- For other meanings, see Marker (disambiguation).
| Little Miss Marker | |
| Directed by | Alexander Hall |
|---|---|
| Produced by | B.P. Schulberg |
| Written by | Damon Runyon (story) William R. Lipman Sam Hellman Gladys Hellman |
| Starring | Shirley Temple Adolphe Menjou Dorothy Dell Charles Bickford Lynne Overman |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures (USA) |
| Release date(s) | June 1, 1934 (USA) |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
Little Miss Marker (also known as The Girl in Pawn) is a 1934 film starring Shirley Temple, Adolphe Menjou, and Dorothy Dell. It is based on the short story of the same name by Damon Runyon.
Contents |
Synopsis
The film tells the story of "Marky" (Temple), whose father gives her to a gangster-run gambling operation as a "marker" (collateral) for a bet. When the man loses his bet and commits suicide, the gangsters are left with the girl on their hands. They decide to keep her temporarily and use her to help pull off one of their fixed races, naming her the owner of the horse to be used in the race.
Marky is sent to live with bookie Sorrowful Jones (Menjou). Initially upset about being forced to look after the girl, the gangster eventually begins to develop a father-daughter relationship with her. His fellow gangsters become fond of her and begin to fill the roles of her extended family. Bangles (Dell), the girlfriend of gang kingpin Big Steve (Bickford) also begins to care for Marky. Being around the gang has a somewhat bad influence on the child, and she begins to develop a cynical nature and a wide vocabulary of gambling terminology and slang.
Cast
- Adolphe Menjou as Sorrowful Jones
- Dorothy Dell as Bangles Carson
- Charles Bickford as Big Steve Halloway
- Shirley Temple as Marthy "Marky" Jane
- Lynne Overman as Regret. The character is meant to be Mafia accountant Otto Berman,[citation needed] best friend of writer Damon Runyon.
- Warren Hymer as Sore Toe
- Sam Hardy as Benny the Gouge
- John Kelly as Canvas Back
- Frank McGlynn Sr. as Doc Chesley
- John Sheehan as Sun Rise
- Frank Conroy as Dr. Ingalls
Recognition
In 1998, Little Miss Marker was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Remakes
The film was remade in 1949 as Sorrowful Jones with Bob Hope and Lucille Ball and again as Little Miss Marker in 1980 with Walter Matthau, Julie Andrews, Tony Curtis, Bob Newhart, Brian Dennehy, and Lee Grant.
Another remake was 1962's 40 Pounds of Trouble, starring Tony Curtis as a casino manager who is left with an eight-year-old girl.
External links
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