40 Pounds of Trouble

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40 Pounds of Trouble
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNorman Jewison
Written byMarion Hargrove
Based onLittle Miss Marker
by Damon Runyon
Produced byStan Margulies
StarringTony Curtis
Suzanne Pleshette
Larry Storch
CinematographyJoseph MacDonald
Edited byMarjorie Fowler
Music byMort Lindsey
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal-International Pictures
Release date
  • December 31, 1962 (1962-12-31)
Running time
106 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2,750,000 (US/ Canada)[1]

40 Pounds of Trouble is a 1962 comedy film directed by Norman Jewison and starring Tony Curtis, Suzanne Pleshette, Larry Storch, and Phil Silvers. It is a retelling of Damon Runyon's 1932 short story Little Miss Marker.[2]

It marks Jewison's feature film directorial debut, after several years as a television director;[3] it also marks Stanley Margulies' feature film producer debut, after having been executive producer on the television series Tales of the Vikings for Brynaprod.[4][5] The film was shot on location at Disneyland and at Harrah's Club in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.[6][7] It was the first motion picture ever to receive permission from Walt Disney to film at the amusement park.[8][9][10] Producers Curtis and Stanley Margulies sent Disney a copy of the script and were surprised when the noted figure phoned them three days later to give his approval, with only a minor alteration to the script.[9] It was the only released film completed by Curtis and Margulies' film production company Curtis Enterprises, as the pair would form a new company, Reynard Productions, shortly afterwards.

40 Pounds of Trouble had a limited one-day-only New Year's Eve screening at select theaters across the United States, on the night of December 31, 1962.[11][12] Theaters showed the film from one to three times that night in celebration of the oncoming new year.[13] The film had its official world premiere on January 18, 1963, at the Carib-Miami-Miracle Theaters in Miami, Florida,[14] and the next day at Harrah's Club's South Shore Room in Lake Tahoe, Nevada which Curtis and his wife Christine Kaufmann attended.[15][16] The film then opened to the rest of the United States during the last week of January and first week of February 1963. It was a success and the film was nominated for a Golden Laurel Award for Top Comedy and Curtis was nominated for a Golden Laurel Award for Top Male Comedy Performance.

Plot[edit]

A casino manager, Steve McCluskey, and his club singer, Chris Lockwood, find their hands full when they agree to take in a troublesome young girl named Penny Piper, left behind in the casino by her gambling father. The little girl hinders the manager's plans to keep his gaming licence. Penny thinks that Steve needs to get married and settle down, so she starts trying to match make, trying to set him up with Chris. Steve is still reeling from his failed first marriage and is apprehensive about another trip to the altar. The movie's culmination involves a long slapstick pursuit through many parts of Disneyland as a disguised Steve, Chris, and Penny elude capture by a private detective. Other scenes show a backdrop of scenic Lake Tahoe.[17][18][19][20]

Principal cast[edit]

Actor Role
Tony Curtis Steve McCluskey
Suzanne Pleshette Chris Lockwood
Larry Storch Floyd
Howard Morris Julius
Edward Andrews Herman
Stubby Kaye Cranston
Warren Stevens Swing
Kevin McCarthy Louie Blanchard
Phil Silvers Bernie "the Butcher" Friedman
Claire Wilcox Penelope "Penny" Piper
Jimmy MacDonald (sound effects artist) Witch Vocals in Snow White's Adventures

Critical reception[edit]

Bosley Crowther of The New York Times summed up the film:

40 Pounds of Trouble is witless remake of a Runyon Story... Blunt promotion, thin humor fill script... The trouble with 40 Pounds of Trouble is that it is just too hackneyed and dull.[2]

Wilcox has been especially praised in her scene in the courthouse.[21]

Trivia[edit]

One of the first films to be shot at Disneyland.[22]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Top Rental Features of 1963", Variety, January 8, 1964, p 71. Please note figures are rentals as opposed to total gross.
  2. ^ a b Bosley Crowther (January 24, 1963). "Screen: '40 Pounds of Trouble'". The New York Times. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
  3. ^ Yumpu.com. "boxoffice-february121962". yumpu.com. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  4. ^ "Messenger-Inquirer from Owensboro, Kentucky on February 3, 1963 · 23". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  5. ^ Motion Picture Daily (Jul-Sep 1959). MBRS Library of Congress. Quigley Publishing Company, inc. 1959.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. ^ "40 Pounds of Trouble (1962) - IMDb". IMDb.
  7. ^ Gettell, Oliver (May 23, 2015). "'Tomorrowland' and 5 more Disneyland movies to mark the park's 60th". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  8. ^ "The Evening Sun from Baltimore, Maryland on May 31, 1962 · 50". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Valley Times from North Hollywood, California on May 14, 1962 · 6". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  10. ^ "Los Angeles Evening Citizen News from Hollywood, California on May 7, 1962 · 10". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  11. ^ "Argus-Leader from Sioux Falls, South Dakota on December 28, 1962 · Page 21". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  12. ^ "Deseret News from Salt Lake City, Utah on December 29, 1962 · 3". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  13. ^ "The Lima News from Lima, Ohio on December 20, 1962 · 23". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  14. ^ "The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida on January 18, 1963 · 82". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  15. ^ "The Miami News from Miami, Florida on January 19, 1963 · 9". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  16. ^ "Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut on January 20, 1963 · 28". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  17. ^ 40 Pounds of Trouble, February 14, 1963, retrieved December 17, 2019
  18. ^ 40 Pounds of Trouble (1963), retrieved December 17, 2019
  19. ^ "The Secret Story Behind 40 Pounds of Trouble Part One". www.mouseplanet.com. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  20. ^ Noble, Barnes &. "40 Pounds of Trouble". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  21. ^ 40 Pounds of Trouble (1962), retrieved December 17, 2019
  22. ^ 40 Pounds of Trouble (1962) - IMDb, retrieved February 1, 2022

External links[edit]