weezeralfalfa In this entertaining farce, Hope plays "The Lemon Drop Kid": a swindler and horse race tract tout, who nearly always has a box of lemon drops in his pocket. Unfortunately, he convinced the wrong lady to change her betting, not realizing she is the moll of notorious gangster Moose Moran, who demands payment of $10,000., which is what he would have won if she had bet on the horse he so instructed. The remainder of the film chronicles the details of his sidewalk Santa scam to collect the $10,000. within a couple weeks, just prior to Christmas.The Kid has a good-looking blond for a moll: Marylyn Maxwell, as Brainey Baxton. No clue how she earned her nickname: perhaps as sarcasm? As a chorus line dancer for a gangster, and the moll of a perpetually broke small time hood, she doesn't appear to be especially brainy. When she tells her boss, Oxford Charlie, of the financial success of the Kid's Santa scam, he decides to take over the scam, replacing the kid's accomplices with his own men. A group of near destitute "old dolls" are mostly pawns in this scam, as the money is supposed to go toward their upkeep, rather than into the pockets of the scammers. Despite the kid's spending some time in jail, as expected, in the end, things work out well for the kid, his accomplices, and the old dolls. Moran and Charlie are arrested for separate violations. An old doll is reunited with her safe-cracking husband, who just got out of jail and demonstrates his needed skill. The kid is able to pay off his "debt" to Moran and to provide ample funds for the near future of the old dolls. Brainey is finally agreeable to marriage with the Kid, on the supposition that he has reformed his larcenous ways. However, we seriously question such a reformation, from his comments on a set of silverware.There many large gaps in the screenplay, and many contrived coincidences, typical of Hope comedies, but with only a moderate amount of slapstick. Music isn't a big part of the film. However, the Christmas classic "Silver Bells" was composed for this film, and sung by Marylyn and Hope, as well as a chorus. However, Bing Crosby scooped them with the release of a record before the Christmas season, ahead of the release of the film, well after Christmas.

mark.waltz The silver bells are clinking down on Fifth Avenue here in New York City as I write this review, and what movie is more appropriate to write about than the one that famous Christmas song came from? I find this to be Bob Hope's best non-Road movie; funny, touching, and filled with the joy of the season. This is not a remake of the 1934 Lee Tracy movie, although it does surround a character addicted to lemon drops who happens to hang out at a race track. That was a sentimental tale about a ne'er-do-well father who does all he can to get his kid back. This movie is a lot lighter and instead of a father missing his child, it is about a con man who learns something about giving when he decides to help out a group of old ladies. Of course, he has his own selfish motives, but when gangsters threaten to take over what he has come to see as the right thing to do, Hope takes action and reforms himself, winning the heroine (the lovely Marilyn Maxwell) in the process.The leading old lady is a street newspaper seller played by the Academy Award Winning Jane Darwell who is absolutely lovely here and will steal your heart, much like she did as the birdseed seller in London years later in "Mary Poppins". William Frawley is Hope's crusty sidekick, whose gravely voiced singing introduces a more cynical "Silver Bells" ("Chunk it in, Chunk it in, or Santy will give you a mickey"). Fifth Avenue and the surrounding snowy streets become a Christmas wonderland, a vision that has made New York one of the most romantic Christmas getaways for years. Maxwell and Hope also sing the delightful "It Only Costs a Dime to Dream" to the old ladies in the redecorated gambling home (where the ladies sleep on moving crap tables). Hope even ends up in drag, looking like Ray Bolger in "Where's Charley?", and has a delightful exchange with another old lady (the wonderful Ida Moore) about his hour glass figure. Fred Clark, that delightful sourpuss, is great as the gangster and Lloyd Nolan is also amusing as another racketeer who tries to get his hands on all the old dolls so he can take over Hope's racket.Future "Ed Wood" veteran Tor Johnson ("Night of the Ghouls", "Plan Nine From Outer Space") is instantly recognizable as the Swedish wrestler whom Hope involves in his scheme while other typical Damon Runyeon style characters are played by such familiar faces as Harry Bellaver and Jay C. Flippen. The lovely Andrea King is all Southern charm as Clark's mistress whom Hope mistakenly passes on a fake tip to at the race track to his imminent regret. Veteran diminutive character actor Francis Pierlot has an amusing cameo as Darwell's recently prison released husband who has an act for cracking safes. This is a must for the holiday season that will charm everybody and make you feel good about the true spirit of the holidays.

artzau Hope's films always spun on his zany sense of humor. In this, a redo of a Damon Runyon story (see Little Miss Marker), Hope is at his best. I noted with interest the comments of one reviewer who bristling with politically correct indignation, accuses Hope of everything from Sexism to nearly murder. True, they were not as tuned into the careful not to offend anyone scene we are now but most of this stuff is pretty mild. Besides, being a senior citizen myself, I was hardly offended. The list of wonderful studio character actors in this film is delightful. Fred Clarke who was at his best as a villain or sleeze ball gives a delightful show as a gangster. And, then there's Marilyn Maxwell: her singing of "Silver Bells," gave us a new Christmas carol that is sung every holiday season. I'm sorry that some of our other reviewers were piqued by this film. I think it has held up well and I still delight at Hope's antics. I guess that dates me. I was in junior high when I saw this film. I loved it then and love it now.

teepee-9 Though this movie is a favorite of my Mother's, it inevitably is one of mine. Bob Hope is "ON" in this Season's Greeting which, by the way, introduced the world to the song "Silver Bells". A MUST-HAVE in your home library.