I agree completely. The movie begins well, briskily, and Robson is very appealing great in the early scenes that call upon her to be variously combative, helpful, and boozy. But once she's given the dowager treatment, Apple Annie becomes marginalized...and kind of boring. The movie than wanders into deep Runyonesque territory, which would have worked okay if had been directed at a screwball pace, but scenes take to make their point and then linger on for minutes more. (I'm thinking speicifically of the rehearsal scene mentioned above.), which could have been a classic. If the movie had stuck with Apple Annie and shown her struggling to maintain her disguise -- maybe she wants a drink, maybe some street toughness keeps threatenting to pop through -- it would have been a much better entertainment, for me at least. That she's an incidental party to the conspiracy is what's so wrong.
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dkrentzlin
16 years ago
"That she's an incidental party to the conspiracy is what's so wrong."
Obviously, you've never read Damon Runyon's original short story, "Madame La Gimp." In both the story and the film, Apple Annie (or La Gimp) is just a plot device to get Dave the Dude involved. The bulk of both versions revolve around the difficulties Dave encounters when he decides to play Fairy Godfather to Annie. Also, check out the billing: Warren William has top billing, not May Robson, because he plays the story's main character, not her.
BTW, this IS one of Capra's best. (It was his first film to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture.)
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Enrique-8
16 years ago
100% In agreement there, DK. Some folks just don't do their research! Great comments!
Enrique Sanchez
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marbleann
16 years ago
So true. She is just a plot device, to get all of Runyon's characters involved. I have seen this movie a few times and caught it again this morning. I decided to come here to see who played Carlos and read this . You don't even see Apple Annie that much in the movie. It is Ned Sparks and Warren Williams movie.
Funny about the actor who played Carlos. It mentioned he had a thick accent so he did not get too many jobs in the talkies, but the only reason I came here is because I said he didn't have a accent but is suppose to be from Spain
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josef-trapani
16 years ago
True about the "side" role for Annie in the plot but in my opinion Dame May Robson's acting in this movie is great and definitely deserved getting an oscar nomination (which, incidentally, that year was won by Katharine Hepburn, the first of the four she won)
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HarlowMGM
15 years ago
ACTUALLY...Apple Annie is very much the star of the movie for the first 40 minutes, indeed the Warren William character is secondary during this period, it's only about after 40 minutes that he truly dominates the film and takes over as the lead.... and that is the real problem IMO - Annie pretty much disappears for a good long patch and William and his gang just are no where near as interesting. Note it's Robson and not William who got Oscar-nominated. The fact the he's the main character in the original story is a moot point - this is a motion pictured based on the story not the story itself and if Capra could have sharpened this film considerably by giving us more May and less Warren.
Annie's change from to a grande dame is not the problem at all - she's quite moving in many of these scenes as well. It's just that Warren William - and most especially the extremely annoying one-note (admittedly deliberately one-note) Ned Sparks can't carry this film. Sparks is one of those character players that are so unique they stand out early in their careers but are so limited and locked into their sthick they burn out in appeal very quickly.
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marbleann
15 years ago
I liked Sparks a lot. I just saw him in Imitation of Life. He is a character actor and he is very good. Most character actors have particular role they always play. Sparks is always the smart azz sidekick. If the role called for a fussy sidekick Edward Everett Horton would of played the role, because that is the role he always plays. All actors are typecast for the most part.
Warren William was in Imitation of Life also. I have seen him in a lot of movies and I think he is a good enough actor to carry the lead. I still have to say the Apple Annie character is not really the main character and is just a plot device. Damon Runyon is known for his flashy colorful characters that were part of NYC's underworld filled with gangsters and gamblers. So the William Warren character was obviously the main focus. I am happy that Capra focused more on the gangster/gamblers then Apple Annie. Didn't he get a Oscar nod along with the person who wrote the screenplay?
The remake with Bette Davis IMO has more of Apple Annie then this version and she played it differently then Robson. Her Apple Annie was more street smart and you got the connection between her and the gangsters and gamblers. With Robson's Apple Annie she is played more sympathetically and you would never know she was part of the gangster/gambler crowd. But just a little old lady who they happen to know because she sells apples. lol
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lmchildress
14 years ago
<The remake with Bette Davis IMO has more of Apple Annie then this version and she played it differently then Robson. Her Apple Annie was more street smart and you got the connection between her and the gangsters and gamblers. With Robson's Apple Annie she is played more sympathetically and you would never know she was part of the gangster/gambler crowd. But just a little old lady who they happen to know because she sells apples. lol >
But that IS all Annie is, an apple seller on the street, who happens to be patronized by a gangster for good luck. The remake screwed with this and made her an operator and even the leader of the beggars, which is not how LFAD played her. Bette Davis played a much harder character than May Robson. Since it's Capra's own remake, he must have wanted to try making Annie more of an agent in her own destiny than in the original.
Oh, and Robson should have gotten the Oscar. Good as Hepburn was in Morning Glory, she got the win because she was young and beautiful, instead of an old lady. Robson was robbed.
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benhere
13 years ago
Sorry to go slightly off-topic, but I don't buy the "too old to win" argument. Just two years earlier, Marie Dressler won Best Actress for "Min and Bill". Up against Dietrich, Dunne, Harding and Shearer.
If I had choice of weapons with you, sir, I'd choose grammar.
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