A tiny child, left as an IOU at a race track by her insolvent father, charms her way into the hearts of a group of hard-boiled gamblers.
Shirley Temple - not quite six years old - became a full-fledged movie star with LITTLE MISS MARKER. Loaned out to Paramount for the one picture, she emerged as a top of the bill powerhouse prepared to return to Fox Studios and become the most popular performer in Hollywood for the next five years. With genuine talent & an infectious sparkle, she would carve out her unassailable niche in film history.
To its credit, the fast moving script allows her to be a little less than saintly, with a normal dose of cranks & crotchets. Even so, her costars, as well as the audience, become her willing slaves in short order. Adolphe Menjou, as the cynical gambler who takes her in, and Charles Bickford as his tough boss, find themselves completely overwhelmed by the mighty moppet. Both of these gentlemen were abundantly experienced actors, used to controlling viewers' attentions in their screen scenes; it must have been somewhat odd for them to be reduced to so much stage dressing - but Shirley's ascendant flood swamped all other boats.
The Damon Runyon story is well served by the rest of the colorful cast, but it is easy to regret every minute the Small One does not appear on screen. Shirley became quite close to pretty Dorothy Dell, playing a nightclub chanteuse involved with both Bickford & Menjou. The news of Miss Dell's tragic death in a car wreck soon after filming completed was kept from Shirley for some time.
Movie mavens will recognize Willie Best as a friendly janitor & Tammany Young as a bettor, both uncredited.
