The Lemon Drop Kid (1951)
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72% of users liked it
(1,304 ratings)
Damon Runyon's Broadway fable The Lemon Drop Kid was filmed twice by Paramount Pictures, but only the 1934 version with Lee Tracy paid more than lip service to the original Runyon story. The second version, filmed in 1951, was completely retooled to accommodate the talents of Bob Hope. Known far… More Damon Runyon's Broadway fable The Lemon Drop Kid was filmed twice by Paramount Pictures, but only the 1934 version with Lee Tracy paid more than lip service to the original Runyon story. The second version, filmed in 1951, was completely retooled to accommodate the talents of Bob Hope. Known far and wide as the Lemon Drop Kid because of his fondness for that particular round, yellow confection, Hope is a bookie who finds himself deeply in debt to Florida gangster Fred Clark. Magnanimously, Clark permits Hope to head to New York to raise the money--but he'd better have the dough ready by Christmas, or else. Ever on the lookout for Number One, Hope decides to exploit the Christmas spirit in order to get the money together. With the help of unsuspecting nightclub-singer Marilyn Maxwell, Hope sets up a charity fund to raise money for an "Old Doll's Home"--that is, a home for down-and-out little old ladies. He claims to be doing this on behalf of big-hearted Jane Darwell, but he has every intention of double-crossing Darwell and all the other elderly women by skipping town with the charity funds and leaving them at the mercy of the authorities. By the time Hope has seen the error of his ways and tries to do right by the old dolls, Maxwell's boss Lloyd Nolan has decided to muscle into the racket by using the ladies' home as a front for a gambling casino. To set things right, Hope finds it necessary to disguise himself as a fussy old spinster at one point. The best line in the film goes to William Frawley, playing one of many Broadway toughs who are being pressed into service as street-corner Santas. "Will you bring me a doll for Christmas?" asks a little girl. "Naw, my doll's workin' Christmas Eve" is Frawley's salty reply. The Lemon Drop Kid is the film in which Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell introduced the enduring Yuletide ballad "Silver Bells", written (reportedly in a real hurry) by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Sidney Lanfield
- Genres
- Drama, Classics, Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1951 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Another awful Bob Hope comedy. It goes down as sour as a lemon drop.
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Glenn Heath Jr., Slant Magazine
The Lemon Drop Kid might not be a classic screwball comedy, but it remains a joyous and rambunctious series of mad-hatter schemes that occasionally transcends its childish roots.
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Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Terrific Bob Hope Christmas picture. One of his best.
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Cast
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Bob Hope
as Lemon Drop Kid Sidney Melbourne
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Marilyn Maxwell
as Brainey Baxter
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Lloyd Nolan
as Charlie
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Jane Darwell
as Nellie Thursday
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Andrea King
as Stella
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Fred Clark
as Moose Moran
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Jay C. Flippen
as Straight Flush
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William Frawley
as Gloomy Willie
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Harry Bellaver
as Sam the Surgeon
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Sid Melton
as Little Louie
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Ida Moore
as Bird Lady
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Francis Pierlot
as Henry Regan
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Charles Cooley
as Goomba
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Society Kid Hogan
as Himself
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Harry Shannon
as Policeman John
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Bernard Szold
as Honest Harry
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Tor Johnson
as Wrestler
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Tom Dugan
as No Thumbs Charlie
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Stanley Andrews
as Judge
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Helen Brown
as Ellen
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Ray Cooke
as Willie
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John Doucette
as Muscleman
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Roy Gordon
as Judge
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Fred Graff
as Pimlico Pete
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Tommy Ivo
as Boy Scout
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Richard Karlan
as Maxie
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Jack Kruschen
as Muscleman
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Mary Murphy
as Girl
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Almira Sessions
as Mrs. Santoro
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Douglas Spencer
as Thin Santa Claus
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Sid Tomack
as Groom
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Harry Tyler
as Santa Claus
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Ben Welden
as Singin' Solly
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Fred Zendar
as South Street Benny
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Slim Gaut
as Professor Murdock
