Lady for a Day (1933)
Say, when they get through with her, she's gonna look every bit as good as me. — The idea is to make her look like a lady.
Lady for a Day (1933) - watched 10/1/24
Director: Frank Capra
Writer: Robert Riskin
Starring: May Robson, Warren William, Guy Kibbee, Glenda Farrell, Jean Parker
Available to watch on Plex
First Time Watch? Yes
Call me basic, call it a cliche, call it problematic, but if you show me a makeover moment in a movie, I will gobble it up every single time. Is there anything more serotonin-boosting than the reveal of the new Princess of Genovia? Who doesn’t feel their heart swell as Laney Boggs descends the stairs to “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer? And was the comedic payoff not fully worth the strain of trying so hard to suspend your disbelief about Sandra Bullock at any point not being a total babe? I know I spent a long time after this scene wishing I had my own personal Michael Caine to help me get my life together.1
But before these iconic makeovers, before we were introduced to Eliza Doolittle on the silver screen, there was Lady for a Day.
Without question, despite the playfulness and the euphoric hit of nostalgia that the makeover scenes of the early 2000s provide, they were not without their issues. Let’s gloss over the fact that each of these actresses were already undeniably beautiful. They all had to get uglied up just to transform into… what they probably already looked like on a daily basis. Jokes are made at the expense of girls who have frizzy hair, or bushy eyebrows, or [gasp] wear glasses. There’s also some fatphobia thrown in for good measure. Was this trend damaging to a generation of girls who are still likely working through their body image and self esteem issues over 20 years later? Who’s to say!
What’s nice about Lady for a Day is that there’s none of that baggage—the main character, Apple Annie, is given a makeover that turns her from an unkempt beggar to a polished woman of high society. She is made to look regal, her hair coiffed, her ratty clothes traded in for elegant frocks. She is not degraded by her peers for her appearance, she is not insulted over her age or her weight. The goal is to make her look pretty and feel like a million bucks, not to bring her true self down in the process.
In that sense, Lady for a Day has at least one thing going for it that other makeover movies of yore are lacking. In other ways… not so much.
I'm goin' over to the insane asylum and hobnob with a few sensible people.
Apple Annie (May Robson) is an elderly, impoverished fruit seller in New York. She has a daughter, Louise (Jean Parker), whom she gave up as an infant to be raised in a convent in Spain. She writes letters to Louise regularly, leading her to believe that she is a woman of high society named E. Worthington Manville who lives at the posh Hotel Marberry. When Louise writes in one of her letters to Annie that she is planning a trip to New York with her fiancé Carlos (Barry Norton) and his father, Count Romero (Walter Connolly) Annie must enlist the help of Dave the Dude (Warren William), a notorious gangster and gambler.
Dave agrees to help Annie since he believes her apples bring him good luck. He, along with his henchman, Happy McGuire (Ned Sparks) and Annie’s other friends from the street arrange for Annie to rent an apartment in the Marberry Hotel, give her a makeover, and recruit pool shark Henry Blake (Guy Kibbee) to pose as her husband.
Annie’s transformation into a put-together high society woman is miraculous, and very convincing. She meets Louise, Carlos, and the Count at the pier. Louise is overjoyed to see her, and they instantly connect. Reporters swarm the pier, wanting to get the scoop as to why the Count and his family are visiting, but they are quickly taken care of (aka kidnapped) by members of Dave’s gang.
A few days later, the gang is getting ready to throw a big fancy reception for Annie and her guests—but there’s a problem. The police have tracked down Dave at a nightclub as he was rehearsing for the party. Dave calls Henry to get advice for his dilemma—Annie overhears and, distraught, goes to confess to Louise. Dave manages to hold off his arrest by threatening to kill the reporters if they won’t let him carry out his plans for the night. The cops take him to the mayor’s office, where Dave tells him the whole story. The mayor is inexplicably sympathetic to Annie’s story, and as a result he, the governor, and their high society pals all show up to Annie’s party, posing as her friends to continue the ruse.
The party is a success, and the mayor arranges to have Louise, Carlos, and the Count escorted to the pier for their departure back to Spain. During the ride in the motorcade, Dave’s crimes are pardoned, and the reporters are returned safe and instructed to report that they were “out on a drunk.” Okay, sure! In the end, Louise leaves with the perfect vision of Annie as a member of the upper crust, never truly knowing who her mother really is.
Never in all my questionable career have I gazed upon such divine loveliness.
So this was, like, fine! I guess!
Lady for a Day hardly reinvented the wheel, and there were many aspects of this movie that really had me scratching my head. The mayor was just totally chill with Dave the Dude’s story, despite him being responsible for the kidnapping of several reporters? Somebody recall that friggin’ mayor!
It was funny in parts, but not especially memorable. I’m struggling, a few days after watching, to recall moments that stood out for me, comedically. Honestly I think just the fact that there’s a character named “Dave the Dude” is one of the funniest things about this movie.
I was left feeling annoyed by how little time we actually get to spend with sweet Apple Annie. She’s a great character, and May Robson plays her with such sincerity. I was rooting for Annie all along, I empathized with her deeply, and I wanted to see more of her! It felt like there was a missed opportunity to get more scenes of Annie adjusting to her “life” as an aristocratic woman, possibly letting some of her past behavior slip in her interactions with Louise. There was so much opportunity for comedy and heart that was missing for me. Instead we got a lot of Dave the Dude and his gangster friends, which is fine, but like… this isn’t a gangster movie! It’s an Apple Annie movie! She is THE titular Lady, after all. She’s not even the biggest name or face on the theatrical poster! I’m certain this has nothing do do with the fact that May Robson wasn’t a young starlet… even if the film itself didn’t care about her age, clearly the studio did.
I’m also not crazy about the ending. We’re supposed to just accept that Louise believes her mother to be this person who she really isn’t? And how is Annie supposed to maintain this false identity? What happens when Louise visits again? What happens when Louise gets married, and Annie is invited to the wedding? I guess these are questions that isn’t the responsibility of the film to answer, but… dammit, I need answers!
It just feels like this ending is a little too good to be true. Where are the stakes? I would have loved to have seen Annie’s true self revealed to Louise at some point—either by way of confession or accidental reveal. Would it not have been a more meaningful moral of the story if Louise knew the truth about her mother, but loved and accepted her all the same? Maybe even found a way to help her out of her life in poverty? Maybe Louise’s fiancé and the Count would have been so moved by Annie’s sincerity and love for her daughter, and the loyalty of Annie’s friends, that they would have embraced her and lifted her up. This is the ending that could have really made this movie a stone-cold classic. Instead, mother and daughter part ways with their relationship built on a lie, and an unsustainable lie at that. What kind of ending even is that? And the soaring, saccharine music in the background wants me to feel like this is a wholesome, happy ending. Unlike Annie’s lucky apples, I’m not buying it, sorry!
Ultimately I found this movie to be mostly sweet and endearing, and I adored the performance of May Robson, but it didn’t give me much more than that to hold on to. Forget the makeover movie… honey this MOVIE is what needs a makeover!!
Aw, pull up your chin, Happy. You're liable to step on it.
Quick Facts:
Nominated for 4 Academy Awards, won none
Best Picture
Best Director (Frank Capra)
Best Actress (May Robson)
Best Adaptation (Robert Riskin)
Apparently one of Capra’s favorite films that he directed—wish I could say the same, Frank!
Capra would later remake Lady for a Day as 1961’s Pocketful of Miracles, starring Bette Davis. That would be his final film.
Stray Notes:
We should still have ladies selling apples on the street, tbh. More people selling cheap produce on the street, please.
Oh, just give her the damn letter!!
Oh poor Apple Annie ☹️
The blueprint for makeover movies?
Aw, I’m so happy for Annie! And the “judge” is being so sweet!
This movie makes me feel nice!!
The way everyone rallies around Annie is great, so sweet, but it feels unearned — the motivation is lacking.
Wish we spent a LOT more time with Annie, there are times when the movie doesn’t feel like it’s about her.
So is she just gonna have to keep up this ruse forever now, or…?
Very sweet, with that classic Capra optimism, but ultimately pretty forgettable
My Rating: ⭐️⭐½
Next Up: Little Women (1933)
Nevermind that I was only 13 when Miss Congeniality came out, what exactly would I need to “get together” at that age?