Pocketful of Miracles (1961)

A fairly tale out of Damon Runyon, a writer with whom everyone must touch bases now and again. Nobody can make up nicknames like Damon Runyon -- Dave the Duke, Sammy the Schtunk. This particular adaptation of his work by the renowned director Frank Capra tells the tale of Apple Annie (Bette Davis) a ragged street drunk who has a friendly relationship with Dave the Duke (Glenn Ford). Ford has just promoted his girl friend (Hope Lange) into a dancer and chanteuse in his night club and suddenly the shekels are rolling in. This invites the attention of Chicago gangster Steve Darcey (Sheldon Leonard) who wants to run New York now.In the midst of this impending confrontation, Ford and his principal goons (Mickey Shaughnessy and Peter Falk) discover that Apple Annie has a daughter (Ann-Margaret) who has been living at a boarding school in Spain for years. Davis has made a sub rosa arrangement with the exclusive Marberry Hotel to mail Annie's letters from there and to pick up her daughter's letters at the same address. Ann-Margaret announces that she is now returning to New York with her aristocratic fiancé and his family, expecting to find Davis living in luxury at the opulent hotel.Ford forgets about his confrontation with Leonard and devotes his time, money, and energy to seeing to it that Davis looks like a wealthy matriarch, borrowing an elaborate hotel suite from an absent buddy and calling in a horde of makeover people to re-do the tattered and raggedy bundle that Davis as become. The various ladies hustle Davis into the bedroom followed by Fritz Feld as the hair dresser. "Hey -- he can't go in dare!" says Falk. Lange, who is hustling them about, turns and replies, "It's all right. Honest, it's all RIGHT." Feld sneers at Falk and minces into the room. Feld is always good, always in small parts. He's the psychiatrist in "Bringing up Baby." ("The love impulse in men very frequently reveals itself in terms of conflict.") There follow the usual complications. The pace is fast but the movie is really to long for the story, which would pack more of an emotional and ludic wallop if it were trimmed by about one quarter of its running time. No organic reason for Ann-Margaret to sing all the verses of "I Gave My Love a Cherry" a capella. Glenn Ford does the best he can with the comic role and the frantic pace. He can be hilariously funny in the right context, as he was in "The Teahouse of the August Moon," but he's less convincing as a shady New York operator. He's not vulgar enough. He sounds as if he's been graduated from college. A handsomer Edward G. Robinson is called for. Hope Lange, on the other hand, is a real surprise. He forte is looking winsome and shy. This role takes her from a girl in a raincoat quietly pleading for favor, to a brassy show-business type with a loud (but never coarse) voice. She's quite pretty, and she kept her looks for years. She was my very appealing co-star in "Blue Velvet." I never managed to lay eyes on her during the shoot.

Frank Capra's final feature film is a remake of his earlier movie Lady for a Day, one of my favorite movies from the '30s. The story is about an elderly street peddler named Apple Annie who is turned into a society matron by a gangster named Dave the Dude. The original movie starred May Robson and Warren William, both largely forgotten today except among classic film fans. This one has more well-known stars, Bette Davis and Glenn Ford, but isn't as good. It just isn't as much fun and doesn't have the same heartwarming quality the original did. Davis and Ford are okay but represent a change in the times I'd say. Davis' Annie is ghoulish and Ford's Dave is hard to like. The charm of the previous film, made in a much different era for filmmaking, is gone. Also the original movie was made during the period it was set in, which gave it a feeling of authenticity this one doesn't have. On the plus side, Peter Falk and Hope Lange are good in supporting parts, Ann-Margret is fine in her screen debut, and reliable vet Thomas Mitchell enjoyable as ever in his final film. Lots of old familiar faces like Sheldon Leonard, Edward Everett Horton, Barton MacLane, and Jerome Cowan is another plus. It's overlong and not among Capra's best but certainly something fans will want to see. I recommend seeking out the 1933 classic first, though.

Pocketful of Miracles is Frank Capra's Technicolor re-make of his brilliant 1933 film, Lady for a Day. The same enchanting story only this time set during the Christmas season for delivering a miracle to the grey-haired Cinderella. The remake is rather brash and a little dragging in places when compared to the original, nevertheless still an entertaining and fun film. Bette Davis turns in a good portrayal of Apple Annie as does Glenn Ford playing gangster, Dave the Dude. Peter Falk makes the most of his role, his performance of Joy Boy is absolutely superb. Beautiful Hope Lange plays Dude's girl Queenie Martin and the film debut of a very young Ann-Margret playing Apple Annie's charming daughter Louise. What really makes this film fun is a host of amazing character actors of the time, Edward Everett Horton, Mickey Shaughnessy, Sheldon Leonard, Thomas Mitchell, Ellen Corby, Arthur O'Connell and many more recognizable faces. Although I prefer the original 1933 film, this 1961 remake adequately exudes its own amount of charm.

Often people say these older movies are too smarmy and sweet, but thats the reflection of a generation raised on violent hard hitting films. Films of this era were about escapism from the harsh reality of the world outside the theater. They were a kind of childish hope for a world that could never be for the audience of that time. That said, Bette Davis gives a fantastic performance in this film. I watched it over and over again just to see the master at her craft. She plays the last half of the film as if she's stunned in a dream state, unable to quite grasp the kindness shown her. An element of fear of being found out, trying to pull off the elegance of a lady of stature, yet never loosing the the character of the first half of the film. She manages to pull off being a lady more from being shell shocked than from any real attempt by her character to try to be something she is not. I half hoped she would tell the truth to the count toward the end. Its a lovely film and is right up there with I remember Momma as one of my favorite films of this time. One thing I didn't quite understand that I hope someone here might can help me with. I have a 30 year old TV so I have a authentic experience watching these old movies. I suppose. The problem being the sound quality is horrible. That may have more to do with my aging ears but I'd rather blame it on the set.As a result I missed a lot of dialog toward the end and I couldn't figure out what the payoff for attending the party was for the Mayor and Governor. I felt as if an entire scene were missing between Dude and the officials. Did he turn in the mob boss he had been hauling around in the semi? Did he give himself up? Or was this just a Capra miracle that is never quite explained and we're to think that they were touched by Apple Annies story and wanted to do the right thing by her? I'm interested in what others with better viewing equipment took away from the end of this film.