The Lemon Drop Kid (1934 film)

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The Lemon Drop Kid (1934 film) - Wikipedia

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The Lemon Drop Kid
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Marshall Neilan
Screenplay by	Howard J. Green J.P. McEvoy Damon Runyon
Based on	The Lemon Drop Kid by Damon Runyon
Produced by	William LeBaron
Starring	Lee Tracy Helen Mack William Frawley Minna Gombell Baby LeRoy Kitty Kelly Henry B. Walthall
Cinematography	Henry Sharp
Production company	Paramount Pictures
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	September 28, 1934 (1934-09-28)
Running time	71 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Lemon Drop Kid is a 1934 American comedy drama film directed by Marshall Neilan and written by Howard J. Green, J.P. McEvoy and Damon Runyon. The film stars Lee Tracy, Helen Mack, William Frawley, Minna Gombell, Baby LeRoy, Kitty Kelly and Henry B. Walthall. It was released on September 28, 1934, by Paramount Pictures.^[1]^[2]

Plot

Con artist and racetrack tout Wally Brooks hands a lemon drop to a man in a wheelchair, promising that it will cure whatever ails him, and then persuades the man, a millionaire named Griggsby, to bet $100 on a horse. Wally knows that the horse cannot win and intends to pocket the stake. However, when the horse does win, Wally and his partner Dunhill, known as "The Professor", flee before Griggsby can find them and collect his winnings.

Hiding at an obscure location, Wally meets town drunk Jonas Deering and his beautiful daughter Alice. A love affair blossoms and Wally marries Alice. When she is about to give birth and has serious medical problems, Wally needs money, so he robs Mr. Potter, her boss. Alice dies in childbirth.

A despondent Wally shuns his own son, Wally Jr., and is not sure where to turn next. The Professor marries longtime girlfriend Maizie and offers to raise Wally Jr. Griggsby appears, claiming that the lemon drop did help his arthritis. He volunteers to become Wally Jr.'s legal guardian and gives Wally some money, with the amount that he would have won on the horse deducted.

Cast

Lee Tracy as Wally Brooks
Helen Mack as Alice Deering
William Frawley as William Dunhill
Minna Gombell as Maizie
Baby LeRoy as Wally Jr.
Kitty Kelly as Cora Jennings
Henry B. Walthall as Jonas Deering
Robert McWade as Mr. Griggsby
Clarence Wilson as Martin Potter
Charles C. Wilson as Warden
Eddie Peabody as Banjo Player
Edward LeSaint as Doctor
Dell Henderson as Judge Forrest

Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Frank S. Nugent called The Lemon Drop Kid "no Man o' War" and wrote: "It breaks its stride trying to go the full feature distance and its pedigree is open to suspicion. But the spectator who follows its course down the projection room is reasonably sure of enjoying a few good chuckles and finding himself watching the goat with interest most of the way. ... As is true of all Runyon yarns, the plot is not as important as its characters and the picture adds a few new portraits to the Runyon film album."^[3]

References

^ "Mr. Runyon at the Races". The New York Times. October 27, 1934. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
^ "The Lemon Drop Kid (1934)". AFI.com. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
^ Nugent, Frank S. (October 27, 1934). "The Screen: Mr. Runyon at the Races". The New York Times. p. 20.

External links

The Lemon Drop Kid at IMDb

Films directed by Marshall Neilan

The Deadly Battle at Hicksville (1914)
The Bottle Imp (1917)
The Silent Partner (1917)
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917)
A Little Princess (1917)
Stella Maris (1918)
Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley (1918)
M'Liss (1918)
Hit-The-Trail Holliday (1918)
Heart of the Wilds (1918)
Out of a Clear Sky (1918)
Three Men and a Girl (1919)
The Unpardonable Sin (1919)
Her Kingdom of Dreams (1919)
Daddy-Long-Legs (1919)
In Old Kentucky (1919)
Don't Ever Marry (1920)
Go and Get It (1920)
Dinty (1920)
Bob Hampton of Placer (1921)
Bits of Life (1921)
The Lotus Eater (1921)
Penrod (1922)
Fools First (1922)
The Strangers' Banquet (1922)
Minnie (1922)
The Rendezvous (1923)
The Eternal Three (1923)
Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall (1924)
Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1924)
The Sporting Venus (1925)
The Great Love (1925)
The Skyrocket (1926)
Mike (1926)
Diplomacy (1926)
Everybody's Acting (1926)
Wild Oats Lane (1926)
Venus of Venice (1927)
Her Wild Oat (1927)
Take Me Home (1928)
Taxi 13 (1928)
His Last Haul (1928)
Three-Ring Marriage (1928)
The Awful Truth (1929)
Tanned Legs (1929) (*uncredited)
The Vagabond Lover (1929)
Sweethearts on Parade (1930)
Social Register (1934)
Chloe, Love Is Calling You (1934)
The Lemon Drop Kid (1934)
This Is the Life (1935)
Swing It, Professor (1937)
Sing While You're Able (1937)
Thanks for Listening (1937)

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