Sorrowful Jones (1949)

A young girl is left with the notoriously cheap Sorrowful Jones as a marker for a bet. When her father doesn't return, he learns that taking care of a child interferes with his ... See full summary »

Director:

Sidney Lanfield

Writers:

Damon Runyon (story), Edmund L. Hartmann (screenplay),

Stars:

Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, William Demarest

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bob Hope	...	Humphrey 'Sorrowful' Jones
Lucille Ball	...	Gladys O'Neill
William Demarest	...	Regret
Bruce Cabot	...	Big Steve Holloway
Thomas Gomez	...	Reardon
Tom Pedi	...	Once Over Sam
Paul Lees	...	Orville Smith
Houseley Stevenson	...	Doc Chesley
Ben Welden	...	Big Steve's Bodyguard
Emmett Vogan	...	Psychiatrist
Mary Jane Saunders	...	Martha Jane Smith

Storyline

A young girl is left with the notoriously cheap Sorrowful Jones as a marker for a bet. When her father doesn't return, he learns that taking care of a child interferes with his free-wheeling lifestyle. Sorrowful must also evade crooked gangsters and indulge in a bit of horse-thieving.

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Plot Keywords:

singer | horse | horse racing | little girl | character name in title

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 July 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Menina Mágica

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on November 21, 1949 with Bob Hope and Lucille Ball reprising their film roles.

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Quotes

Once Over Sam: He makes a monkey out of me? Well I'll make an omelet outta him!

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Connections

Version of 40 Pounds of Trouble (1962)

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Soundtracks

"Rock-a-Bye Bangtail"
(uncredited)
based on "Rock-a-Bye Baby"
Music by Effie I. Canning
Special Lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
Sung by Bob Hope and Mary Jane Saunders

User Reviews

Very Good, Underrated Re-Make

This movie, a re-make of Shirley Temple's "Little Miss Marker" gets little respect from the critics. As usual, I disagree with them: this is fun movie and one you should enjoy if you like Temple and laugh at Bob Hope's jokes.

I didn't always think Hope was funny but this movie had a lot of laughs, a great story and a cute kid. It isn't as hokey or dated as most of Hope's films and some of his lines in here are downright clever.

Mary Jane Saunders does a nice imitation of Temple-Margaret O'Brien, a combination of those two child stars. You also get Lucille Ball in here, although she's just okay, nothing hilarious. She does get some good wise-cracks in, however.

This is a solid, underrated comedy. I'm sorry to see I am only the second person to review this film on IMDb. A lot of people are missing out on a funny movie.