''Little Big Shot'' is a 1935 American film directed by

Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...

, starring

Sybil Jason Sybil Jason (born Sybil Jacobson; 23 November 1927 – 23 August 2011) was a South African-born, American child film actress who, in the late 1930s, was presented as a rival to Shirley Temple. Career Born in Cape Town, South Africa, on 23 ...

and

Glenda Farrell Glenda Farrell (June 30, 1904 – May 1, 1971) was an American actress. Farrell personified the smart and sassy, wisecracking blonde of the Classical Hollywood films. Farrell's career spanned more than 50 years, appearing in numerous Broadwa ...

. The film was released by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

on September 7, 1935. A young girl endears herself to her caretakers after her father is murdered by mobsters.

Plot

Mortimer Thompson (

Edward Everett Horton Edward Everett Horton Jr. (March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970) was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television, and voice work for animated cartoons. Early life Horton was born in Kings County ...

) and Steve Craig ( Robert Armstrong) are a pair of sidewalk confidence men working

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

one step ahead of the police selling phony watches. Broke, they arrange to have dinner with Gibbs, an old friend, thinking he will help them with some money. Gibbs and his young daughter Gloria (

) don't have much money, either, and think that Steve and Mortimer can help them. On top of needing money, Gibbs is in hiding from notorious gangster Kell Norton. After Steve, Mortimer, Gibbs and Gloria finish their dinner, Gibbs is shot and killed by Norton's men as the group leaves the restaurant. Steve and Mortimer hurry to leave before they too get shot, hastily leaving Gibbs' daughter Gloria behind. Steve reminds Mortimer that they forgot about Gloria. Despite Mortimer's protestations, Steve convinces him to go back for the girl. Gloria stays with Steve and Mortimer for a night at their place. Gloria takes Mortimer's bed, so Mortimer has to sleep in the bathroom. Steve tries to put Gloria in an orphanage but feels bad when she begins to cry. Steve and Mortimer try to care for Gloria with the help of Jean (

), a hat check girl at their residential hotel. Steve and Mortimer find out that Gloria can sing and dance, so they get her to perform on the street with them. Gloria also helps them sell their fake watches until Jean finds out. Jean expresses her displeasure, but Steve and Mortimer continue using Gloria. Jean has Gloria put in an orphanage because Steve and Mortimer aren't responsible enough to take care of her. Steve wins a craps game with small-time hoodlum Jack Doré (

Jack La Rue Jack La Rue (born Gaspare Biondolillo; May 3, 1902 – January 11, 1984) was an American film and stage actor. Early years The son of Sicilian immigrants Pasquale and Concetta Biondolillo, La Rue was born in New York City. His father sailed to ...

) to raise money, but Doré refuses to pay off the gambling debt and Steve threatens to get him. Later Norton kills Doré and passes Steve as he is arriving to ask Doré for his winnings again so he can adopt Gloria. Steve becomes the suspect for the crime. Norton realizes Steve is a witness against him and tries to find him to shut him up. To force Steve out of hiding, he kidnaps Gloria. Steve convinces the gangsters to let Gloria go and take him instead. Just as Norton's gang is about to kill Steve, the police (tipped off by Mortimer and Jean) arrive at the hideout. His name cleared, Steve marries Jean and they adopt Gloria. Steve, Jean, Gloria, and Mortimer move from the city and open a roadside café.

Cast

as Gloria 'Countess' Gibbs *

as Jean * Robert Armstrong as Steve Craig *

as Mortimer Thompson *

as Jack Doré * Arthur Vinton as Kell 'Nort' Norton *

J. Carrol Naish Joseph Patrick Carrol Naish (January 21, 1896 – January 24, 1973) was an American actor. He appeared in over 200 credits during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Naish received two Oscar nominations for his supporting roles in the films '' Sahara ...

as Bert *

Edgar Kennedy Edgar Livingston Kennedy (April 26, 1890 – November 9, 1948) was an American comedic character actor who appeared in at least 500 films during the silent and sound eras. Professionally, he was known as "Slow Burn", owing to his ability to por ...

as Onderdonk *

Addison Richards Addison Whittaker Richards, Jr. (October 20, 1902 – March 22, 1964) was an American actor of film and television. Richards appeared in more than three hundred films between 1933 and his death. Biography A native of Zanesville, Ohio, Richa ...

as Hank Gibbs

Production

Warner Bros. hired five-year-old

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n Sybil Jason to compete with

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...

. This was the first American screen debut of Jason. Byron Haskins finished the photography on the film, but only Tony Gaudio received screen credit for the movie. In the film, Sybil Jason does imitations of

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragedy, ...

Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...

and

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced song ...

Songs

Music and lyrics by Frank Dixon and

Allie Wrubel Elias Paul "Allie" Wrubel (January 15, 1905 – December 13, 1973) was an American composer and songwriter. Biography Wrubel was born to a Jewish family in Middletown, Connecticut, United States, the son of Regina (née Glasscheib) and Isaac ...

: *I'm a Little Big Shot Now *Rolling in the Money *My Kid's a Crooner

Reception

Andre Senwald of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' writes in his movie review: "Convinced that Hollywood is suffering from a drought rather than a plague of baby Bernhardts, Warner Brothers have imported a new one, Miss Sybil Jason, from South Africa. She performs all the triple-threat functions in "Little Big Shot", including a couple of impersonations and a song and dance. An engaging infant, she suffers just now from a studied quality that may be the result of overdirection. In some of her big emotional close-ups, the bewildered little girl seems to be making a valiant effort to take advice from half a dozen assistant directors all at once. Then, too, there is the additional difficulty that her British accent makes many of her lines unintelligible."

References

External links

* * {{Michael Curtiz 1935 films Films directed by Michael Curtiz 1935 crime films American crime films American black-and-white films Warner Bros. films Films produced by Samuel Bischoff Films scored by Heinz Roemheld 1930s English-language films 1930s American films