Damon Runyon Movies

Produced for theatrical released by PBS' American Playhouse, Bloodhounds of Broadway is not exactly a remake of the 1952 film of the same name, though both pictures use the same Damon Runyon stories as inspiration. The scene is Broadway: the time is New Year's Eve, 1928. Madonna plays small town girl-turned-hoofer Hortense Hathaway, who loves gambler Feet Samuels (Randy Quaid) more than somewhat. Since it is known far and wide that Feet has not a penny to his name, he must find some way to pay off his debts in a hurry. So he offers to sell his huge feet to a demented-an operation which will, alas, cost Feet the use of his life. Upon waking up to the fact that Hortense loves him, Feet decides that he prefers breathing to pushing up daisies. Meanwhile, a society doll named Harriet MacKyle (Julie Hagerty) turns on the spigots when her pet parrot is laid low by a clumsy gunman. And while all this is transpiring, high-roller Regret (Matt Dillon) has to beat a murder rap. Even while Regret is sweating it out, "The Brain" (Rutger Hauer), who is bleeding profusely after confronting the business end of a shiv, searches high and low for someone willing to donate blood to save his life. If you can, keep an eye out for author William Burroughs as a butler. Bloodhounds of Broadway was the first non-documentary effort of filmmaker Howard Brookner-and the last, since he died before the film was released. To gloss over the film's plot holes, the distributors added a Winchell-like narrator to the proceedings, courtesy of actor Joseph Sommer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Director Frank Capra's last feature film, Pocketful of Miracles is a Technicolor remake of his 1933 film Lady for a Day. A barely recognizable Bette Davis plays Apple Annie, the besotted, unkempt, rag-clad street vendor who controls the activities of all the beggars on Broadway. Apple Annie is the pet of Dave the Dude (Glenn Ford), a tough but basically kind-hearted gangster who believes that Annie's apples bring him luck. One morning, Annie fails to show up at her usual corner. That's because she is sitting disconsolate in her squalid shack, contemplating suicide. The reason: Annie has received a letter from her daughter Louise (Ann-Margret, in her screen debut). Annie has been supporting Louise's high-priced European education, leading the girl to believe that she, Annie, is a high-society dowager. Now Louise is returning home with her wealthy fiance Carlos Romero (Peter Mann) in tow, and it looks as though Annie's cover will be blown to bits. Partly out of sympathy, but mostly because of his superstitious belief in the power of Annie's apples, Dave the Dude arranges with his Broadway cohorts to "doll up" Annie so that she can pass as a woman of means, then stage-manages a huge, expensive reception for Louise and her beau. The complications that ensued in the original 1933 version of Lady for a Day exercise their prerogative once more, with a few added plot twists to pad out Glenn Ford's screen time. Cutting through the sentimental goo like a machete is Peter Falk, who is hilarious as Dave the Dude's sarcastic bodyguard. Evidently, Falk was one of the few actors on the set of Pocketful of Miracles with which Capra remained sympatico throughout shooting. In his autobiography (a not altogether reliable tome), Capra insisted that Pocketful of Miracles was ruined by Glenn Ford's autocratic and self-serving on-set behavior, and by Ford's demand that his current lady friend Hope Lange be (mis)cast as brash nightclub chirp Queenie Martin. As usual, Capra was not telling the whole story: at 63, he was beginning to lose his grip on his movie-making skills, allowing every scene to run well past its value and concentrating on cute isolated "bits" rather than the story at hand. Way too long at 136 minutes (Lady for a Day ran but 90), Pocketful of Miracles still has a lot going for it, especially the glowing performance of Bette Davis and the basic, foolproof Damon Runyon story on which it is based. While it disappointed at the box office, Miracles has since its release become a Christmastime TV perennial, seldom failing to draw big ratings numbers. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Frightening though the prospect may sound, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis appear in Technicolor and 3-D in the musical comedy Money from Home. Cashing in on the success of Guys and Dolls, the script is based on a Damon Runyon story. Martin plays gambler Honey Talk Nelson, whose "markers" have been called in by gangster boss Jumbo Schneider (Sheldon Leonard). In need of money in a hurry, Honey Talk tries to honey-talk his gawky assistant-veterinarian cousin Virgil Yokum (Jerry Lewis) into "fixing" the outcome of an upcoming Maryland steeplechase competition. Along the way, Virgil is forced to impersonate British jockey Bertie Searles (Richard Haydn), and also gets mixed up with a visiting Arab potentate (Romo Vincent) and his harem. Pat Crowley and Marjie Millar fulfill the leading-lady obligations, while Dean Martin gets to sing three songs, one of them co-written by Guys and Dolls composer Frank Loesser. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Previously filmed in 1938 with Edward G. Robinson in the lead, the Damon Runyon-Howard Lindsay stage farce A Slight Case of Murder was musicalized in 1952 as Stop, You're Killing Me. Broderick Crawford stars as Remy Marko, a soft-hearted Prohibition beer baron who turns honest when the 18th amendment is repealed in 1933. Trouble is, Marko's beer tastes awful and his business plummets. Compounding this headache, Marko's daughter Mary (Virginia Gibson) intends to wed Chance Whitelaw (Billy Hayes), a police officer from a wealthy family. Hoping to put up a respectable front for their prospective in-laws, Marko and his wife Nora (Claire Trevor) rent a fancy mansion-spa in Saratoga -- where, unbeknownst to the ex-bootlegger, four gangster types have been shot to death by a desperado named Innocent (Harry Morgan). The rest of the film finds Remy trying to dispose of the cumbersome corpses while avoiding the baleful stares of both his future in-laws and the police. Not quite as good as its 1938 predecessor, Stop You're Killing Me at least affords viewers the rare opportunity of hearing Broderick Crawford sing! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Johnny One-Eye was adapted from one of Damon Runyon's lesser-known stories. Pat O'Brien and Wayne Morris star as Martin Martin and Dane Cory respectively, former partners in crime who have long since split up. When a new district attorney puts the heat on, Cory, anxious to save his own hide, accuses Martin of an unsolved murder. Holed up in abandoned house, Martin is befriended by a little girl (Gayle Reed) and her dog. It so happens that the girl is the daughter of the crusading DA, and thereby hangs the rest of this tale. Produced by Benedict Bogeaus, Johnny One-Eye co-stars Bogeaus' wife Dolores Moran as a moll named Lily White. The film represented the last directorial assignment of Robert Florey, who retired shortly afterward. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This Technicolor musical biopic stars Argentina-born Dick Haymes as Irish-American composer Ernest R. Ball. Climbing to fame with such sentimental songs as "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" (hence the title), Ball romances a lovely showgirl (June Haver), who in turn catches the eye of a charming underworld character (Anthony Quinn). Monty Woolley does a variation of The Man who Came to Dinner in his role as a roguish Broadway producer. Seldom cluttering up its story with the facts, Irish Eyes are Smiling is chiefly a showcase for the superb singing of Dick Haymes. The film was produced by legendary journalist Damon Runyon, which should surprise several citizens more than somewhat. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Damon Runyon's short story Butch Minds the Baby is about a certain Broadway citizen by the name of Butch, who is known far and wide to be involved more than somewhat in business of a dishonest nature. Butch is the lookout for a gang of safecrackers, one of whom is forced to bring his squalling baby son along with him on the job; Butch is obliged to mind the baby while the safe is being knocked over. In the film version of Butch Minds the Baby, Aloysius "Butch" Grogan (Broderick Crawford) is motivated to pursue a life of crime in order to provide the lovely widow O'Neill (Virginia Bruce) with the funds to support herself and little son. The end result is the same: Butch acts as baby-sitter while the rest of the crooks appropriate vast quantities of other people's money. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This comedy-drama is adapted from a story by Damon Runyon and centers on a mobster with unusually large feet. The trouble begins when the big-footed crook buys a too-tight pair of shoes from a salesman and decides to use the store as a front for an illegal gambling operation. After buying the business, the crook tosses the salesman out. Angered at losing his livelihood, the salesman listens to his girl friend and a good-hearted city editor and begins looking to expose the crook. He succeeds and the crook's angry bosses then take away his standing. Meanwhile, the salesman suddenly finds himself hailed a hero; his ego begins to swell and trouble ensues until his girl helps him put it all in perspective. He marries her in the end. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this musical comedy, the Ritz Brothers inherit a racehorse but are unable to make money from him because they cannot come up with the $1,000 needed to enter him in the big race. The two get involved with the race anyway when they overhear a group of Russian jockeys conspiring to ruin the race. The brothers then masquerade as the crooked riders and mayhem ensues. Songs include "With You On My Mind," "Why Not String Along With Me?" (Lew Brown, Lew Pollack; sung by Merman), "International Cowboys" (Ray Golden, Sid Kuller, Jule Styne). ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Professional horsewoman Ann Dvorak is the Racing Lady in this hit-and-miss romantic comedy. The story begins breaking into a trot when millionaire auto tycoon Steven Wendel (Smith Ballew) (later a movie "singing cowboy") purchases a thoroughbred horse and engages the services of Ruth Martin (Dvorak) as a trainer. She begins to fall in love with Steven, but renounces him upon discovering that his "affection" for horses is motivated by his desire for publicity. Harry Carey, no stranger to horseflesh himself, co-stars as Dvorak's crusty father. The Ann Dvorak-Smith Ballew combination in Racing Lady proved unsatisfactory, with Dvorak handily out-acting her stiff-necked co-star throughout the picture. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on a Damon Runyon story, Three Wise Guys stars Betty Furness as a Broadway golddigger hired by gangster Bruce Cabot to romance playboy Robert Young, then take the sap for every penny he's got. But when Young marries Furness, he is disinherited. Furness decides she's truly in love with Young and leaves town with him. Pursued by Cabot and his henchmen, the couple takes refuge in a deserted farm. Cabot is about to exact vengeance on Furness when he discovers that she's pregnant, and due at any minute. Thus the chastened Cabot and his "wise guy" companions aid Furness in bringing her baby into the world. That's right, it's Christmas...and it's also in a little town called Bethlehem. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This obscure Damon Runyon adaptation stars Jean Parker as Princess O'Hara, the spirited granddaughter of Central Park horse-carriage driver King O'Hara (Ralph M. Remley). When King's beloved horse dies, Princess tries to purchase a new nag, and that's how she inadvertently gets her hands on a "stolen" race horse. Our heroine nearly ends up with a lengthy prison term before the story is resolved during the climactic Big Race. Leon Errol garners most of the film's laughs as minor-league sharpster named Louie. Princess O'Hara was remade in 1943 as the Abbott & Costello vehicle It Ain't Hay. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi