to conceal his adultery.
The killer may also use a red herring to distract the PCs from his trail, and incriminate someone else. Perhaps the nephew killed the duke, and knowing about the affair between the butler and the duke’s wife, he planted the butler’s tie at the crime scene to keep the investigation headed toward someone else. Or the killer creates a bit of evidence—he hangs the duke after killing him, suggesting it’s a suicide, or makes the crime scene look like a robbery to make everyone think the duke was killed during a crime which really didn’t occur. The book/movie Gone Girl uses this to an extreme, a trail of clues and phony evidence has been left to incriminate someone of a crime that hasn’t even been committed.
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INVISIBLE HERRINGS
There are things you can find that are clues, but there are also things you can’t find that are clues. In the Sherlock Holmes story, The Adventure of Silver Blaze, a racehorse is stolen and the trainer is murdered, and Holmes and a detective from Scotland Yard investigate. Holmes asks if the policeman has noticed “the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.” The policeman points out the dog didn’t do anything. Holmes thinks that’s what’s curious. The absence of something happening is the clue, Holmes wonders why the guard dog didn’t bark. That leads him to deducing it’s because the killer was someone familiar to the dog, the dog wasn’t disturbed by someone he knew coming into the barn and taking the horse.
No mud on their boots and a dry hem on their cloak could indicate that the suspect wasn’t out of the house when the murder took place, poking a hole in their alibi. The suspect claimed to be in their room, but the PCs discover the fireplace is clean, the suspect didn’t burn any firewood that bitterly cold night. Through closed doors the PCs heard the daughter singing, the butler fall off his stool, and the duke and his wife arguing, why did no one hear the victim’s room getting ransacked and the furniture being overturned? The clue is what the PCs don’t find.
These invisible herrings can be a little difficult for the players, they naturally assume that they need to find something for it to matter. If the clues are that the suspect’s clothing isn’t wet and muddy and there are no footprints outside, there should also be clues letting the PCs know that those things are missing. It should be pointed out to them that they’re all wet and tracked mud into the house, or they couldn’t track because their own muddy footprints obscured the trail.
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THE SPIRITS TELL ME “NEPHEW, LIBRARY, CANDLESTICK”
In the beginning think about what spells or objects will let the PCs shortcut the adventure. You don’t want them casting Speak with Dead and asking the victim, “Who killed you?” Make sure the victim didn’t actually see the killer; maybe the murderer poisoned the wine, snuck up from behind, or wore a mask.
You’ve also got to anticipate spells like Zone of Truth when they’re questioning suspects. One of the caveats of the spell is that everyone is aware they’re in the spell’s effect, they don’t have to answer questions. They can also say things that are truthful, but misleading. “Kill the duke? That’s absurd. Why would I kill the duke?” or “I don’t how to use a dagger or sword, I could never stab anyone. What kind of accusation is that? It’s horrible! Who are you to go around accusing people of murder?” while ignoring that they poisoned the wine. Also, count down how long the spells last. Clever or nervous NPCs can eat up a lot of time in not answering questions. If you let the players see the time counting down, they’ll be concerned about the time running out and won’t use the spells to their best advantage.
Think about what magic items the PCs have as well. If someone remembers they have the Goggles of Secrets or the Potion of Confession, things will come to an abrupt end. You don’t want someone with an item or spell to negate the mystery because you planned for everything but their scroll of Locate Object.
Also be aware of pets, animal companions, and familiars. You don’t want the Ranger bringing his dog to sniff around the crime scene and it immediately starts growling at the killer. See what benefits having the animals will give the PCs in learning things and either incorporate them as a help or counter them to preserve the mystery. My experience has been that sometimes players forget they have a helpful animal, so don’t make the mystery entirely dependent on the Druid’s pet badger smelling the poison on the killer’s cuff.
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SCUM AND VILLAINY
Since D&D involves a lot of killing, many times we forget that people who commit murders are not nice people. The wife killed the duke, now she might make friends with the Rogue, perhaps even seduce him, and tell him all about how she never trusted the butler, how the maid was caught stealing, how the nephew was in debt from gambling. Sometimes NPCs can befriend PCs and then betray them whether they’re trying to conceal their own crime or the killer’s. Or maybe they’re just nosey and have a theory about everyone, “The wife did it! She told the duke she’d kill him if he kept bringing his hounds inside the house!” Carrying this to an extreme, there’s an Agatha Christie novel where the person helping Poirot solve the crime is revealed to have been the killer all along. He involved himself in the investigation to direct it away from himself.
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IT WAS ELEMENTARY
At the end of the Sherlock Holmes stories and Christie’s Hercule Poirot novels, the detective always explains the crime. Holmes tells Watson and the police what really happened, Poirot calls all the suspects together. They detail what happened to everyone involved, how the killer used this person to get an alibi, why the nephew was really in the library. The detective draws a road map of the crime and lets everyone see what happened, even answering questions or shooting down denials. Your mysteries don’t have to end that way, but you should encourage the players to walk through the crimes out loud before they come to a final judgment. Request that one of them tell the rest of the party the story of the murder and let the PCs poke holes in it or fill in details they’d forgotten until now.
The PCs shouldn’t have to have every clue to solve the mystery, but they should be able to account for nearly everything. If they’re stuck on something, point it out; ask them why the maid lied, ask them how they know the nephew stole the knife. Sometimes the players will think they’ve solved the mystery but they’ve excluded the evidence they didn’t find, didn’t like, or didn’t understand. Sometimes they jump to conclusions because they take a dislike to an NPC.
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IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU MEDDLING KIDS
It might be helpful for the DM to write confessions and the suspects’ reactions to being caught. Even if you’re not reading it to the players word for word, writing everything can fill in a variety of details. If the butler and wife were having an affair, the butler’s confession should account for that. “Yes, we were seeing each other, I was sneaking into her dressing room when I saw the nephew’s door was ajar.” The things mentioned in the confession can either give clues to the PCs so they can solve the mystery or fill in details they missed. It also lets the DM have all the evidence and connections for a suspect in one short paragraph.
It’s also important to decide on what the murderer’s response to being caught will be. Is he going to attack the PCs? Is he going to confess everything? Is he going to deny it, knowing the prince will dismiss the charges? Very often in cozies the killers confess or give up, in a police procedural the criminals have a variety of reactions, the DM needs to know what reaction it’s going to be.
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BOOK ’EM, DANNO
Think about the resolution after the criminal has been caught. Do the PCs just have to inform the authorities, are they authorized to take matters into their own hands, is the adventure going to become a courtroom drama? Players like it when they catch the killer and justice is served, they find it upsetting when things are covered up. The DM should decide if the players get a satisfying resolution or the killer gets off and becomes a recurring villain.
There should be a little thought given to the consequences of these crimes before the fact, so you’ll know how to handle things after the mystery is solved or the culprit is caught. I often run campaigns that are very late Iron Age/Early Medieval in nature, small kingdoms, independent city-states, and the law is what the person in charge says it is. Evidence isn’t going to be dismissed because the PCs broke into someone’s house and searched it, but evidence might be dismissed because an alliance or political connection takes precedence. No one is thrilled that the Necromancer has been killing prostitutes so he can turn them into undead and run his experiments, but he’s more important to the Count then a few dead commoners. It also works the other way, too, the PCs are convinced the nephew is guilty, but their accumulated evidence isn’t entirely convincing. That’s not a problem though, as the nephew is very popular and imprisoning/killing him solidifies the lord’s position.
The DM should also plan for the players deciding they’re going to cover up the crime. If the victim was killed because he the murderer stood to gain financially the players are going to want to turn him in and convict. If the victim was killed because the murderer wanted revenge for the victim from having abused and murdered the killer’s younger sister, the players might feel being pushed out a window was justice served.
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TWELVE ANGRY MEN
Mysteries themselves can often take several sessions, it’s easy to underestimate how long they’re going to be. You’ll find that players will often gather a few clues, interview a witness or two, and then formulate a theory, often based on incomplete information. Then there’s a lot of discussion amongst the players over how it all happened. That’s something to watch out for when it happens early on. They all have theories based on nothing and they’ll argue them vociferously. Sometimes you just have to tell them they’re jumping to conclusions without any actual evidence.
While I try to limit unnecessary discussion early one, there’s no timetable for discussions at the end of a mystery. The players have had to keep a bunch of notes and navigate a bunch of twists and turns, I let the players work it out until they’re satisfied. If the DM feels the discussion is getting off track he should ask questions about particular facets of the mystery he thinks the players are a bit hazy on.
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THIS IS THE END
I think this is a pretty in-depth guide and it should be helpful whether you’ve never run a mystery or whether you’ve run a few but wanted to expand on them a bit. These are the things I take into consideration, I don’t necessarily use all of them. A police procedural can be pretty direct, no red herrings, one suspect, a few helpful witnesses, and a smoking flame blade. Everything can be wrapped up pretty quickly, particularly if PCs pester the killer by asking one more thing, and getting him to confess his plan or superior intellect. Or you could choose to run an extensive adventure like Murder on the Orient Express, over a dozen suspects, multiple false alibis, conflicting statements, red herrings, fake evidence, and a conclusion that torments the detective.
One murder is going to be a lot less complicated than the other, one is going to require more planning by the DM, more thinking by the players, and more time to solve overall. Hopefully this guide will help you regardless of the scenario.