The Lemon Drop Kid

"The Lemon Drop Kid" is from a story by Damon Runyon--and it's heritage is obvious based on the sorts of names for the characters, such as Stan the Surgeon, Moose Moran, Nellie Thursday and Straight Flush Tony. The title character is played by Bob Hope and he's a real schmuck. He makes his living, such as it is, by selling fake tips on horses at the racetrack. However, when he convinces a big-time mobster's girl to bet on a horse instead of the one she intended to bet on, the mobster (Fred Clark) is NOT happy. He insists that The Kid must pay him back by Christmas....or else. The problem is that The Lemon Drop Kid has no money and no friends--so he heads to New York to try to convince someone to loan him the money. But, he is a schmuck after all and none of his 'friends' in the city are willing to give him a dime. What's he to do....just wait to have his legs broken....if he's LUCKY?! Nah, he comes up with a scheme involving the creation of an old folks home and Santa. Confusing? See the film to find out why he does this and what's next.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable Hope vehicle. He's in top form and the movie is entertaining despite a few small glitches. For example, look for Bob Hope's lips as he 'sings' "Silver Bells" and tries to get money from some very little kids. You can clearly see that his lips AREN'T moving yet he's somehow singing! Oops. Despite this silly mistake, I must say that this is a lovely part of the film--a real highlight. Clever and worth your time.

The Lemon Drop Kid is the second of two films Bob Hope did from stories based on Damon Runyon's colorful collection of characters, the first being Sorrowful Jones. Sidney Melbourne known to one and all as The Lemon Drop Kid for his inordinate fondness for lemon flavored candy is a fellow who lives by his wits as a race track tout.

Sometimes our hero is too clever by a half and when he gives the wrong tip to gambler Fred Clark's girl friend, Andrea King, Clark says that Hope owes him ten thousand dollars, the amount the horse would have paid him.

Things move fast and furious as Hope evolves a scheme to raise the money by starting a home for little old ladies named for Jane Darwell. Hope gets everyone in his set involved including his long suffering girl friend, Marilyn Maxwell.

Maxwell, who was reputedly involved romantically with Hope during the shooting of this film, plays a part almost identical to Runyon's better known Adelaide from Guys and Dolls.

Of course this film is famous for introducing that modern Christmas classic Silver Bells by Bob and Marilyn. And in an act that some might consider charity, that other well known Paramount star, Bing Crosby made a hit record of it with his radio girl singer of the moment Carole Richards.

In his musical autobiography record Bing said that he thought the secret of Silver Bells popularity is that it is an urban based song with its images of department stores, kid's rushing, and above all the bustle the sound of bells from street corner Santas. The song fits in real nice in the film with Hope's scheme involving his fellow street people in Santa Claus suits collecting for that little old ladies home.

Silver Bells got nominated for Best song, but lost to that other Paramount film song In the Cool Cool Cool of the Evening introduced by Bing Crosby.

Still the popularity of Jay Livingston and Ray Evans classic modern holiday ballad will insure people will be watching The Lemon Drop Kid for years to come.

Bob Hope is wonderful as The Lemon Drop Kid, who makes his money tricking people into betting on ponies with his phony insider information and agreeing to cut him in on the winnings...only he mistakenly convinces a gangster's mol into betting on a different pony than she was supposed to with $2000! As a consequence, the gangster looses out on a $10,000 payout. He tells the Lemon Drop Kid he has until Christmas Eve to pay him back the $10,000. So The Kid travels to New York where he is hoping to call upon his friends to help him out...only they don't because either they can't or because he has taken advantage of their kindness one too many times, including the lovely lady "Brainy". Down on his luck and with just enough money to get his winter clothes out of hawk he sees a bell ringing Santa...and is struck by the idea that he could raise money for a charity...his save a life charity.

This was a great vehicle for Bob Hope and he is at the top of his game in this film. I was eager to see this film because I ordered sheet music for my favorite Christmas carol..."Silver Bells" and found out it came straight out of this film The Lemon Drop Kid which I had never heard of. I don't know that this will be a Christmas regular for me, but it was worth seeing...contained my favorite Christmas carol, and had some interesting scenes from a by gone era...including tinsled trees and Christmas store windows.

Bob Hope is the Lemon Drop Kid, a race-track tout who incurs the wrath of gangster Moose Moran when he convinces Moose's ditsy mistress to bet on what turns out to be the slowest horse in the race. Given until Christmas to raise the ten grand, the conniving kid sets up a fake 'Old Dolls Home' as part of a fake Santa Claus charity scam. This is a Christmas movie, so needless to say the larceny and gangland shenanigans of the first half gives way to a sentimental final reel. The film is loosely based on the eponymous Damon Runyon story but, other than character names like 'Gloomy Willie' and the frequent use of the term 'dolls', lacks a real 'Runyonesque' feel. As always, Hope's impeccable timing and delivery gets the most out of the material and the film is pretty funny at times (including the obligatory meta-reference to Bing Crosby, Hope's usually comedic foil). All in all, a fun family Christmas-film that introduced the classic seasonal charmer 'Silver Bells'. One additional plus: the film features the great Tor Johnson of 'Plan 9 from Outer Space' (1957) and 'The Beast of Yucca Flats' (1961) fame.

This is one of my favorite holiday movies. It is a great example of Runyan's work. I would recommend it for the whole family! It is a nice departure from the usual holiday sentimentalism. The dialog is peppered with typical Runyan phrases that truly capture the "Guys and Dolls" types and yet still has the Bob Hope send up comedy typical of his "Road" pictures. The musical numbers add to the picture without making it into a big budget Hollywood show. Jane Darwell, William Frawley and Lloyd Nolan are really enjoyable. Even though some of the comedy it perhaps a bit ethnic oriented, it really isn't offensive. My family and I would rather watch this than any other "wonderful" holiday movie.