The Lemon Drop Kid (1951)

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Best movie ever!

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

BEWARE OF FALSE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW TO THEIR NAME. NOW WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE MOVIE. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THE FILM . NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 300 HOLIDAY FILMS & SPECIALS. I HAVE NO AGENDA.The Lemon Drop Kid is a 1951 comedy film based on the short story of the same name by Damon Runyon, starring Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell. Although Sidney Lanfield is credited as the director, Frank Tashlin reportedly was hired, to finish the film. The story had previously been adapted as a 1934 movie starring Lee Tracy, with actress Ann Sheridan in a bit part. William Frawley is featured in both versions.The song "Silver Bells," sung by Hope and Maxwell, was introduced in this filmThe Lemon Drop Kid (Bob Hope), a New York City swindler, is illegally touting horses at a Florida racetrack. The Kid touts across a beautiful woman intending to bet $2,000 on a horse named Iron Bar. Rigging a con, the Kid convinces her to switch her bet, but learns that she was betting for boyfriend and notorious gangster Moose Moran (Fred Clark). When the horse finishes dead last, a furious Moran demands the Kid pay him $10,000 (the amount he would have won) by Christmas Eve, or the Kid "won't make it to New Year's."This film is typical one liners that Bob Hope was famous for. This film however suffers because many of them are "flat" and have not held up over time! This film runs about 90 minutes but it seems to run 3 hours. Some parts of this film however is funny but it has equal parts that are not funny. It is also hard to hear 48 year old Bib Hope refereed to as kid in this film. This is a great film for Bob Hope fans. For the rest of us it is just an okay film. Not a bad film but not very good either!

Still makes me laugh after all these years impeccable timing great writing beautiful comic acting from all, Hope is wonderful as usual if you haven't seen this and looking for an hour or so of laughs the sit down put your feet up and enjoy. They Obviously Want Me To Sing ...not now please

"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 thing I noticed about thirty minutes into the picture was how complicated the plotting got for a movie from the early Fifties. Not what I was expecting from a title like "The Lemon Drop Kid", whose title character is wonderfully performed by one of my all time favorites - Bob Hope. Hope is his trademark self most of the time with the snappy quips and one liners, but it wasn't just Hope playing Hope, indeed it appeared that Bob actually got into his character based on a Damon Runyon story. With any other actor, The Lemon Drop Kid might have come across as the smarmy con man that he was written to be, but Hope makes him a likable chap, even when he's robbing you blind.The other major curve that the picture throws at you about mid-way through is that all of a sudden, it becomes a Christmas story! I wasn't really ready for that, and yet right from the opening sound of "Silver Bells", it all seems to fit together perfectly around a con game to bring home the bacon for Nellie Thursday's Home For Old Dolls. Hope has just the perfect cast of characters to pull off this grift - Jay C. Flippen, Ben Weldon, and Tor Johnson among others, and it was especially cool to catch William Frawley in a role apart from his Fred Mertz character. I'm not so sure this bunch could have pulled off the caper in real life quite so easily, but I think you can cut the film some slack in that regard; getting there was all the fun it could be.With any of these older flicks, I'm always on the lookout for reminders of simpler times gone by - how about a hot pastrami sandwich for fifty cents! Say, I wonder too, if you can still get a salami gift wrapped for the holidays? There's also the era preoccupation with getting as many profile shots of the picture's leading lady into view as possible. On that score, Marilyn Maxwell's figure never disappoints, strategically positioned whenever possible in conversation with Lemon Drop or Oxford Charley (Lloyd Nolan). After a while I began to wonder why she ever stuck it out with The Kid, but I guess every heel has some redemptive qualities.I don't know if I'd make this a must see every year at Christmas time, but then again, it might not be the worst choice out there. It takes you back to a way simpler time than say, "Bad Santa", and you won't have to screen out the language for young viewers. All in all, a fun picture and a fine effort from Bob Hope and his gang of usual suspects.