Favorite Movie #102 - Holiday Edition: Pocketful of Miracles

By Xoxoxoe
Favorite movies that have had an impact on me - #102 - Pocketful of Miracles (1961) - Superstitious bootlegger Dave the Dude (Glenn Ford) won't make a move without the good luck apples he gets from street person Apple Annie (Bette Davis). But Annie has gone off the rails — her young daughter Louise (Ann-Margret, in her debut role), who has been educated abroad, is engaged and coming to the U.S. to meet her mother for the first time. And Louise thinks her mother is a socialite, Mrs. E. Worthington Manville. The Dude can't do business without Annie, and Annie can'r sell apples when she's on a bender. The Dude's girlfriend Queenie (Hope Lange) tries to fix up Annie while his right-hand man Joy Boy (Peter Falk) tries to salvage his business — and steals the movie. It's all very silly and sentimental and lots of fun. Fun fact: Director Frank Capra had filmed the story once before, as Lady for a Day, in 1933.

Dave the Dude (Glenn Ford) and Joy Boy (Peter Falk) pick up one of Annie's (Bette Davis) apples

Annie tries to pick up her letter from Louise at a fancy hotel

Queenie's nightclub act

Hope Lange as Queenie

Peter Falk as Joy Boy

The dude still needs Annie's apples

Ann-Margret as Louise


Holiday connection: Louise's visit takes place during the Christmas season.