We’ve all seen this story before. Down on their luck person lies to a relative about being a person they are not through correspondence, or over the phone, only to have to find a way to make the lie appear to be real when the relative comes to visit suddenly. It’s a plot contrivance as old as the movies themselves popping up in feature films and dozens of television programs over the years. Remember on Gunsmoke when Chester Goode lied to his uncle about being the Marshall of Dodge City and had to convince the whole town to pretend that he actually was when his uncle came to visit? Chester had a lot of good friends in town that were willing to pretend to help him save face. But what would happen if the one telling the lies didn’t have that support group. What if they were practically homeless, selling apples to the wealthy just to get by? How does such a person convincingly pose as a wealthy socialite who rubs elbows with all the important people in town?
Lady for a Day is about Apple Annie (May Robson), an aged fruit peddler in New York City. Her daughter, Louise (Jean Parker), has been raised her whole life in a Spanish convent and knows nothing about her mother’s true life. she has been led to believe, through a series of clever machinations, that her mother is a wealthy society matron living in the luxurious Hotel Mayberry. This deception has worked for years until one day a letter arrives informing Annie that Louise is traveling to New York with her fiancé Carlos (Barry Norton) and his father, Count Romero (Walter Connolly). Not only does this threaten to expose Annie for whom she truly is, the revelation will certainly put an end to the engagement and destroy her daughter’s future happiness.
Among Annie’s patrons is local gangster Dave the Duke (Warren William), who is convinced her apples bring him good luck at the gambling tables. Annie’s street friends push for him to rent her an apartment at the Mayberry and doll her up for the reunion so that she can maintain the facade long enough to appease the visitors. This proves to be more than he bargained for as he ends up hiring a pool hustler, Henry D. Blake (Guy Kibbee), to play Annie’s second husband, then dressing up all sorts of gangsters and nightclub dancers,with the help of his girlfriend and nightclub owner, Missouri Martin (Glenda Farrell), to play the city’s top citizens for an engagement party. When some reporters start snooping around he has them kidnapped until the festivities are over only to find that the police are closing in and threaten to spoil the entire affair.
This is a fairly rote story that only manages to elevate itself above that shortcoming by being entirely a delight to watch. Annie’s panic when getting the news her daughter is coming is understandable and May Robson plays it like she’s on stage projecting to the back row, flaying her arms around like she’s in a silent film. She was primarily a stage performer best remembered for her transition into film acting late in life. This stage experience is projected in how she handles herself on screen. The supporting cast play off May’s energetic acting, especially Dave the Duke and his buddies who all seem to be having a blast portraying their characters broadly, some with comedic mannerisms and accents. It is suggested that maybe Annie was once actually a society matron but this is never fully explored. It’s also outright stated that Annie was never married and therefore Louise is an illegitimate daughter. This is something that would never have been in the film had it been made just a few years later and subject to the Hayes Code.
What this film lacks is anything to explain the motivations of the characters. Dave the Duke doesn’t want to lose his good luck charm but his actions go well above and beyond justifying that. Does he win big every time he has one of her apples? A dropped line suggesting that would be incredulous but at least it would be an explanation. A quiet conversation where he drops a line about how she reminds him of his own mother who sacrificed everything for him would have been even better. The pool shark likewise goes above and beyond for Annie. He comforts Annie when all seems lost and, in one of the films best scenes, hustles the count at pool to avoid Annie having to put up a large sum of money for her daughter’s dowry. We do get a scene, however, where he is being given a check for his services so there’s some motivation spelled out for us. It would be too far fetched to assume this whole charade is entirely out of the kindness of his heart. The voice of reason in all of this is Happy McGuire (Ned Sparks), Dave the Duke’s right hand man, who calls out Dave repeatedly for jeopardizing everything they’ve built up over the years just to appease the old apple peddler.
There is nothing particularly original about Lady for a Day but don’t expect it to go exactly as this type of story usually goes. The ending does not play out like you would expect. Sure, complications arise and the hustle is nearly exposed but there is no moment where Annie has to tearfully admit to her daughter the truth and find out that the daughter loves her anyway. These type of stories always seem to have that humbling moment in the third act followed by some soul searching and forgiveness. Not here. Louise leaves the film none the wiser. It’s an interesting choice that differentiates it from the many other films that used a similar premise.
It has been said that there are no new plots out there. It’s how you use an old story and make it somewhat unique that determines whether it is worth watching. In this case, while it is treading on very familiar ground, it does it in such a way that it feels refreshing and not overly played out. Director Frank Capra would go on to make many great films after this, some that would go on to be timeless classics. This is not that but it is a good way to spend ninety minutes enjoying the low key humor and not worry too much about the overly familiar territory it’s traversing.
Academy Award Nominations:
Outstanding Production: Frank Capra
Best Director: Frank Capra
Best Actress: May Robson
Best Adaptation: Robert Riskin
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Release Date: September 13, 1933
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Not Rated
Starring: May Robson, Warren William, Guy Kibbee, and Glenda Farrell
Directed By: Frank Capra
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