Weary River (1929)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Frank Lloyd

Writers:

Courtney Ryley Cooper (story)
Bradley King (screen version)

Release Date:

10 February 1929 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot Keywords:

Male Female Relationship | Police | Trial | Gangster | Gunfire

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Richard Barthelmess	...	Jerry Larrabee
Betty Compson	...	Alice Gray
William Holden	...	Warden
Louis Natheaux	...	Spadoni
George E. Stone	...	Blackie (as George Stone)
Ray Turner	...	Elevator Boy (as Raymond Turner)
Gladden James	...	Jerry's Vaudeville Manager

Runtime:

USA:86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric System) (sound effects, music and talking sequences)

Certification:

USA:Passed

Company:

First National Pictures

Trivia:

Vitaphone production reels #3021-3029

Soundtrack:

Frankie and Johnny

Interesting half-and-half

Turner Classic Movies presented "Weary River" in March of 2003 as part of its month of Oscar. I found it intriguing, even enjoyable. Partly because it was half-silent and half-sound, I was intrigued, since I have a deep and abiding interest in the earliest films. I enjoyed it for that reason, and because the story itself was, at the very least, pleasant, if not totally believable and realistic. Betty Compson, who played Alice, had a remarkably cute way of speaking, and whenever she called to her lover Jerry, played by Richard Barthelmess, she pronounced it "Jer-wy," which I found endearing. Great cinema? Perhaps not, but one I would like to see again, if only to prove to myself whether Barthelmess did his own singing. And to watch and hear the adorable Betty Compson.