- Overview
A New York gangster and his girlfriend attempt to turn street beggar Apple Annie into a society lady when the peddler learns her daughter is marrying royalty.
- Release Date
18 December 1961
- DirectingFrank Capra
- Budget
$2,900,000.00
- Revenue
$5,000,000.00
- Stars
Videos
User Reviews
See moreCinemaSerf
09 January 2023
The start of this film reminded me of the lady who sold bird seed in "Mary Poppins" - the down-at-heel but kind hearted "Annie" (Bette Davis) who scrapes a living together thanks largely to the generosity of local gangster "Dude" (Glenn Ford). What nobody else knows, however, is that she secretly has a daughter living in Spain who thinks her mother is wealthy, living in a suite at a fancy hotel. When "Louise" (Ann-Margret) writes to say that she will soon visit with her fiancée - A Spanish aristocrat; this throws quite a spanner in the works for "Annie". Luckily, "Dude" is determined to rope in his contacts to try to help her impersonate the grand role she has represented herself as having - despite trying to get a the biggest deal of his own over the line. This causes no end of chagrin for the undoubted star of the picture - Peter Falk. He is the right hand man who gradually watches the planning and organising of this charade subsume everything else, and it's slowly driving him nuts. To be honest, the central portion of this comedy also drove me a bit nuts too. It borders too closely on the farcical, with Ford trying far too hard and seeing only fleeting appearances from the increasingly sidelined Davis. It steadies itself better for the last twenty minutes or so, but is really just too long with the joke too thinly spread and the slapstick humour all a bit too in-your-face for me. The writing is generally good, though, with some fine quips - especially from Falk, and the film looks great whilst taking a gentle swing at the political class as they all flock to the side of this minor Count from Spain. I did quite enjoy it, but sadly it isn't one of Frank Capra's more focussed efforts, nor is it one of his more poignant or amusing stories.
More Like This
Scarface
In 1920s Chicago, Italian immigrant and notorious thug, Antonio 'Tony' Camonte, aka Scarface, shoots his way to the top of the mobs while trying to...
See more
The Docks of New York
A blue-collar worker on New York's depressed waterfront finds his life changed after he saves a woman attempting suicide.
See more
Do the Right Thing
Salvatore "Sal" Fragione is the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. A neighborhood local, Buggin' Out, becomes upset when he sees that the...
See more
Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Young sweethearts Billy and Kate move to the Big Apple, land jobs in a high-tech office park and soon reunite with the friendly and lovable Gizmo...
See more
Sweet Smell of Success
New York City newspaper writer J.J. Hunsecker holds considerable sway over public opinion with his Broadway column, but one thing that he can't...
See more
The Philadelphia Story
When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.
See more
Invalid
Grumpy handyman Laco loses everything to a group of mobsters. Now wheelchair-bound and with his life spiraling, it's his new friend Gabo, a local...
See more
Prizzi's Honor
Charley Partanna is a hitman who works for the Prizzis, one of the richest crime families in the US. When he sees Irene Walker, it's love at first...
See more
Payback
With friends like these, who needs enemies? That's the question bad guy Porter is left asking after his wife and partner steal his heist money and...
See more
Out of Time
Matt Lee Whitlock, respected chief of police in small Banyan Key, Florida, must solve a vicious double homicide before he himself falls under...
See more
Cop Land
Freddy Heflin is the sheriff of a place everyone calls “Cop Land” — a small and seemingly peaceful town populated by the big city police officers...
See more
Affairs of Cappy Ricks
Cappy Ricks, a crusty old sea captain, returns home from a long voyage to discover that his family and his business are in chaos--his daughter is...
See more
Texas Heart
A California lawyer, hiding out in a small Texas town while on the run from the mob, risks exposure when he decides to defend a local man he...
See more
The Phantom Hour
Four strangers meet in a mysterious home. There for different reasons, they slowly begin to realize something is terribly wrong with their host…...
See more
Hoodlums
Loretta is a singer and escort in a mob-owned NYC nightclub and illegal casino. The favorite working girl of manager George, Loretta is unhappy...
See more
Ski Lift to Death
A sports promoter tries to matchmake for a pair of ski champions and, as a result, they end up trapped in a derailed ski-lift car along with a...
See more
We Own the Night
A New York nightclub manager tries to save his brother and father from Russian mafia hitmen.
See more
Mr. Deeds
When Longfellow Deeds, a small-town pizzeria owner and poet, inherits $40 billion from his deceased uncle, he quickly begins rolling in a different...
See more
Moonstruck
37-year-old Italian-American widow Loretta Castorini believes she is unlucky in love, and so accepts a marriage proposal from her boyfriend Johnny,...
See more