Pocketful of Miracles (1961)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Frank Capra

Writers:

Hal Kanter (screenplay) and
Harry Tugend (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 December 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Boozy, brassy Apple Annie, a beggar with a basket of apples, is as much as part of downtown New York as old Broadway itself...

Plot Keywords:

Apple | Luck | Daughter | Dude | Mother

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Glenn Ford	...	Dave the Dude
Bette Davis	...	Apple Annie
Hope Lange	...	Queenie Martin
Arthur O'Connell	...	Count Alfonso Romero
Peter Falk	...	Joy Boy
Thomas Mitchell	...	Judge Henry G. Blake
Edward Everett Horton	...	Hudgins
Mickey Shaughnessy	...	Junior
David Brian	...	Governor
Sheldon Leonard	...	Steve Darcey
Peter Mann	...	Carlos Romero
Ann-Margret	...	Louise
Barton MacLane	...	Police Commissioner (as Barton Maclane)
John Litel	...	Police Inspector McCrary
Jerome Cowan	...	Mayor

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | American Sign Language | Spanish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #20029) | West Germany:6 | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Franton Productions

Trivia:

Before Bette Davis accepted the role, Shirley Booth was approached about playing Apple Annie. Booth viewed the original version of the film, Lady for a Day (1933), and informed director Frank Capra that there was no way she could match the Oscar-nominated performance of May Robson in the original film, and politely declined the role.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Hope "Queenie" Lange is wearing 1950s stiletto heels.

Quotes:

Spanish Consul: Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to be proven an imbecile.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Killing Floor (2007)

Soundtrack:

Good King Wenceslas

Lady for a Week

In 1930s New York City, gin-soaked panhandler Bette Davis (as "Apple Annie") sells apples to support both her habit and a beautiful daughter, who is living in Spain. One of Ms. Davis' biggest customers is (conveniently) bootlegger Glenn Ford (as "Dave the Dude"). Mr. Ford believes Davis' apples bring him good luck, and he must buy one before each of his underworld business transactions. "Lady luck" smiles on Ford in the form of nubile Hope Lange (as "Queenie" Martin); they quickly hook up, and she becomes the "blonde bombshell" attraction at Ford's speakeasy.

Somehow, Ford and his gangsters survive the repel of prohibition.

The plot thickens when Davis receives a letter from lovely long-absent daughter Ann-Margret (as Louise), announcing her voyage to New York City. While paying for her European education, Davis has written fantastical letters to her daughter - so, she is expecting Davis to be a wealthy society lady, not an alcoholic tramp. Needing Davis' apples to sustain his luck, and secreting a heart of gold, Ford and his gangster pals give Davis a make-over, and set her up in a penthouse apartment. Will the deception work?

This is filmmaker Frank Capra's last film; and, it is a re-make of his own "Lady for a Day" (1933).

While enjoyable, "Pocketful of Miracles" is neither as charming nor successful as was certainly anticipated. Mainly, it's sustained by Davis and a slew of Runyonish supporting characters, including the top-tiered quartet: Arthur O'Connell, Peter Falk (a "Best Supporting Actor" nominee), Thomas Mitchell (in his last appearance), and Edward Everett Horton. Ann-Margret makes an inauspicious film debut; to borrow the title of her then current hit single, "I Just Don't Understand" why Capra didn't make this picture a musical.

****** Pocketful of Miracles (12/19/61) Frank Capra ~ Glenn Ford, Bette Davis, Peter Falk