Pocketful of Miracles
by Frank Capra
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Arthur O'Connell, Bette Davis, Glenn Ford, Hope Lange, Peter FalkDirector: Frank Capra
Producer: Glenn Ford
Producer: Frank Capra
Writer: Damon Runyon
Writer: Hal Kanter
Writer: Harry Tugend
Writer: Jimmy Cannon
Writer: Robert Riskin
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 136 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-09-18
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Movie Reviews of Pocketful of Miracles
Movie Review: Pocketful of indifference...
Summary: 3 Stars
I think that sums up my feelings on the film as a whole, which I can't decide if it's worse or better than outright hating it. Honestly, when the film was over, aside from genuinely liking some of the performances, there was nothing I remembered or cared to repeat about this film. It was decent, and at times entertaining, but when all is said and done it just doesn't have that spark needed to make me want to watch it again.
So the film is a remake of Capra's own `Lady for a Day' from 1933. I'm not sure why he wanted to remake his own film, and honestly I have yet to see `Lady for a Day' (but it is in my Netflix queue) so I can't say if the remake was an improvement or not, but regardless of his personal intentions it is widely known that this was the movie that broke him. Thanks in large part to the very difficult star named Glenn Ford, Capra swore off film all together after suffering during the filming of `Pocketful of Miracles'.
The film is about Apple Annie, an alcoholic homeless woman who has a daughter she never sees. Her daughter lives overseas and is preparing to marry into wealth and so Annie calls upon local gangster Dave `the Dude' Conway to help her fake wealth. She has been writing to her daughter, pretending to be wealthy, and so she is afraid that her actually situation will cause her daughter's fianc?e to have second thoughts. Conway uses his connections to turn Annie into a lady in order to save her daughter's impending marriage.
The film sports a longer running time (over two hours) yet it never manages to film that time with anything substantial. Annie never becomes three dimensional, which would have really aided the film drastically, and so we feel slightly disconnected to her concerns. Bette Davis was without question the greatest actress to ever grace the big screen, but still, even she couldn't elevate the lack of character given her character. Hope Lange and Ann-Margret are nice to look at and have their moments, but even their characters are extremely underwritten. It's Glenn Ford and Peter Falk that walk away with this film, adding layers to characters that could have otherwise appeared one-note. Some have said that Ford is hammy, but I found him refreshing in this otherwise droll film. Falk walked away with an Oscar nomination for his fiery portrayal of the Dude's right hand man Joy Boy. Watching him was like watching Pesci in `GoodFellas'; feisty and unforgettable.
Still, regardless of my admiration for Ford and Falk here I cannot say that they saved the film; they merely made it more tolerable. They prohibited me from turning it off before the credits began to roll. Now that the film is over I doubt I'll ever watch it again; but I will always think back to Ford and Falk with warm feelings. It's too bad they couldn't have starred in a better film.
Summary of Pocketful of Miracles
Superbly directed by the peerless Frank Capra, this remake of Lady For A Day is pure Hollywood magican unforgettable combination of comedy, whimsy and romance that was nominated* for three Oscars?(r)! Impoverished Broadway peddler Apple Annie (Bette Davis) has a problem. Her daughter, Louise (Ann-Margret), educated abroad since infancy, is coming for a visit and bringing her wealthy fianc?(c) with her. The problem is that Louise has believed all her life that Annie's a wealthydowager, and the poor old woman doesn't know what to do! Enter Dave the Dude (Glenn Ford)a big-hearted racketeerwho enlists the aid of his colorful mob of hooligans in a wild and crazy schemeto pass Annie off as a high-society grande dame so Louise can marry her fairy-tale prince and everyone can live happily ever after! *1961: Supporting Actor (Peter Falk), Song, Costume DesignClassics DVD Video
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