Beggars of Life
Encyclopedia
Beggars of Life is an early sound film
with talking sequences starring Wallace Beery
as a rail-riding hobo and Louise Brooks
as a girl on the run. Based on a novel called Beggars of Life by Jim Tully, the film is often regarded as Brooks's best American movie. This is Paramount
's first feature with dialogue on the soundtrack and the first time Beery's distinctive voice was recorded for a film, although the talking is extremely limited, similar to Warner Bros.
's The Jazz Singer
the previous year.
Beery and Brooks had appeared together the previous year in Now We're in the Air
, a lost film
.
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
with talking sequences starring Wallace Beery
Wallace Beery
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
as a rail-riding hobo and Louise Brooks
Louise Brooks
Mary Louise Brooks , generally known by her stage name Louise Brooks, was an American dancer, model, showgirl and silent film actress, noted for popularizing the bobbed haircut. Brooks is best known for her three feature roles including two G. W...
as a girl on the run. Based on a novel called Beggars of Life by Jim Tully, the film is often regarded as Brooks's best American movie. This is Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
's first feature with dialogue on the soundtrack and the first time Beery's distinctive voice was recorded for a film, although the talking is extremely limited, similar to Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
's The Jazz Singer
The Jazz Singer (1927 film)
The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American musical film. The first feature-length motion picture with synchronized dialogue sequences, its release heralded the commercial ascendance of the "talkies" and the decline of the silent film era. Produced by Warner Bros. with its Vitaphone sound-on-disc system,...
the previous year.
Beery and Brooks had appeared together the previous year in Now We're in the Air
Now We're in the Air
Now We're in the Air is a silent film starring the unofficial late-1920s comedy team of Wallace Beery and Raymond Hatton, and Louise Brooks. The movie was directed by Frank R...
, a lost film
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
.
Cast
- Wallace BeeryWallace BeeryWallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
as Oklahoma Red - Louise BrooksLouise BrooksMary Louise Brooks , generally known by her stage name Louise Brooks, was an American dancer, model, showgirl and silent film actress, noted for popularizing the bobbed haircut. Brooks is best known for her three feature roles including two G. W...
as The Girl (Nancy) - Richard ArlenRichard Arlen-Biography:Born Sylvanus Richard Van Mattimore in St. Paul, Minnesota, he attended the University of Pennsylvania. He served as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I. His first job after the war was with St. Paul's Athletic Club...
as The Boy (Jim) - Bob Perry as The Arkansaw Snake
- Blue Washington as Black Mose
- Roscoe KarnsRoscoe KarnsRoscoe Karns was an American actor. He appeared in nearly 150 films between 1915 and 1964.He played the title role in the popular DuMont Television Network series Rocky King, Inside Detective from 1950 to 1954...
as Lame Hoppy - Guinn "Big Boy" Williams as Baker's Cart Driver (uncredited)