Lady for a Day (1933)
Starring: May Robson, Warren William, Glenda Farrell, Guy Kibbee, Ned Sparks
Directed by: Frank Capra
May Robson's performance in Lady for a Day is a great deal more sober than Hull in Harvey, though there are some light moments. She plays Apple Annie, a hard-drinking street vendor whose daughter overseas thinks she's a lady of leisure. When Annie discovers that her daughter is coming to visit her and introduce her well-heeled fiancée, she is desperate to save face. One of her customers comes to the rescue; he's Dave the Dude (William), a gangster who believes that Annie's apples bring him luck at the race-track.
With the help of The Dude's girlfriend, played with great sass by Glenda Farrell, Annie is transformed into an elegant lady. The Dude finds her a suite, a temporary husband, and even swanky friends (who only a few hours ago were his rough-mannered cronies).
The first time Robson appears on the screen, she is disheveled and poverty-stricken, but also tough and obviously well loved by both her friends and customers on the street. Nothing seems to faze her, until she receives the letter from her daughter, then Robson reveals the painful longing that her jolly manner conceals.
When The Dude explains to Robson how he will help her, she is suddenly filled with humility. She is so abashed that she can barely raise her head. The next time we see her, she is quiet and regal, not a bit of the shaggy apple vendor remains. Though Robson significantly changes her appearance and bearing, the new Annie is believable, because the longing her daughter's letter has inspired suffuses her entire personality. It is a masterful performance.
When Robson was nominated for an Academy Award for best leading actress, she became the earliest born person to receive that honor. Unfortunately, she did not take home the prize.
Other movies with Grand Ladies:
Dinner at Eight (1933) [with Marie Dressler]
Love Affair (1939) [with Maria Ouspenskaya]
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)[with Josephine Hull and Jean Adair]
Pinky (1949) [with Ethel Waters and Ethel Barrymore]
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