I'm no Capra fan, but here's a second movie of his (along with "The Miracle Woman") that I just loved. Maybe his pre-Codes are better than his other movies? I may have to change my mind about Capra, or at least see some more of his pre-Code movies; they're terrific!
This movie was sweet and touching, without being sickening sweet or melodramatic. This movie also has lots of humor and some great dialogue. This 72-yr-old movie holds up extremely well. I was utterly charmed by this movie.
The story revolves around an elderly woman, Apple Annie, who is quite poor. She sells apples for a living and sends all her money to her daughter, Louise, who lives in Spain. Annie is ashamed of her lifestyle, and she leads her daughter to believe she's a high-society lady by writing letters on the stationery of a posh hotel. Annie even has a friend on the inside of the hotel who passes Louise's letters that are sent to the hotel to Annie.
One of Apple Annie's clients is "Dave the Dude", the head of a local mob. Before he does any business dealings, Dave always buys an apple from Annie for good luck.
Well, not to spoil the movie too much, let me just say that Annie finds out her daughter is coming to town (New York) and she panics. Her panhandler friends talk Dave into setting Annie up in a suite at the posh hotel so that she can continue the pretense for her daughter's sake. Dave gets most of his mobster and street friends involved in one way or another -- the potential is here for great sappiness, but amazingly the story unfolds with just pure sweetness and lots of humor that has held up very well over the past 3/4-century.
The performances by the lead actors were terrific. May Robson as Annie was wonderful; she gave a tender, subtle performance as the mother who loved her daughter so much, yet was so ashamed of the way she (Annie) lived. Warren William was terrific as Dave the Dude - I think his was probably the toughest role to play as he had to be a "bad guy" mob head as well as a softie who went out of his way to make Annie a lady for a day. Guy Kibbee as Annie's husband was superb, a common pool hustler who played an upper-crust gentleman. The rest of the cast were pretty good too ... I especially enjoyed the actor who played the dry and sardonic "Happy"; he had some of the best lines in the show.
So, in conclusion, snappy dialogue, nice mix of drama and humor, and just the right amount of sweetness make for a wonderful pre-Code movie. If you enjoy old movies, this is a movie that you definitely won't be sorry you watched. Highly recommended.
This movie was sweet and touching, without being sickening sweet or melodramatic. This movie also has lots of humor and some great dialogue. This 72-yr-old movie holds up extremely well. I was utterly charmed by this movie.
The story revolves around an elderly woman, Apple Annie, who is quite poor. She sells apples for a living and sends all her money to her daughter, Louise, who lives in Spain. Annie is ashamed of her lifestyle, and she leads her daughter to believe she's a high-society lady by writing letters on the stationery of a posh hotel. Annie even has a friend on the inside of the hotel who passes Louise's letters that are sent to the hotel to Annie.
One of Apple Annie's clients is "Dave the Dude", the head of a local mob. Before he does any business dealings, Dave always buys an apple from Annie for good luck.
Well, not to spoil the movie too much, let me just say that Annie finds out her daughter is coming to town (New York) and she panics. Her panhandler friends talk Dave into setting Annie up in a suite at the posh hotel so that she can continue the pretense for her daughter's sake. Dave gets most of his mobster and street friends involved in one way or another -- the potential is here for great sappiness, but amazingly the story unfolds with just pure sweetness and lots of humor that has held up very well over the past 3/4-century.
The performances by the lead actors were terrific. May Robson as Annie was wonderful; she gave a tender, subtle performance as the mother who loved her daughter so much, yet was so ashamed of the way she (Annie) lived. Warren William was terrific as Dave the Dude - I think his was probably the toughest role to play as he had to be a "bad guy" mob head as well as a softie who went out of his way to make Annie a lady for a day. Guy Kibbee as Annie's husband was superb, a common pool hustler who played an upper-crust gentleman. The rest of the cast were pretty good too ... I especially enjoyed the actor who played the dry and sardonic "Happy"; he had some of the best lines in the show.
So, in conclusion, snappy dialogue, nice mix of drama and humor, and just the right amount of sweetness make for a wonderful pre-Code movie. If you enjoy old movies, this is a movie that you definitely won't be sorry you watched. Highly recommended.