The Lemon Drop Kid
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMarshall Neilan
Screenplay byHoward J. Green
J.P. McEvoy
Damon Runyon
Based onThe Lemon Drop Kid
by Damon Runyon
Produced byWilliam LeBaron
StarringLee Tracy
Helen Mack
William Frawley
Minna Gombell
Baby LeRoy
Kitty Kelly
Henry B. Walthall
CinematographyHenry Sharp
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • September 28, 1934 (1934-09-28)
Running time
71 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Lemon Drop Kid is a 1934 American comedy drama film directed by Marshall Neilan and written by Howard J. Green, J.P. McEvoy and Damon Runyon. The film stars Lee Tracy, Helen Mack, William Frawley, Minna Gombell, Baby LeRoy, Kitty Kelly and Henry B. Walthall. The film was released on September 28, 1934, by Paramount Pictures.[1][2]

Plot

Con artist and racetrack tout Wally Brooks hands a lemon drop to a man in a wheelchair, saying it will cure whatever ails him, then persuades the man, a millionaire named Griggsby, to bet $100 on a horse. Wally knows this horse can't win and intends to pocket the cash. The horse does win, so Wally and his partner Dunhill, alias "The Professor," take it on the lam.

Lying low in an out-of-the-way place, Wally meets town drunk Jonas Deering and his beautiful daughter Alice. A love affair blossoms and they marry, but when Alice is about to give birth and having serious medical problems, Wally needs money so he robs Mr. Potter, her boss. Alice dies in childbirth.

A despondent Wally shuns his own son, Wally Jr., and isn't sure where to turn next. The Professor marries longtime girlfriend Maizie and offers to raise Wally Jr., and even better, Griggsby shows up, claiming the lemon drop did help his arthritis. He volunteers to become Wally Jr.'s legal guardian and gives Wally some money, minus what the bet on his horse would have won.

Cast

References

  1. ^ "Mr. Runyon at the Races". The New York Times. October 27, 1934. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  2. ^ "The Lemon Drop Kid (1934)". AFI.com. Retrieved February 28, 2015.

External links


Films directed by Marshall Neilan
Categories