Little Miss Marker (1980 film)

Little Miss Marker
Little Miss Marker
Directed by	Walter Bernstein
Written by	Walter Bernstein; Damon Runyon
Produced by	Jennings Lang; Walter Matthau
Starring	Walter Matthau; Julie Andrews; Tony Curtis; Bob Newhart; Lee Grant; Sara Stimson
Cinematography	Philip H. Lathrop
Edited by	Eve Newman
Music by	Henry Mancini
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	March 21, 1980;
Running time	103 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$6,321,392

Little Miss Marker is a 1980 American comedy drama film written and directed by Walter Bernstein and based on a short story by Damon Runyon. It stars Walter Matthau, Tony Curtis, Julie Andrews, Bob Newhart and new arrival Sara Stimson. The film is a remake of the 1934 film starring Shirley Temple and Adolphe Menjou.

Quick Facts Directed by, Written by ...

Close

In the 1930s, Sorrowful Jones is a gloomy, cantankerous bookie who is confronted by Carter, a gambler who cannot pay a $10 debt. Carter gives his six-year-old daughter to Sorrowful's gangster-run gambling operation as a "marker" (collateral) for a bet. When Carter loses his bet and ends his life, the gangsters are left with the girl on their hands. Sorrowful's nervous assistant Regret is concerned about the legality of the arrangement, which might violate kidnapping statutes.

In the interim, a crime boss named Blackie coerces his longtime rival Sorrowful to finance a new gambling joint. It is opened in the stately home of Blackie's girlfriend, the widowed Amanda Worthington, who needs money to repurchase her family property. Amanda is also counting on her racehorse Sir Galahad to ride to her rescue. While the girl's personal needs inconvenience Sorrowful, a father-daughter relationship develops and they become inseparable.

Remove ads

Walter Matthau as Sorrowful Jones
Julie Andrews as Amanda Worthington
Tony Curtis as Blackie
Bob Newhart as Regret
Sara Stimson as the Kid
Brian Dennehy as Herbie
Kenneth McMillan as Brannigan
Nedra Volz as Mrs. Clancy
Lee Grant as the Judge
Andrew Rubin as Carter, the Kid's father
Ralph Manza as the Casino Worker
Jack DeLeon as the Building Superintendent

In 1981, Sara Stimson was nominated for the female Young Artist Award in the category of Best Major Motion Picture - Family Entertainment. Stimson lost to Diane Lane for her performance in Touched by Love.^[2] Little Miss Marker is Stimson's only acting credit.^[3]

Earlier remakes of Little Miss Marker are 1949's Paramount's Sorrowful Jones with Bob Hope and Lucille Ball, and 1962's 40 Pounds of Trouble, which features Tony Curtis in a modified Sorrowful Jones role.^{[citation needed]}