Product Details

• Actors: Warren William, May Robson, Guy Kibbee, Glenda Farrell, Ned Sparks
• Directors: Frank Capra
• Writers: Damon Runyon, Robert Riskin
• Producers: Harry Cohn
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Language: English, Spanish
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• VHS Release Date: October 23, 2001
• Run Time: 96 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005OCQH
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #212,522 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Based on a story by Damon Runyon, this Frank Capra film was nominated for several Oscars® after it was released in 1933 (it was remade by Capra as Pocketful of Miracles in 1961). A tenderhearted Depression-era comedy, it tells the story of Apple Annie (May Robson), a panhandling street vendor who has kept her real identity hidden from a daughter being reared in Europe. When the grown-up daughter comes to New York for a visit, Annie turns to gambler Dave the Dude (Warren William) for help. He transforms her--temporarily--into a high-society grande dame, but not without complications. The film is nearly stolen by Guy Kibbee, as a judge posing as Annie's husband, but Warren William, a John Barrymore lookalike, and dour Ned Sparks get laughs too. --Marshall Fine

Product Description

A Cinderella fairy tale set in the early 1930s, Lady for a Day is a delightfully charming mix of drama and comedy that earned four Academy Award nominations and propelled Frank Capra to the top ranks of popular filmmakers. Based on a Damon Runyon short story, Lady for a Day tells the tale of Apple Annie, a cantankerous New York City fruit peddler who has been pretending to be a high-society matron in letters to her daughter. When her daughter comes to visit with her aristocratic fiance, Apple Annie enlists her seedy gangster friends, who hilariously transform her into the grandest of dames!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars stay away, November 6, 2001

By 

A. Grossman (Florence, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lady for a Day (DVD)

This wonderful film is a total disaster in its DVD format. Frank Capra Junior calls it a restored print which is a joke. The film is often dark, details are hard to see and there are sprocket holes, white spots and all kinds of detractions in the film. How could Image and Capra release this mess on DVD! This outstanding film deserves much better than is offered.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The rating is for the DVD, December 16, 2003

By 

Yarby "yarby" (Medina, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lady for a Day (DVD)

I should have listened to the other person who mentioned scratches on the movie. However, while he found them only slightly distracting...I found them to be so disruptive that I lost track of the movie. This print was transferred from a copy that had severe sprocket tooth scratches. These scratches lasted for almost 20 minutes.

While my rating of the movie itself would be 3-4 stars, I cannot recommend...even to fans of the movie...to buy this copy. I wouldn't even be happy if I had bought it for under 10 bucks....but at this steep price, I advise against it.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Capra DVD, November 8, 2001

By 

Mr Peter G George (Ellon, Aberdeenshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lady for a Day (DVD)

Lady for a Day is a fine Capra film. The story concerns a street vendor Apple Annie (May Robson) who has deceived her daughter that she is a High Society lady. The daughter, who has been living in Spain, decides to visit and what's more brings along her prospective fiancé plus his father, a Spanish count. So as not to scupper her daughter's marriage, Annie must enlist the help of her underworld friends to continue the deception. The film is at times very funny with a tone which looks ahead to the Screwball comedies of the later thirties. It is also often rather moving, with May Robson's terrific performance eliciting a great deal of sympathy. The rest of the cast is equally fine. Warren William as Dave the Dude is that most unusual of characters a gangster with a heart of gold. Guy Kibbee, familiar from so many thirties films, is always fun to watch. This time he plays a pool shark who agrees to pretend he is Apple Annie husband. Jean Parker, as Apple Annie's daughter Louise, will be familiar to anyone who has seen the 1933 version of Little Women in which she plays Beth. Her role in Lady for a Day could hardly match that role, but she still performs well with her memorably unusual voice. She also looks absolutely stunning. It's even possible to glimpse a young Ward Bond, as a policeman on a horse, obtaining an apple from Annie.

The print used for the Image DVD is not perfect. The main problem is that towards the end of the film, the right hand edge of the picture has been damaged so that white marks appear on the print. This only affects a small portion of the picture, but it is a little bit distracting. For the most part however, the print is clear and sharp. Even when there is some damage, the rest of the picture is fine. I have seen any number of thirties and forties films which have survived in worse condition than Lady for a Day. Moreover the sound quality on this DVD is above average for a film from this period. The wonderful dialogue is easily audible and the soundtrack has very little background noise. As an extra the DVD includes a commentary by Frank Capra Junior. This is a DVD which Capra fans should enjoy.