Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day Thirty-Eight: But I'm a Lady

Back from Portugal now, but way behind schedule so going to have to step it up a little bit. More Frank Capra for me first with Lady for A Day. This film contains a lot of firsts Oscar wise, its the first Capra film to be nominated for an Oscar, losing to Cavalcade, as well as the first film to win him an Oscar nod. It was also the first film to ever be nominated for an Oscar that was distributed by Columbia studios. Unlike Lost Horizon this is definite Capra material it deals with Annie an aging apple-selling woman who gave up a daughter at birth. Annie has been writing to her daughter, telling her that she is an aristrocratic lady and that she lives in a fancy hotel. When her daughter is to be married to the son of a Spanish count, Annie frets and is absent from her post, which angers gangster Dave the Dude who doesn't do a deal without buying an apple from Annie. With Dave's help Annie is able to get an apartment, a makeover courtesy of Dave's nightclub singer girlfriend and a 'husband' in Dave's pool hustler friend. Short-term they are able to fool the daughter, fiancee and count but when a party is suggested the police get suspicious as all of Dave's gang gathers together to pretend to be dignitaries. All of Dave's friends are arrested under suspicion of kidnapping some journalists but Dave tells the governer and the mayor the story and Annie doesn't have to reveal the truth to her daughter. All the Capra themes are there - the poor trying to get one over on the rich, the representation of common folk as salt of the earth and the large part that journalists play in the plot once again.

The film ticks along pretty nicely but is no classic and certainly isn't as groundbreaking or interesting as Cavalcade, that year's winner. The film was also nominated for screenplay and May Robinson's performance as Annie but also lost both of these. However the Annie plot-line gets eclipsed by the dealings of Dave The Dude and is underworld associates and there's just as fine a performance from Warren William as Dude. At the end of the day this was a good beginning for Capra and marked the style that he would perfect to win him three director Oscars in this decade.