Grande dame d'un jour

Another old film I was excited to discover, and puzzled to not have heard of. I was unsurprised to find its a Frank Capra film, but I think I like this better than his later, more well-known films.

May Robson's performance in this is superb, I was gratified to see she was nominated as Best actress, but sorry she did not win. The other leads are great, and dialog well-written. As some others have noted the scene of the lovers on the patio is beautifully set and filmed.

If you love Frank Capra you'll love this one, and if not, you may find it a somewhat less saccarhine effort than his others....highly recommended!!

This sublime, charming fairy tale, about an old apple seller (the lovely May Robson) who is helped by a gangster named Dave the Dude (Warren William) and his buddies in order to make her rich and respectable for her returning daughter and in-law from Spain, is conceivably Capra's freshest, most underrated classic, perhaps with the exception of "The Bitter Tea of General Yen", which was also released in 1933. While "Bitter Tea" was a commercial flop, "Lady For a Day" proved to be Capra's first big success with the Depression-era audiences and a sign of things to come. A must-see!

Others have said it all! However, check out the beautiful love scene photographed through a glass fountain. Absolutely GORGEOUS! Solid performances from the stars right down to the supporting actors. I think we hardly ever see great supporting actors like these any more.

Frank Capra wrote about this movie in his autobiography, apparently one of his first hits, using the recipe of lesser-known actors, a great scriptwriter, and a low budget. He relies heavily on the great supporting actors available to him and gave them all a Runyon-esquire quality which never fails to please. They are all just great! Check this movie out! It gets better every time I see it!

This movie must have played very well to depression-era audiences. The story of an apple seller who has been lying to her daughter who has done well for herself in Europe is sweet, heart touching and funny.

Great, quotable lines in the script, well written. The outdoors night photography is luminous, everything seems to glow, a scene in an outdoor garden with the daughter and her fiancee kissing behind a glass water fountain is beautiful to this day.

The ideas of friends and strangers coming to a needy person's aid prefigures such later Capra classics as "It's A Wonderful Life". In fact, they would make an excellent double feature together.

In our cynical times, movies like this can be seen as hokey, in fact the name Capra was frequently turned into Capra-corn, even in his day. But the fact that his movies are still treasured and enjoyed today shows that goodness is still an enduring quality and that being drawn to goodness and fairy tales like this gives us hope that those feelings are still in us.

Recommended highly.

Born in Australia in 1858, May Robson certainly never envisioned as career in Hollywood films. She had a long career as a stage actress and appeared in about a dozen silent films, including CHICAGO with Phyllis Haver, and RUBBER TIRES with Bessie Love. Both film survive. She made her talkie debut in MOTHER'S MILLIONS in 1931 and appeared in another 50 films until her death in 1942.

Oscar nominated for playing Apple Annie, she lost the award to Katharine Hepburn for MORNING GLORY. Robson should have won, but her role was really a supporting role in this film, based on a short story by Damon Runyon.

As the irascible old apple peddler, Robson had the role of her career. Seems she has a daughter (Jean Parker) in Europe. The old lady gets mail at a swanky hotel thru a friend who works there. But when the letter comes that the daughter is coming home with a husband to be (and his father, a Spanish count), Annie is in trouble.

Dave the Dude (Warren William) a gambler, won't make a bet without getting an apple from Annie as a good luck token. When she goes missing, the Dude sends out a search party, locates Annie, and learns of her plight. They hit upon a plan to set her up as a lady with the Judge (Guy Kibbee) as her distinguished husband. Annie gets a makeover and everything is set for the daughter's return.

But the stupid cops get wind of what's happening and think there's a big swindle going on. Will the cops squash the charade? Will Annie be exposed as a fraud?

Robson and William are terrific. There's also Glenda Farrell as the brassy Missouri Martin (based on Texas Guinan) who joins in to help the charade. Co-stars include Ned Sparks as Happy, Nat Pendleton, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Tiny Jones, Hobart Bosworth, Samuel S. Hinds, Walter Connolly, Halliwell Hobbes, and Barry Norton.

A fairy tale to be sure, but one with a touch of reality. Director Frank Capra used several real-life panhandlers in the cast. It's also notable that Annie admits she was never married.