Pocketful of Miracles (1961)

Sick Product of a Sick System

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

What's not too like.? Capra producing and directing. If there is a problem here, it is the huge egos of the cast. With Capra though, the egos of Bette Davis and others in a large big name cast are not carried over into the film. Glenn Ford is a surprise as the top star, but he brings off that role pretty well. Hope Lang is not just good, but her beauty here is amazing as putting her into a dancing costume on stage is an amazing sight. Of course there was a previous version of this starring Warren William in the 1930's but this film is not totally a remake. The cast is so great you really don't care. Peter Falk (Columbo) is great in support as are many others including Edward Everett Horton.There is good comedy, and the music is really well done. Some critics of this were negative when this was released, but when I watched it, I was hard pressed to figure out why. This is an entertaining film. Sheldon Leonard is classic in this doing his big con man routine.

In 1930s New York City, gin-soaked Bette Davis (as "Apple Annie") sells apples to support both her habit and a beautiful daughter, who is living in Spain. One of Ms. Davis' biggest customers is (conveniently) bootlegger Glenn Ford (as "Dave the Dude"). Mr. Ford believes Davis' apples bring him good luck, and he must buy one before each of his underworld business transactions. "Lady luck" smiles on Ford in the form of nubile Hope Lange (as "Queenie" Martin); they quickly hook up, and she becomes the "blonde bombshell" attraction at Ford's speakeasy.Somehow, Ford and his gangsters survive the repel of prohibition.The plot thickens when Davis receives a letter from lovely long-absent daughter Ann-Margret (as Louise), announcing her voyage to New York City. While paying for her European education, Davis has written fantastical letters to her daughter - so, she is expecting Davis to be a wealthy society lady, not an alcoholic tramp. Needing Davis' apples to sustain his luck, and secreting a heart of gold, Ford and his gangster pals give Davis a make-over, and set her up in a penthouse apartment. Will the deception work? This is filmmaker Frank Capra's last film; and, it is a re-make of his own "Lady for a Day" (1933).While enjoyable, "Pocketful of Miracles" is neither as charming nor successful as was certainly anticipated. Mainly, it's sustained by Davis and a slew of Runyonish supporting characters, including the top-tiered quartet: Arthur O'Connell, Peter Falk (a "Best Supporting Actor" nominee), Thomas Mitchell (in his last appearance), and Edward Everett Horton. Ann-Margret makes an inauspicious film debut; to borrow the title of her then current hit single, "I Just Don't Understand" why Capra didn't make this picture a musical.****** Pocketful of Miracles (12/18/61) Frank Capra ~ Glenn Ford, Bette Davis, Peter Falk, Hope Lange

This film was also a remake of a film made in 1933 called Lady For a Day with Warren William and Mae Hopson. But it was an excellent remake. I especially liked Peter Falk's portrayal in this film. The entire cast is really top notch.I don't think anything is as good as the original. But, this film comes very close. The cast is really what makes this version so good. Bette Davis is excellent as is Glenn Ford and Thomas Mitchell. This is also an early film for Ann-Margaret.I, personally, would recommend this film as highly as I would Lady For a Day. By all means, watch both films. They each have an ambiance that makes both movies unique.

Apple Annie (Bette Davis) makes her living as a gin-sauced, basket-carrying, apple-selling NYC street woman. This motion picture is in color which makes Davis's famous facial expressions, especially her eyes, all the more effective.The people Apple Annie hangs out with are other street vendors who are social misfits of various sorts; but, they have one thing in common: poverty.Apple Annie is well connected with a mobster known as The Dude. Fortunately, he's superstitious. The tough mobster (Glen Ford) believes Apple Annie's apples bring him daily good luck because she says, "God Bless You," to everyone who buys from her.All along Apple Annie's been writing her daughter on stationary from an upper-crusty city apartment complex, in order to pretend that she's a well-to-do lady. When her daughter, Louise (Ann Margaret, in her film debut) writes that she's coming to the city with her potential fiancé', whose father is a Spanish count, Apple Annie's pretense is not only about to be exposed but it could ruin her only child's chance for marrying well enough so that she'll never live in poverty as her mother has.The rest of the story is fabulous: humorous, ingenious, well-casted, scripted and acted. It's anything but a typical mob story.For me, the priceless scenes are between the veteran actor Bette Davis and upstart Ann Margaret. Imagine being able to claim that in your first film you starred as Bette Davis's daughter? Margaret gives a fine first film performance face-to-face with the Queen of the Screen. Peter Faulk does his mobster version of "Columbo," in top form. Davis, in Technicolor, delivers one of the most realistic, heart-felt, truly dramatic metamorphosis characters I've seen.