Little Miss Marker (1934)

Director:

Alexander Hall

Writers:

Damon Runyon (story)
William R. Lipman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 June 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Drama

Plot Keywords:

Cabaret | Jewelry | Suicide | Bookie | Singer

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Adolphe Menjou	...	Sorrowful Jones
Dorothy Dell	...	Bangles Carson
Charles Bickford	...	Big Steve Halloway
Shirley Temple	...	Marthy 'Marky' Jane
Lynne Overman	...	Regret
Warren Hymer	...	Sore Toe
Sam Hardy	...	Benny the Gouge
John Kelly	...	Canvas Back
Frank McGlynn Sr.	...	Doc Chesley
John Sheehan	...	Sun Rise, a Bookie
Frank Conroy	...	Doctor Ingalls

Also Known As:

The Girl in Pawn (UK)

Runtime:

80 min | USA:79 min (re-release)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #1356-R, 31 August 1935 for re-release) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Shirley Temple was nervous about filming the blood transfusion scene because she feared that she would really be given a shot. In fact the needle was merely taped against her arm.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Marky and Bangles sing "Laugh, You Son of a Gun," Bangles's mouth doesn't move when she says "You son of a gun."

Quotes:

Marky's Father: Look, this is my little girl. I'll leave her here while I go for the money.
Sorrowful 'Sir Sorry' Jones: I ain't taking no dolls for security.
Marthy Jane, Little Miss Marker: Look, Daddy, he's running away. Is he afraid?
Sorrowful 'Sir Sorry' Jones: Take her down off there. You get down off there.
Marthy Jane, Little Miss Marker: You're afraid of my daddy. Or you're afraid of me. You're afraid of something.
Sorrowful 'Sir Sorry' Jones: All right, take his marker. A little doll like this is worth twenty bucks any way you look at it.
Regret: Yeah, she ought to melt down for that much.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Victors (1963)

Soundtrack:

Laugh You Son of a Gun

Nothing 'Sorrowful" About Shirley

Despite only two songs, it's another entertaining Shirley Temple film. The story is familiar; it's been done several other times, once under the name "Sorrowful Jones," with Bob Hope. This movie is a bit different from that one, so you could own both and have two different slants on the famous Damon Runyon story.

This version has a lot more comedy from the supporting players, since Temple is cute but she' isn't going to be the main source of humor as Hope was in his films. In here, all the bookies and gangsters provide the humor. The leading male, played by Adolph Menjou, is a sourpuss but still likable. The leading adult female, Dorothy Dell, was a bit tough-looking, I thought, for this role.

Temple doesn't play as sweet a role as she did in most of her films, but she still has her tender moments. Nobody can produce a sentimental scene as quickly as Shirley could. In all, a nice film and enjoyable from start to finish.

Note: This was the best colorized version I have seen of Temple's films. Perhaps that was because MGM did this, not Fox, which did the others. It advertises "stereo" but I didn't hear any.