Little Miss Marker - 1934
Little Miss Marker - Released June 1, 1934. Directed by Alexander Hall
Shirley Temple is left with a bookie (Adolphe Menjou) as 'marker' for a bet, and when the father never returns, Menjou has to make decisions about what to do as a sudden substitute father and protector. Dorothy Dell is a professional songstress (named "Bangles Carson") and a mob-moll who is drawn to the abandoned child and subsequently is around Menjou a lot, to the consternation of her dangerous mobster boyfriend (Charles Bickford ).
This film, based on the Damon Runyon story, has a tender sentimental streak and mixes together tough guys, tough girls, gambling, race-fixing and other underworld activities with the broad smiles of Shirley Temple. Instead of the usual smooth scoundrels that Menjou played in many films, here he is a world-weary, toughened bookie who has his crusty exterior penetrated by a helpless little girl, and though there's a great deal of humor in the script, it wouldn't mean a lot unless we had a threat of danger and the response of loyalty from this suddenly coalesced surrogate-family centered around Shirley.
Remade many times, and "borrowed" from by many other films. If Little Miss Marker reminds you of Capra's 1933 Lady for a Day, it's because both original stories were written by Runyon.
AMAZON DVD: Shirley Temple - Little Miss Marker/Now and Forever/The Runt Page
Original Page July 2017 | Updated Nov 2017
AMAZON: Boris Karloff: A Gentleman's Life - 356 Page Biography
You will see Amazon links on this web site because I am an Amazon affiliate. I earn from qualifying purchases.
Noir Archive Volume 1: 1944-1954 (9 Movie Collection) [Blu-ray]
What's Recent
- The Cat and the Canary – 1939
- Manfish – 1956
- Cruella – 2021
- I Do (Prét-moi ta main) – 2006
- Touch of Evil 1958
- The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown – 1957
- Man-Made Monster - 1941
- The Indestructible Man - 1956
- Cyclotrode X – 1966
- Lady in a Jam 1942
- Showgirl in Hollywood 1930
- Anne of the Indies – 1951
- Don Juan Quilligan – 1945
- My Gal Sal - 1942
- Harvey – 1950
- L'emmerdeur (aka A Pain in the Ass) – 1973
- Robot Monster – 1953