| 40 Pounds of Trouble | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Norman Jewison |
| Written by | Marion Hargrove |
| Based on | Little Miss Marker by Damon Runyon |
| Produced by | Stan Margulies |
| Starring | Tony Curtis Suzanne Pleshette Larry Storch |
| Cinematography | Joseph MacDonald |
| Edited by | Marjorie Fowler |
| Music by | Mort Lindsey |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Universal-International Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2,750,000 (US/ Canada)[1] |
40 Pounds of Trouble is a 1962 comedy film directed by Norman Jewison and starring Tony Curtis, Suzanne Pleshette, Larry Storch, and Phil Silvers. It is a retelling of Damon Runyon's 1932 short story Little Miss Marker.[2]
It marks Jewison's feature film directorial debut, after several years as a television director;[3] it also marks Stanley Margulies' feature film producer debut, after having been executive producer on the television series Tales of the Vikings for Brynaprod.[4][5] The film was shot on location at Disneyland and at Harrah's Club in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.[6][7] It was the first motion picture ever to receive permission from Walt Disney to film at the amusement park.[8][9][10] Producers Curtis and Stanley Margulies sent Disney a copy of the script and were surprised when the noted figure phoned them three days later to give his approval, with only a minor alteration to the script.[9] It was the only released film completed by Curtis and Margulies' film production company Curtis Enterprises, as the pair would form a new company, Reynard Productions, shortly afterwards.
40 Pounds of Trouble had a limited one-day-only New Year's Eve screening at select theaters across the United States, on the night of December 31, 1962.[11][12] Theaters showed the film from one to three times that night in celebration of the oncoming new year.[13] The film had its official world premiere on January 18, 1963, at the Carib-Miami-Miracle Theaters in Miami, Florida,[14] and the next day at Harrah's Club's South Shore Room in Lake Tahoe, Nevada which Curtis and his wife Christine Kaufmann attended.[15][16] The film then opened to the rest of the United States during the last week of January and first week of February 1963. It was a success and the film was nominated for a Golden Laurel Award for Top Comedy and Curtis was nominated for a Golden Laurel Award for Top Male Comedy Performance.
