LADY FOR A DAY *

"Lady for a Day" was one of the films that cemented Frank Capra's reputation for what became known as 'Capra-Corn'. It's a shamelessly sentimental film from a Damon Runyon story and Capra liked it enough to remake it as "Pocketful of Miracles". (This is no masterpiece but it's better than the remake). May Robson just about avoids cutting the ham too thickly as the old apple-seller who is passed off as a high-society lady by a New York gangster in order to fool her daughter and her aristocratic boyfriend. Probably in the hands of a lesser director this would be unbearable but Capra keeps it bobbing along nicely and there are some great character players on hand, (Guy Kibbee, Ned Sparks, Walter Connolly). Unfortunately the gangster is played by Warren William, perhaps the least charismatic 'star' of the thirties. It's entertaining enough but it's also quite minor.