Blu ray review: Sorrowful Jones (1949)

Damon Runyon’s story Little Miss Marker had been filmed before, in 1934, with Shirley Temple as the star. In this 1949 remake, the title is changed to Sorrowful Jones, and the emphasis is on that character, played by Bob Hope. It has been released to blu ray by Kino Lorber.

Hope is perfectly cast as the fast-talking street sharpie who is involved in gambling and mobsters, but is really a loser. In Hope’s hands, the character is dryly funny, Hope having his comedy writers add a lot of jokes to the script. He is co-starred with Lucille Ball in the first of four films they made together. Lucy didn’t really show her true comic abilities until TV’s I Love Lucy a couple years later, when she had creative control. At the time of Sorrowful Jones she was an actress with good comic timing and, thus, first very comfortably in the this film.

The story has Sorrowful taking care of a little girl (Mary Jane Saunders) who is left as a marker by a losing gambler. When the gambler never returns, Joe assumes responsibility. The narrative not only allows for jokes, it lets Hope extend his range to include some tender serious scenes which he pulls off very well. In 1949 when this film was made, Hope was coming off the massive success of his 1948 release The Paleface, and it was determined he could stretch a bit and play a character that was a bit more layered. He does so commendably. The film was a box office success and audiences enjoyed seeing Hope in a role with a bit more depth.

An offbeat film for Bob Hope, Sorrowful Jones is often very funny, often very moving, and benefits from a supporting cast that includes such familiar movie types as William Demarest, Bruce Cabot, Thomas Gomez, and Ben Welden.

Kino Lorber’s blu ray is a new 2K master and is available at this link: SORROWFUL