Little Miss Marker (1980 film)

{{Infobox film

| name = Little Miss Marker

| image = 1980-little-miss-markerPOSTER.jpg

| caption =

| director = Walter Bernstein

| writer = Walter Bernstein
Damon Runyon

| starring = Walter Matthau
Julie Andrews
Tony Curtis
Bob Newhart
Lee Grant
Sara Stimson

| music = Henry Mancini

| cinematography = Philip H. Lathrop

| editing = Eve Newman

| producer = Jennings Lang
Walter Matthau

| distributor = Universal Pictures

| released = {{Film date|1980|03|21}}

| runtime = 103 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| gross = $6,321,392[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=littlemissmarker.htm Box Office]

}}

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.

Plot

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.

Cast

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

Award nominations

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.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081063/awards www.imdb.com/title/tt0081063/awards] Little Miss Marker is Stimson's only acting credit.[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0830400/ Sara Stimson on imdb.com]

Notes

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|date=October 2024}}