Beggars of Life (1928)

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Benjamin Glazer (adaptation)
Jim Tully (story)

Release Date:

22 September 1928 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Plot:

After killing her treacherous step-father, a girl tries to escape the country with a young vagabond...

Plot Keywords:

Train | Based On Novel

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

Runtime:

100 min | USA:84 min (sound version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Filming Locations:

San Diego, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation

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.

Quotes:

The Boy: Ain't it funny when you think of the millions o' people in warm houses and feather beds, an' us just driftin' 'round like the clouds? But I guess it's about even when you boil it down. Even them people in feather beds ain't satisfied - we're all beggars of life.

Movie Connections:

References The Sheik (1921)

Brooks and Wellman

Beggars of Life (1928)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

This William Wellman directed film is often called one of the last great silent movies but I must have missed something. In the film, a sexually abused young girl (Louise Brooks) kills her adopted father and runs into a hobo (Richard Arlen). The two are jumping trains trying to make their way to Canada when they run into another group of hobo's led by Oklahoma Red (Wallace Beery). When this other group of hobo's discover that the girl is wanting by the police, they must decide what to do with her. Once again, I'm really not sure what all the fuss about this film is over. Granted, I'll give it one more viewing because the print I watched appeared to be from a 16mm source and was way too dark. As it is, the best thing about the film are the performances by Arlen and Brooks. The two make for a very nice couple and the film is quite fun for the first thirty minutes when the two are the only thing on screen. After that, when the additional hobo's come into play, I'm not sure what the film was going for. The trial scene goes on and on and for what point I don't know. The visual style is nice but certainly not in the same league as Sunrise, which I've heard this film compared to.