Lady for a Day

Lady for a Day is a heartwarming and comedic American pre-Code film directed by the legendary Frank Capra and released by Columbia Pictures in 1933. The film features an ensemble cast, including the commanding Warren William, the enchanting May Robson, and the affable Guy Kibbee. It is based on the enchanting short story "Madame La Gimp" written by Damon Runyon, and the script was expertly adapted by Robert Riskin for the big screen.

The film opens in the bustling cityscape of New York City, during the tumultuous times of the Great Depression, where the viewer is introduced to the main character, Apple Annie (May Robson). Apple Annie is an endearing elderly woman turned fruit peddler who uses her street smarts to keep afloat in a challenging world and maintain her dignity. Though she is a woman of meager means, she has an air of class stemming from her past life before her fall into poverty. An essential element of the film centers around Apple Annie making up fictitious, well-off tales of her life to her daughter, who has been raised abroad and knows nothing about her mother's real circumstances.

The storyline becomes significantly more involved when Annie learns of her daughter's imminent arrival with her fiancé, a man of nobility, along with his aristocratic family. Filled with fear that her daughter might be ashamed of her real status and the marriage might be called off due to the stark difference in their social status, she becomes desolated.

Enter Dave the Dude (Warren William), a local gangster with a soft spot for Apple Annie. He has a superstition about Annie's apples bringing him luck and routinely buys from her. Upon knowing her predicament, in a beautifully paradoxical mix of comedy and drama, he decides to help Apple Annie and revamp her image from street fruit seller to an elegant dame.

The uplifting plot unfolds as Dave the Dude orchestrates an elaborate scheme to keep Annie's true life a secret from her daughter and the visiting nobility. He recruits assistance from an array of colorful characters, including Annie's fellow vendors, his own experienced gang of mobsters, and the charming gentleman pool shark, Shakespeare (Guy Kibbee).

The performances in Lady for a Day are top-notch, particularly May Robson who is absolutely endearing, lovable, and thoroughly convincing in her portrayal of Apple Annie. Warren William is excellent as the softer-than-he-seems gangster with Guy Kibbee providing excellent support in his role.

Lady for a Day was Frank Capra's first Academy Award nomination for Best Director out, while May Robson also received a nomination for Best Actress for her touching performance. The film itself was nominated for Best Picture, and these nominations formed the template for the glorious career that Capra would enjoy in Hollywood. It cemented his legacy as a master storyteller who expertly orchestrates narratives around common people facing uncommon situations.

Lady for a Day is generally regarded as a masterstroke, bringing with it an emotional depth and humor that is genuinely affecting. It pulls you into the narrative and binds you to the characters' fate, unraveled through moments of laughter, sorrow, tension, and joy. The movie is not just a delightful comedic drama about hope, compassion, and deception but also a broader commentary annotating the class divisions of society during the Great Depression era.

The film is a clear example of the brilliance of Frank Capra’s storytelling, portraying a rich tapestry of emotions making viewers laugh and cry, sometimes even simultaneously. The popularity and success of Lady for a Day led to Capra remaking this film in 1961, retitled as "Pocketful of Miracles", thus immortalizing the sweet charm of 'Apple Annie' for generations to enjoy.

In conclusion, Lady for a Day is an entertaining, touching, humorous, and underrated gem from the 1930s, inside which lays an unusual, and miraculous transformation of an ordinary apple vendor into a lady, even if for just one day, proving Oscar Wilde's words that "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars".