"Pocketful of Miracles" sums up the spirit of Frank Capra's tremendous legacy with such eloquence it's a pity that his final feature film couldn't live up to the premise of its title.
Ironically, I didn't know this was a remake and so it was to "Trading Places" that I kept thinking while watching this film. At the end of the day, I find it less enjoyable. Why? Simple reasons: Landis had a great cast, kept focused on its story and the film was short enough to sustain its comedic material, and now that I've watched "Lady for a Day", my criticism stands even more. But let me start with the good stuff.
This film has the kind of plots that can almost totally depend on character actors. On that level, Peter Falk steals the show as the henchman Joy Boy, his constant rambling about a plot that goes nowhere makes him an interesting cross between a Greek Chorus and a deadpan heckler. He's one of the best things about the film, and his performance was rightfully nominated for an Oscar. As the pool hustler Judge Henry Blake, veteran Thomas Mitchell is given a superb supporting role, sadly one year before his passing. And I also enjoyed Edward Everett Horton as the long-suffering butler Hudgins, overshadowing the bigger roles with a pocketful of small but subtly funny moments.
Unfortunately, with all due respect to Glenn Ford who was the producer of the film, who insisted to play the part, and who wasn't Capra's initial choice... I'll just say: can you imagine someone other than Gary Cooper playing 'John Doe' or Mr. Deeds? Or anyone but Stewart as Mr. Smith or George Bailey? I loved Ford in "Blackboard Jungle" because he had that ordinary downbeat look most teachers have and that allowed him to reveal a more nuanced side of his inner bravery... however the role of Dave the Dude called from a colorful incarnation of the gangster figure: Widmarck, Cagney or Sinatra (who turned down the role). As for Ford, it's not a matter of talent but let's say, physicality.
As his moll "Queenie", Hope Lange isn't unconvincing but she embodies so many different personalities that she feels like a written rather than a genuine character. First, she's a modest girl in a raincoat who seems to impersonate Anne Baxter in her first "All About Eve" scene; the next scene, she's a cabaret star, then she urges Dave to marry her, live in a ranch and have a pocketful of little ones and finally, she's a female pygmalion who finds the nerve to stand to her man. Still, within her spring-like arc, she does her best and her role wasn't exactly the hit-or-miss of the film, which can't be said about the film's only true star: Miss Bette Davis.
Davis is almost unrecognizable as the apple-selling street-peddler who sends money for her daughter in Spain. They made such an effort to make her unglamorous, to exaggerate her neglected and shady aspect that she becomes as implausible as a Disney character. And since the plot requires her to impersonate a wealthy woman, there's something uncomfortable at watching her begging audiences to feel sorry for her. What worked with May Robson because she was a much older woman and an unfamiliar face, couldn't work for Davis. Even Mr. Smith wasn't a boy scout and George Bailey had a few tantrums and while witnessing the drowning of Davis in an ocean of pathos, I was thinking "can somebody throw a buoy?"
And Louise, the daughter, Ann-Margret makes a fine debut for a role that only asks her to look cute and darling, and Arthur O'Connell doesn't bother with a Spanish accent, which is the right move. The most unforgivable aspect about the guests is all in these hugging and tweeting of happy emotions, culminating with the 'A Capella' rendition of the "Cherry without a bone" song, which made me think of John Belushi smashing Stephen Bishop's guitar to pieces in "Animal House". Romance is one thing but here Capra broke Billy Wilder's first commandment: "the audiences, thou shall not bore".
All these shortcomings wouldn't have damaged the film had it benefitted from a better cutting. It takes almost twenty minutes to know about Annie's charade and one hour to get us to the 'sting'. Meanwhile, we have to go through the whole backstory of Dave the Duke and some deal with a fugitive gangster (Sheldon Leonard) that doesn't even payoff at the end. The only things that makes these part endurable is Peter Falk, for his acting and his narration.
The film tries to be a witty gangster film and an inspiring fable about people's generosity with a finale à la "It's a Wonderful Life", but both legs don't walk at the same speed and so the rhythm is rather unsteady, with each part trying to catch up to the other. A shame because there are some great moments in this film, the whole tutorial of Dave's boys and dolls to look like upper-class people was even better than the casting of Hitlers in "The Producers", so there was a comedic zest that just was mixed between other ingredients.
I'm also puzzled when a comedy lasts for more than two hours, comedy is built like a joke, the longer it is, the less it connects the punchline with the setup and so Capra is torn between the emotional climax resurrecting "Wonderful Life" but there was no set-up for it, nothing that made Apple Annie such an endearing figure? And the crucial part about the three missing journalists got less screen-time than the gangster deal that added nothing. Ultimately, comedy was the effective antidote against the film's sappiness.
Ford and Davis went into a feud, causing Capra's problems and prompting him to end his career... and that's just sad. Even sadder that the film's trivia is more interesting than the film itself... which still makes it an interesting watch for hardcore Capra fans.
Ironically, I didn't know this was a remake and so it was to "Trading Places" that I kept thinking while watching this film. At the end of the day, I find it less enjoyable. Why? Simple reasons: Landis had a great cast, kept focused on its story and the film was short enough to sustain its comedic material, and now that I've watched "Lady for a Day", my criticism stands even more. But let me start with the good stuff.
This film has the kind of plots that can almost totally depend on character actors. On that level, Peter Falk steals the show as the henchman Joy Boy, his constant rambling about a plot that goes nowhere makes him an interesting cross between a Greek Chorus and a deadpan heckler. He's one of the best things about the film, and his performance was rightfully nominated for an Oscar. As the pool hustler Judge Henry Blake, veteran Thomas Mitchell is given a superb supporting role, sadly one year before his passing. And I also enjoyed Edward Everett Horton as the long-suffering butler Hudgins, overshadowing the bigger roles with a pocketful of small but subtly funny moments.
Unfortunately, with all due respect to Glenn Ford who was the producer of the film, who insisted to play the part, and who wasn't Capra's initial choice... I'll just say: can you imagine someone other than Gary Cooper playing 'John Doe' or Mr. Deeds? Or anyone but Stewart as Mr. Smith or George Bailey? I loved Ford in "Blackboard Jungle" because he had that ordinary downbeat look most teachers have and that allowed him to reveal a more nuanced side of his inner bravery... however the role of Dave the Dude called from a colorful incarnation of the gangster figure: Widmarck, Cagney or Sinatra (who turned down the role). As for Ford, it's not a matter of talent but let's say, physicality.
As his moll "Queenie", Hope Lange isn't unconvincing but she embodies so many different personalities that she feels like a written rather than a genuine character. First, she's a modest girl in a raincoat who seems to impersonate Anne Baxter in her first "All About Eve" scene; the next scene, she's a cabaret star, then she urges Dave to marry her, live in a ranch and have a pocketful of little ones and finally, she's a female pygmalion who finds the nerve to stand to her man. Still, within her spring-like arc, she does her best and her role wasn't exactly the hit-or-miss of the film, which can't be said about the film's only true star: Miss Bette Davis.
Davis is almost unrecognizable as the apple-selling street-peddler who sends money for her daughter in Spain. They made such an effort to make her unglamorous, to exaggerate her neglected and shady aspect that she becomes as implausible as a Disney character. And since the plot requires her to impersonate a wealthy woman, there's something uncomfortable at watching her begging audiences to feel sorry for her. What worked with May Robson because she was a much older woman and an unfamiliar face, couldn't work for Davis. Even Mr. Smith wasn't a boy scout and George Bailey had a few tantrums and while witnessing the drowning of Davis in an ocean of pathos, I was thinking "can somebody throw a buoy?"
And Louise, the daughter, Ann-Margret makes a fine debut for a role that only asks her to look cute and darling, and Arthur O'Connell doesn't bother with a Spanish accent, which is the right move. The most unforgivable aspect about the guests is all in these hugging and tweeting of happy emotions, culminating with the 'A Capella' rendition of the "Cherry without a bone" song, which made me think of John Belushi smashing Stephen Bishop's guitar to pieces in "Animal House". Romance is one thing but here Capra broke Billy Wilder's first commandment: "the audiences, thou shall not bore".
All these shortcomings wouldn't have damaged the film had it benefitted from a better cutting. It takes almost twenty minutes to know about Annie's charade and one hour to get us to the 'sting'. Meanwhile, we have to go through the whole backstory of Dave the Duke and some deal with a fugitive gangster (Sheldon Leonard) that doesn't even payoff at the end. The only things that makes these part endurable is Peter Falk, for his acting and his narration.
The film tries to be a witty gangster film and an inspiring fable about people's generosity with a finale à la "It's a Wonderful Life", but both legs don't walk at the same speed and so the rhythm is rather unsteady, with each part trying to catch up to the other. A shame because there are some great moments in this film, the whole tutorial of Dave's boys and dolls to look like upper-class people was even better than the casting of Hitlers in "The Producers", so there was a comedic zest that just was mixed between other ingredients.
I'm also puzzled when a comedy lasts for more than two hours, comedy is built like a joke, the longer it is, the less it connects the punchline with the setup and so Capra is torn between the emotional climax resurrecting "Wonderful Life" but there was no set-up for it, nothing that made Apple Annie such an endearing figure? And the crucial part about the three missing journalists got less screen-time than the gangster deal that added nothing. Ultimately, comedy was the effective antidote against the film's sappiness.
Ford and Davis went into a feud, causing Capra's problems and prompting him to end his career... and that's just sad. Even sadder that the film's trivia is more interesting than the film itself... which still makes it an interesting watch for hardcore Capra fans.