Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Lee Eisenberg Sort of a spin on "Pygmalion" - the play that inspired "My Fair Lady" - Frank Capra's Academy Award-nominated "Pocketful of Miracles" is a lightweight but passable movie. It probably wants to see itself as highbrow due to the use of classical music, but most of it is silly. One of the notable things about is that it's Ann-Margret's first movie, and she's just as much a babe as ever.As for me, what catches my eye is the cast. Obviously we have Bette Davis and Glenn Ford, but look who else is here: Hope Lange (also a babe), Peter Falk, Edward Everett Horton, Thomas Mitchell (in his final role), Doodles Weaver, Hayden Rorke, Barton MacLane, and Sheldon Leonard. To put it another way, the movie stars the '60s sex goddess, Baby Jane, Superman's Earth father, Mrs. Muir, Columbo, the Fracture Fairy Tales narrator, Scarlett O'Hara's father, Ellen Ripley's uncle, Dr. Bellows, Gen. Peterson, and the man whose name inspired the main characters on "The Big Bang Theory"* (also appearing is Vito Scotti, who guest-starred on almost every show in the '60s). Drink!Anyway, an OK movie but nothing particularly special. As for Hayden Rorke, Barbara Eden mentioned that he was open about his sexual orientation, and the IDOJ cast got to meet his partner.*When Sheldon Leonard's name came up in the credits, "King Wenceslaus" was playing. On an episode of TBBT, Leonard mentions Svaty Vaclav, which Sheldon recognizes as the Czech form of Wenceslaus, and proceeds to sing the entire song. Funny how these things work out.

alfadogmusic They just don't make movies like this anymore! Frank Capra brought magic to the silver screen and A Pocketful Of Miracles is as good as movie making gets! Great storyline, great characters, great acting, and great directing!

Michael_Elliott Pocketful of Miracles (1961) ** (out of 4) Legendary director Frank Capra's final film had him working with Bette Davis and Glenn Ford in a remake of his 1933 film LADY FOR A DAY. The two films are pretty straight forward in terms of their story. The homeless Apple Annie (Davis) is considered a hero by gangster Dave the Dude (Ford) who believes that her apples bring him luck. Annie eventually is shocked to learn that the daughter she hasn't seen since a baby is coming to visit her with a rich Duke and doesn't want her to know she's homeless. With the help of Dave, Annie transforms into a royal mother. I enjoyed LADY FOR A DAY for its heart and charm but the same can't be said for this overlong remake that just goes on and on and on. The movie runs a whopping 137-minutes, which is about, at least, half an hour too long. This film and the original tell the exact same story but like a lot of remakes from this era, this film has to throw in countless subplots and must expand the film as much as they can and in doing so they kill everything good that it does have going. The main reason to watch this film is for the performance by Davis who really shines in both parts of her character. I found her incredibly touching as the homeless woman and this is especially true during her scene in the hotel where she's trying to get a letter that her daughter wrote her. Davis also does a very good job in the "rich" style and this includes when she first pops out of the bedroom to display her new self. That walk and facial gesture she gives is priceless. Hope Lange, Peter Falk and Ann-Margret, in her first film, all turn in nice supporting performances. The weakest link is Ford, believe it or not. He's a great actor but this role just wasn't right for him. A lot of this is due to the screenplay, which makes him too much of a jerk but even Ford appears to be sleepwalking through a lot of the wondering scenes. Capra's direction is decent throughout and he still knows how to hit the heart but the comedy is lacking and there's certainly no reason for the extended running time. Even though there's some nice stuff here, in the end you can't help but look at this as a disappointment considering Capra, Davis and Ford are doing the work.

giorgiosurbani With "Pockeful Of Miracles" Frank Capra remakes his own "Lady For A Day" with Capraseque results - that means a mix bag with mostly delightful stuff in it - The major problem here is Glenn Ford, not as an actor but as a producer. There is too much dedicated to Ford's character's businesses, moving away from what really matters - Apple Annie and her predicament. Bette Davis was one of the major supporters of Glenn Ford at the beginning of his career - A Stolen Life, did for his career what "Thelma and Louise" did for Brad Pitt's and one should remember that Davis sort of "imposed" Ford for that role. Now Glenn Ford bills himself above Bette Davis. That should tell you something. The film, however, more than survives the petty egos and comes out as a wonderful swan song for the extraordinary Frank Capra. Bette Davis herself confessed to have found enormous difficulty at being faithful to Apple Annie in those gorgeous gowns post-makeover, but this is, was and always will be a fairy tale and as such it succeeds beautifully. The entrance of Davis after the make-over scored with the Nutcracker suite, it's one of my most cherished movie memories as are Davis's eyes as she witnesses the "miracle" in first person. A collection of wonderful character actors: Thomas Mitchell, Ellen Corby and in particular Edward Everett Horton makes the whole thing a smashing pleasure. Beautiful Hope Lange is terrific and Peter Falk wears a coat that makes his character a shady relative of his future "Colombo". If you're not made of stone and/or your levels of cynicism have not reached inhuman stages, you're going to enjoy this very much. I certainly did.