Frank Capra's (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington/Mr. Deeds Goes to Town) cinematic swansong from 1961 which starred Bette Davis & Glenn Ford. Taking place during the Prohibition Era in New York, we meet an apple seller, Davis, who makes ends meet selling the fruit on streets & who it turns out has a special relationship w/a mobster in town, Ford, who whenever a big deal or decision comes his way entrusts Davis to give him an apple (as a good luck token) which for the most part has worked in his favor but when the big boss is making moves to take over his territory, Ford does all he can to have all his luck ducks in a row. Davis has been picking up mail from her studying abroad daughter, played by Ann Margaret (in her film debut), from a swanky hotel (she's using the hotel's address as a means to put on airs she lives there when the reality is she lives on skid row) but when the management informs her she cannot do this anymore, she is bereft the truth will come out. Ford hears about this & so the machinations commence to make Margaret's visit a smooth one. Remaking his 1933 feature, Lady for a Day (which I now need to see!), this overlong & frankly anachronistic feature feels like a last ditch effort to make something important but just by its sheer length & tendency to let actors yell & carry on, those efforts are scuppered. Also starring Peter Falk as Ford's right hand man, Hope Lange as Ford's girl, Arthur O'Connell as a Count & Thomas Mitchell as a judge.
Review of Pocketful of Miracles
