Beggars of Life (1928)

After killing her treacherous step-father, a girl tries to escape the country with a young vagabond. She dresses as a boy, they hop freight trains, quarrel with a group of hobos, and steal ... See full summary »

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Benjamin Glazer (adaptation), Jim Tully (story),

Stars:

Wallace Beery, Louise Brooks, Richard Arlen

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Wallace Beery	...	Oklahoma Red
Louise Brooks	...	The Girl (Nancy)
Richard Arlen	...	The Boy (Jim)
Blue Washington	...	Black Mose (as Edgar Washington Blue)
Kewpie Morgan	...	Skinny (as H.A. Morgan)
Andy Clark	...	Skelly
Mike Donlin	...	Bill
Roscoe Karns	...	Lame Hoppy
Bob Perry	...	The Arkansaw Snake (as Robert Perry)
Johnnie Morris	...	Rubin
George Kotsonaros	...	Baldy
Jack Chapin	...	Ukie (as Jacques Chapin)
Robert Brower	...	Blind Sims
Frank Brownlee	...	Farmer

Storyline

After killing her treacherous step-father, a girl tries to escape the country with a young vagabond. She dresses as a boy, they hop freight trains, quarrel with a group of hobos, and steal a car in their attempt to escape the police, and reach Canada.

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Plot Keywords:

train | based on novel

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 September 1928 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bettler des Lebens

Filming Locations:

Carrizo Gorge, Mojave Desert, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 84 min (sound)

Sound Mix:

Mono (MovieTone) (talking sequences and musical score) Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The train wreck in this movie (an actual derailment) was filmed in Carrizo Gorge in the Southern California desert; the wreckage is still there.

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Quotes

The Boy: [title card]

• And if there's a gal in my the gang, she's my gal.

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Connections

References The Sheik (1921)

User Reviews

Visually interesting but dramatically lacking.

The cinematography and editing in BEGGARS OF LIFE are quite striking, although there are also a number of scenes shot and edited in a pedestrian manner, perhaps reflecting talking sequence retakes. I cannot agree with the other two reviewers on this page - I find Louise Brooks to be dull, dull, dull. She sleepwalks through this. Yes, she is not an "exaggerated" silent actress, but she shows no life at all here, approaching the character in a very passive way. The plot twist in the end with Beery endearing himself to the audience as well as the fleeing lovers did provide a bit of interest. Arlen is very likeable and charming in the lead and Beery does what he does best, play Beery.

Note: Avoid the Grapevine Video release - it is deplorably bad. 85% of it is so dark (and a good deal of it is shot at night) you can neither read the titles, nor see what is going on on screen. A pristine print of this film shows some very subtle night lighting but all of this is lost on the Grapevine transfer. Personally, I would have nixed the release - the result is that poor.

All in all, visually interesting, but not great cinema.