Beggars of Life
Beggars of Life (1928) is a Paramount film directed by William Wellman and starring Wallace Beery and Richard Arlen as hobos, and Louise Brooks as a young woman who dresses as a young man and flees the law. The film is regarded as Brooks's best American movie.[1]
| Beggars of Life | |
|---|---|
 1928 lobby card | |
| Directed by | William A. Wellman |
| Produced by | Jesse L. Lasky Adolph Zukor |
| Written by | Jim Tully (autobiography) Maxwell Anderson (play) |
| Starring | Wallace Beery Louise Brooks Richard Arlen |
| Music by | Karl Hajos |
| Cinematography | Henry W. Gerrard |
| Edited by | Alyson Shaffer |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date | September 22, 1928 |
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The actress recounted her memories of working on the film in her essay, “On Location with Billy Wellman,” which is included in her 1982 book, Lulu in Hollywood.[2]
Beggars of Life was released as both a silent and sound film (the latter with added music, sound effects, and dialogue) in September 1928. The sound sequences, which included train noises and Beery singing a song, are now considered lost. This was Paramount's first feature with spoken dialogue and the first time Beery's voice was recorded for a film, although Beery's spoken dialogue was limited. Today, only the silent version of Beggars of Life is known to survive.[3][4]
The film is based on Outside Looking In, a stage play by Maxwell Anderson adapted from Jim Tully’s 1924 autobiographical book, Beggars of Life. The play debuted September 7, 1925 at the Greenwich Village Theater. Among those who attended a performance was Charlie Chaplin, who was accompanied by Louise Brooks. Paramount purchased the rights to Tully's book and Anderson's play in early 1928.[5]
Arlen and Brooks had appeared together the previous year in Rolled Stockings, which is considered a lost film. Beery and Brooks had appeared together the previous year in Now We're in the Air, which was considered a lost film until 2016 when an incomplete copy was found in Czech Republic.[6][7]
In 2017, the best surviving copy of Beggars of Life was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Kino Lorber.
Cast
- Wallace Beery as Oklahoma Red
- Louise Brooks as The Girl (Nancy)
- Richard Arlen as The Boy (Jim)
- Bob Perry as The Arkansaw Snake
- Blue Washington as Black Mose
- Roscoe Karns as Lame Hoppy
- Robert Brower as Blind Sims (uncredited)
- Frank Brownlee as the Farmer (uncredited)
- Jacques (Jack) Chapin as Ukie (uncredited)
- Andy Clark as Skelly (uncredited)
- Mike Donlin as Bill (uncredited)
- George Kotsonaros as Baldy (uncredited)
- Kewpie Morgan as Skinny (uncredited)
- Guinn "Big Boy" Williams as Baker's Cart Driver (uncredited)
See also
- Miss Nobody (1926)
- Wild Boys of the Road (1933)
References
- Thomas Gladysz. Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film, PandorasBox Press, 2017.
- Louise Brooks. Lulu in Hollywood, Knopf 1982.
- Thomas Gladysz. Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film, PandorasBox Press, 2017.
- The Library of Congress/FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog:Beggars of Life
- Barry Paris. Louise Brooks, Knopf, 1989.
- Long Missing Louise Brooks Film Found on Huffington Post
- Outside Looking In, the Broadway play upon which Beggars of Life is based, was staged at the Greenwich Village Theatre and 39th Street Theatre Sept.7, 1925-Dec 1925; IBDb.com
Sources
- Brooks, Louise (1982). Lulu in Hollywood. Knopf. ISBN 0394-520718.
- Gladysz, Thomas (2017). Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film. PandorasBox Press. ISBN 978-0692879535.
- Paris, Barry (1989). Louise Brooks. Knopf. ISBN 0394-559231.