Little Miss Thoroughbred (1938)

A young orphan girl wants a small-time gambler to be her father.

Director:

John Farrow

Writers:

Albert DeMond (story), Albert DeMond (screenplay),

Stars:

John Litel, Ann Sheridan, Frank McHugh

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Litel	...	Nelson 'Nails' Morgan
Ann Sheridan	...	Madge Perry Morgan
Frank McHugh	...	Todd Harrington
Janet Chapman	...	Janet Smith
Eric Stanley	...	Colonel Whitcomb
Robert Homans	...	Police Officer Pat O'Reilly
Charles C. Wilson	...	Mr. Becker, the Gambler (as Charles Wilson)
John Ridgely	...	Jim aka Slug, Becker's Henchman
Jean Benedict	...	Sister Margaret
Maureen Roden-Ryan	...	Sister Patricia (as Maureen Rodin-Ryan)
Lottie Williams	...	Mother Superior
James Nolan	...	First Intern at General Hospital
Cy Kendall	...	District Attorney Sheridan
Paul Everton	...	Judge Stanhope
Dorothy Vaughan	...	Mrs. Katie O'Reilly (as Dorothy Vaughn)

Storyline

"Nails" Morgan and his buddy Todd Harrington are following the racing from track-to-track across the country when Morgan suddenly finds himself "adopted" by a six-year-old orphan, Janet Smith. Janet has run away from an orphanage in search of a dream-father and Morgan meets her requirements. In the things she says and does, the superstitious Morgan finds betting hunches that pay off. After sneaking her back to the orphanage, he decides she is his meal-ticket and kidnaps her. Not knowing the circumstances, an Irish cop forces Morgan to marry his sweetheart, Madge Perry, in order to give Janet a legitimate father. Following the race season to the California tracks they acquire ownership of a horse, a big bankroll...and some misfortune in the form of a federal court-trial as kidnappers of the child.

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Plot Keywords:

orphanage | orphan | meal ticket | california | gambler | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Sport

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 June 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Menina da Sorte

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

65 min 63 min (Turner library print)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

Thoroughly Enjoyable

Little Miss Thoroughbred is a nice little film with an absolutely adorable performance by Janet Chapman (qv) as the title character.

Movies with children this young run the risk of being too cutesy, but to her credit little Miss Chapman keeps her performance on the positive side.

This movie was on my to-watch list because of Ann Sheridan (qv) and, as usual, she doesn't disappoint. As talented as she is beautiful, Miss Sheridan makes any movie worth watching and she does a nice job working with Miss Chapman.

If you don't mind the whole using-a-kid-to-win-at-the-races angle, then I'm sure you'll find this movie Thoroughly enjoyable. (Pun intended :-)