The Lemon Drop Kid

Released Apr 2, 1951

1h 31m

Musical

Comedy

List

Reviews

75%

Audience Score

1,000+ Ratings

A racetrack tout (Bob Hope) has a month to pay back the sum a gangster (Lloyd Nolan) lost on a bad tip.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Hope is in fine form.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 3, 2021

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James Plath

Family Home Theater

There's something in The Lemon Drop Kid that's endearing enough to make it a nice alternative to the usual Christmas movies....

Rated: B

Jan 16, 2018

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Another awful Bob Hope comedy. It goes down as sour as a lemon drop.

Rated: C

Aug 18, 2011

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Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Terrific Bob Hope Christmas picture. One of his best.

Rated: 4/5

May 24, 2006

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Cinsai H

A fun and funny Christmas caper with Bob Hope as a con man trying to outwit a gangster. It's not a traditional Christmas movie by any means, but it's delightful. Big plus is the song Silver Bells crooned by Hope. Such fun!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/25/23

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Joel H

I'd never heard of The Lemon Drop Kid before, but I saw it on a list of Christmas comedies, so I thought I'd give it a chance. It wasn't bad. It took a while for me to warm up to Bob Hope's character, but I think that was kind of the point. I don't think the comedy has held up as well as other movies, and I wasn't sold on this being a Christmas movie at first, but it eventually got there. I was also shocked to learn that this was the movie that introduced "Silver Bells" to the world. That's gotta count for something. I liked The Lemon Drop Kid, but it's not going to be a holiday staple for me.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/16/23

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Audience Member

Too old for the Rankin Bass movies? Dissatisfied with "It's A Wonderful Life"? (I was.) Other Christmas movies either too juvenile, or unsuited for the family? Well, even though Bob Hope was in a lot of bad movies, this is not one of them. It's based on a Damon Runyon story about a man who distracts a mobster's girlfriend, causing her to lose a $10,000 racetrack bet. The mobster learns of this and threatens the man to get him his money back by Christmas, or face his brutality (which is strongly hinted at). The man tries to ring a bell to collect money to rescue himself, but falls afoul of the law for not having a charity license. Not taking chances the next time, he arranges for a mobster's closed-up gambling joint to be secretly opened, the money ostensibly going to charity. Complications set in when a different mobster gets wind of it and wants the funds for himself. The the man is really in a bind. What to do? Trivia: This was the movie where the Christmas song "Silver Bells" was first performed. Ironic that the film has fallen into obscurity.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

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Ed M

My favorite Christmas movie. Bob Hope in his prime!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/25/20

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kevin w

Who's Damon Runyon? Another hack is all, especially compared to the giant of cinema that is Bob Hope, who takes this popular Runyon tale and steals it to make it his own (not that any writer fared differently in Hope's hands). Fans of Guys and Dolls will hear little of the witty destruction of the English language that so endeared Runyon fans, replaced with more of the same standard Hope patter instead. It's not a terrible picture for that "requisition", but it's nothing special either ultimately, light entertainment at best description, which is considerably less than what it could of been.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

The best comedy movie ever made! With the best movie song ever sung: Silver Bells!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

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Sidney Lanfield

Director

Bob Hope

Sidney Melbourne

Marilyn Maxwell

'Brainy' Baxter

Lloyd Nolan

Oxford Charley

Jane Darwell

Nellie Thursday

Andrea King

Stella

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Synopsis

A racetrack tout (Bob Hope) has a month to pay back the sum a gangster (Lloyd Nolan) lost on a bad tip.

Director: Sidney Lanfield
Screenwriter: Edmund L. Hartmann, Robert O'Brien, Frank Tashlin
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount
Genre: Musical, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 2, 1951, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 25, 2018
Runtime: 1h 31m

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