drednm Born in Australia in 1858, May Robson certainly never envisioned as career in Hollywood films. She had a long career as a stage actress and appeared in about a dozen silent films, including CHICAGO with Phyllis Haver, and RUBBER TIRES with Bessie Love. Both film survive. She made her talkie debut in MOTHER'S MILLIONS in 1931 and appeared in another 50 films until her death in 1942.Oscar nominated for playing Apple Annie, she lost the award to Katharine Hepburn for MORNING GLORY. Robson should have won, but her role was really a supporting role in this film, based on a short story by Damon Runyon.As the irascible old apple peddler, Robson had the role of her career. Seems she has a daughter (Jean Parker) in Europe. The old lady gets mail at a swanky hotel thru a friend who works there. But when the letter comes that the daughter is coming home with a husband to be (and his father, a Spanish count), Annie is in trouble.Dave the Dude (Warren William) a gambler, won't make a bet without getting an apple from Annie as a good luck token. When she goes missing, the Dude sends out a search party, locates Annie, and learns of her plight. They hit upon a plan to set her up as a lady with the Judge (Guy Kibbee) as her distinguished husband. Annie gets a makeover and everything is set for the daughter's return.But the stupid cops get wind of what's happening and think there's a big swindle going on. Will the cops squash the charade? Will Annie be exposed as a fraud?Robson and William are terrific. There's also Glenda Farrell as the brassy Missouri Martin (based on Texas Guinan) who joins in to help the charade. Co-stars include Ned Sparks as Happy, Nat Pendleton, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Tiny Jones, Hobart Bosworth, Samuel S. Hinds, Walter Connolly, Halliwell Hobbes, and Barry Norton. A fairy tale to be sure, but one with a touch of reality. Director Frank Capra used several real-life panhandlers in the cast. It's also notable that Annie admits she was never married.

utgard14 Apple Annie (May Robson) is an apple seller in New York City whose daughter (Jean Parker) has been raised in Spain and knows nothing of her mother's situation. The two communicate through letters where Annie has led her daughter to believe she is a wealthy society matron. Now her daughter is getting married to a member of Spanish aristocracy and is bringing her fiancée and his father to New York to meet Annie. Dave the Dude (Warren William), a gambling gangster who thinks Annie brings him good luck, decides to help Annie pretend to be the lady she claimed in her letters.One of my favorite Capra films. Criminally under-appreciated. Funny, touching, sentimental. Amazing performance from May Robson. She was robbed at the Oscars. Warren William is a perfect Dave the Dude. Sublime supporting cast includes Guy Kibbee, Glenda Farrell, Nat Pendleton, Walter Connolly, Halliwell Hobbes, Samuel S. Hinds, and Ned Sparks with his trademark deadpan delivery. Truly classic film with wonderful Damon Runyon characters.

trobinson32 An old apple woman has a daughter coming back from overseas to visit and she is bringing her fiancé with her so his family can assess the merits of hers before they will approve of the marriage. Of course, the daughter has been led to believe that her mother is a high society lady. Not an original story line (although it might have been in the 1930's when it came out), but like most old movies, the predictable outcome is still thoroughly enjoyable because of first rate acting and direction. A terrific cast from top to bottom and perfect way to spend a couple hours. It is a truly feel-good movie. Lots of smart, funny lines spice up the touching story of people going out of their way to help others less fortunate.

Shadow10262000 Things aren't always what they seem. A person may appear to be rich, happy, and enjoying life, when in fact they are poorer than dirt, have not smiled in days, and are just miserable everyday. Apple Annie was a woman who didn't live in the best of circumstances but she made the best of what she had. She sold apples to earn money to send to her daughter living in Spain. Such a kind old woman who is trying her best to survive, and she makes that best of her poor little life. She has made many friends in her life some poorer than her and other who are well enough off to not even worry about money. An acquaintance that she has, Dave the Dude, is a well off man, although it is not of total honest ways, as he is the leader of a gang, but he is always kind to Apple Annie and believes that she is good luck for him. He believes that an apple a day does more than keep the doctor away, it keeps the cops away as well as gives him luck in his dealings. Not quite the fairy tale that one would expect but maybe it is. Is it possible that bad guys have good qualities? Can a grown man believe in a fairy tale? Can a lie really turn out to be good or must it be covered up by a string of more lies.In Lady for a Day we see much of a fairy tale made of lies come to life through the kindness of a mobster. Annie is embarrassed about her standard of living, and sets up the allusion to her daughter that Annie is a lady of the upper class. She writes letters on the stationery of a classy hotel. She has set up a seemingly harmless lie that she is doing better in life than she really is. This is fine until Louise sends a letter saying she is coming home and bringing a suitor and his father Count Romero. Now Annie finds herself in a bind. She must cover up this lie so that her daughter can keep her lover. Annie fears that if she does not live up to the life style, which her daughter thinks she has, everything will fall apart.Her penniless friends talk Dave the Dude into setting Annie up in a room at the classy hotel so that she can go on her lie. Dave who is a bad guy in the sight of the law has a touch of good in him. He believes that he can help what he sees as a fairy tale to come to pass. A parallel to Cinderella Dave becomes the fairy godmother that helps dear Annie to live her dream. But this is not a simple answer. Now that Annie has her classy suite in the hotel, there is more of the story that she has to fulfill. The story follows a perfect line of events. We see the objective of Annie and the obstacles that she must over come. The action just starts rising from the moment she gets the letter from the hotel manager. She has to find her second husband, and even throw a party for the Count before they leave. The point in the movie where I was on the edge of my seat was when we were waiting for Dave and his gangster friends to arrive at this classy party. Leave it to the police to draw out what seems to be a simple gathering to put a stop to the gangster's sinister plans. What a way to bring the movie to a climax. The resolution finally comes after a little added suspense of Dave being arrested, almost. The party goes on with a few unexpected guests; the police chief and even the governor play in to this fairy tale to help it have a happy ending. And the story ends on what could be a happy note, an end to a string of lies, but then again it could be just the beginning of a happily ever after marriage.