Little Miss Marker [The Girl in Pawn] **** (1934, Shirley Temple, Adolphe Menjou, Dorothy Dell, Charles Bickford) – Classic Movie Review 9195

Director Alexander Hall’s 1934 Little Miss Marker [The Girl in Pawn] is a delightful film of Damon Runyon’s fun short story about the grizzly gambler bookmaker Sorrowful Jones (Adolphe Menjou) having to reluctantly adopt cute kid Little Marthy Jane (Shirley Temple), aka Little Miss Marker, with his group of fellow bookies.

She is left with the bookie by her dad as an unclaimed IOU in a bet on a horserace, but the bookies eventually take to her, and then she rescues Sorrowful Jones from a bunch of rotten crooks.

Little Miss Marker can’t fail to please vintage family comedy drama fans, with its host of witty lines and sweet performances.

Also in the cast are Dorothy Dell, Charles Bickford, Lynne Overman, Frank McGlynn Sr, Willie Best, Jack Sheehan, Garry Owen, Willie Best, Huey White [Puggy White], Tammany Young, Edward Earle, John Kelly, Warren Hymer and Sam Hardy.

It is remade as Sorrowful Jones with Bob Hope in 1949, using this screenplay as a basis, as Forty Pounds of Trouble in 1962 and as Little Miss Marker in 1980.

Little Miss Marker [The Girl in Pawn] is directed by Alexander Hall, runs 80 minutes, is made and released by Paramount Pictures, is written by William R Lipman, Sam Hellman and Gladys Lehman, based on Damon Runyon’s short story, is shot in black and white by Alfred Gilks, is produced by B P Schulberg, is scored by Ralph Rainger, with lyrics by Leo Robin and music by Ralph Rainger. Their songs are Laugh You Son of a Gun, I’m a Black Sheep Who’s Blue and Low Down Lullaby.

It is shot at Paramount Studios, 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood.

The original star was Adolphe Menjou, but soon Shirley Temple was a child star sensation and the re-release print lists Shirley Temple above the title, followed by Adolphe Menjou, Charles Bickford and Dorothy Dell.

Here’s a quiz question. Who wrote the Bridal Chorus (Here Comes the Bride)? It is Richard Wagner from Lohengrin (1850).

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 9195

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