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Lady for a Day (1933)

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• Frank Capra had been loaned to MGM to work on a film called "Soviet," in exchange for $50,000 and Robert Montgomery's participation in this picture; Capra also hoped to get Marie Dressler's services from MGM. After "Soviet" was cancelled as a project, Columbia was unable to get either James Cagney from Warner Bros. or William Powell from MGM for the role of Dave the Dude; they also tried to get W.C. Fields from Paramount to play Judge Blake, but again could not make a deal.
  
  
• A number of beggars in downtown Los Angeles were cast in small roles, including the legless man, nicknamed Shorty, whom Capra had remembered as selling pencils when the director was a paperboy.
  
  
• Radio City Music Hall booked the film's premiere without seeing it, because Capra's The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933) had been the theater's first film and they considered the director to be good luck.
  
  

• At this point Columbia was still a poverty row studio with Harry Cohn adamant against hiring actors under long term contracts. The cast of this film was largely obtained on loan from Warner Brothers' pool of talented character actors. Warren William was at the peak of his career and being loaned out to lowly Columbia was meant to humble any thoughts of greater salary demands. Although his career would wane in the mid-30's, this film was a big hit.
  
  

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