Signora per un giorno

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!

For a middle class Indian guy like me falling head over heels for Hollywood movies and especially for B/W beauties is like making Ned Sparks laugh.... very difficult!

And yet in love I am with Hollywood for movies like 'The Lady For A Day'.

( What you haven't seen it? Rent it or better BUY it .. Right Now!)

It's pure magic from beginning to end.

Performances are top notch.Warren Williams with his voice n charm, Ned Sparks with his comments and May Robson for her great performance make the film a legend.

Let's not forget Frank Capra. It actually makes you wonder weather it is Capra's direction , the performances or the storyline which sets this film apart.

Capra's brand of comedies is well known. And this one is an out n out success!

Whatever be the ingredients it's poetry in motion. It's a must watch for true fans and it should be made compulsory for the 'Scary Movies Gang'.

It's not often (especially these days) that a character actor or actress pulls a leading role. This movie rates my 8/10 vote mostly on the strength of the marvelous character performance of May Robson in the central role as Apple Annie, an elderly down-and-out who must somehow preserve the imaginary persona she has built for herself to her daughter, soon to arrive from Paris with a prospective husband in tow. Robson was nominated for an Oscar, as lead, and richly deserved it for her tragicomic characterization.

Frank Capra's excellent direction (also nominated for an Oscar) keeps the plot unfolding with the speed and apparently effortless fluidity so characteristic of the comedies of this period. Capra did not win the Oscar that year, but this film launched his series of feel-good dramas and sparkling comedies that netted him three subsequent Oscars.

But this is far more than a feel-good comedy/drama. It's an excellent movie that stands on its merits outside the genre, with a solid supporting cast. Capra's own remake (Pocketful of Miracles), doesn't meet the standard he himself set here. And although I have tremendous respect for Bette Davis, who played the lead in the remake, it is the difference between a good performance and an exceptional portrayal. Now that I've seen this version, May Robson simply IS Apple Annie.

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.

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!!