In the 1930s, Sorrowful Jones is a gloomy, cantankerous bookie who is confronted by Carter, a gambler who cannot pay a $10 debt. Carter gives his six-year-old daughter to Sorrowful's gangster-run gambling operation as a "marker" (collateral) for a bet. When Carter loses his bet and ends his life, the gangsters are left with the girl on their hands. Sorrowful's nervous assistant Regret is concerned about the legality of the arrangement, which might violate kidnapping statutes.
In the interim, a crime boss named Blackie coerces his longtime rival Sorrowful to finance a new gambling joint. It is opened in the stately home of Blackie's girlfriend, the widowed Amanda Worthington, who needs money to repurchase her family property. Amanda is also counting on her racehorse Sir Galahad to ride to her rescue. While the girl's personal needs inconvenience Sorrowful, a father-daughter relationship develops and they become inseparable.
In 1981, Sara Stimson was nominated for the female Young Artist Award in the category of Best Major Motion Picture - Family Entertainment. Stimson lost to Diane Lane for her performance in Touched by Love.[2]Little Miss Marker is Stimson's only acting credit.[3]
