The Lemon Drop Kid

The Kid moves through a Florida racetrack, pitching horses to different bettors and taking a cut of their winnings. He orchestrates a switch for a woman betting on Iron Bar, but the horse finishes last. Moose Moran, a notorious gangster, erupts with anger and demands $10,000 by Christmas Eve under threat of violence.

Seeking to cover the debt, the Kid returns to New York and targets his on-again, off-again girlfriend Brainey Baxter. He hopes she will fund or join the hustle, but trouble arises when talk of a long-term commitment surfaces and he bolts.

The Kid next seeks help from local crime boss Oxford Charlie, hoping for a loan or safe harbor. Charlie is preoccupied with tax trouble and shows little interest, dismissing the idea and sending him away.

Leaving Charlie, the Kid disguises himself as a street Santa to collect donations for a charitable cause. A passing cop spots him, and he is convicted of panhandling, receiving a ten-day jail sentence.

Brainey secures his release, and the Kid decides to legitimize his operation by courting a real charity and obtaining a city license. The shift marks a move from scam to sanctioned effort.

The Kid recalls Nellie Thursday, a neighbor denied entry to a retirement home because of her jailed husband. With Brainey and others, he converts an abandoned Moose Moran casino into the Nellie Thursday Home For Old Dolls, giving the project a social purpose.

Having obtained the license, the Kid and his crew dress as Santa and spread across Manhattan to collect donations for the home. The operation proves lucrative, netting about 2,000 dollars in a few days; Brainey contemplates a full-time commitment.

Seeing a potential gold mine, Oxford Charlie decides to muscle in on the operation. He and his crew kidnap the home’s elderly residents and relocate them to Charlie's Nyack mansion, seizing control of the charity.

The Kid returns to Nellie Thursday Home to find it deserted and the money missing from a hollow statue. Oversized footprints in snow lead him to suspect Charlie, and a phone conversation with Moose Moran confirms the betrayal.

Brainey informs the Kid Nellie escaped, and he infiltrates Charlie's mansion disguised as an elderly woman to recover the missing cash. After a brief confrontation with Charlie’s men, he overpowers Charlie and escapes with the money.

That night the Kid returns to Nellie Thursday Home to meet Moose Moran, who arrives with Charlie. Charlie demands reimbursement, threatening the home’s viability. The Kid flips a hidden switch revealing casino tables full of the home’s residents, and a raid by the police ensues, arresting Moran and Charlie.

With the gangsters arrested, Nellie’s husband is joyfully reunited with his wife, and the Kid pledges to focus on making the Nellie Thursday Home a reality rather than scamming people.