Love on the Nose

Ted Allan’s tale of communists, bookies and gangsters in 1930s Montreal underwent several iterations before becoming the Stephen Leacock-winning novel Love is a Long Shot. In this colourful, rarely-screened adaptation of this dark comedy, Saul Rubinek plays an idealistic young Trotskyist, who gets a job at a cigar-store, a front for a bookie's betting parlour. It is here that he gets a street-wise education in politics, corruption, love and sex. Directed by George Bloomfield (Riel, SCTV), this film features a stellar supporting cast that includes Al Waxman, Marilyn Lightstone, Eugene Levy, Maury Chaykin, Kate Lynch, Suzette Couture, Harvey Atkin, Joe Silver (Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Shivers), and Paul Soles.