''Little Miss Thoroughbred'' is a 1938 film directed by

John Farrow John Villiers Farrow, KGCHS (10 February 190427 January 1963) was an Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter. Spending a considerable amount of his career in the United States, in 1942 he was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

Peggy Ann Garner Peggy Ann Garner (February 3, 1932 – October 16, 1984) was an American child actress. As a child actress, Garner had her first film role in 1938. At the 18th Academy Awards, Garner won the Academy Juvenile Award, recognizing her body of c ...

made her debut in the film. It was also known as Little Lady Luck.

Plot

Knowing her father's out there somewhere, little Janet runs away from an orphanage. A couple of gamblers, Nails Morgan and Todd Harrington, are running late to get a wager down, but Nails lies to a cop, O'Reilly, pretending the little girl is his daughter; Janet plays along. Madge Perry is charmed by her sweetheart Nails's new "child." The superstitious Nails wins at a dice game with the little girl nearby, so Madge convinces him that Janet is good luck. Madge picks a sure thing at the racetrack, having gotten a tip, but pretends it was Janet who suggested betting on the horse. O'Reilly brings his own daughter by for a visit. Discovering what is going on, he says Janet can only stay if Nails and Madge immediately get married. They do, but after Janet's photo runs in the newspaper, the orphanage feels being around gamblers is bad for the child and asks to regain custody. Nails wins in court, but only by vowing to find a proper job.

Cast

John Litel John Beach Litel (December 30, 1892 – February 3, 1972) was an American film and television actor. Early life Litel was born in Albany, Wisconsin. During World War I, he enlisted in the French Army and was twice decorated for bravery. Ba ...

as Nails * Ann Sheridan as Madge * Janet Chapman as Janet *

Frank McHugh Francis Curry McHugh (May 23, 1898 – September 11, 1981) was an American stage, radio, film and television actor. Early years Born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, of Irish descent, McHugh came from a theatrical family. His parents, Edward A ...

as Harrington *

Robert Homans Robert Edward Homans (November 8, 1877 – July 28, 1947) was an American actor who entered films in 1923 after a lengthy stage career. Life and career Robert Homans was born November 8, 1877, in Malden, Massachusetts. Although he studied ...

as O'Reilly

Production

The film was announced in January 1938 as ''Little Lady Luck''. It was inspired by the success of '' Little Miss Marker'' (1934). George Bricker and Albert Demond worked on the story and

was announced as director. Warners said instead of using established child actors they look for talent from orphanages. Lead roles were given to Ann Sheridan and John Litel. Four year old Janet Chapman was cast in the lead. Peggy Moran was signed. Filming began late January 1938. Chapman was signed to a seven-year contract. In March the title was changed to ''Little Miss Thoroughbred''. The film marked the debut of

References

External links

''Little Miss Thoroughbred''
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

* * * 1938 romantic drama films 1938 films Films directed by John Farrow {{1930s-romantic-drama-film-stub