Lucky Star (1929)

Mary, a poor farm girl, meets Tim just as word comes that war has been declared. Tim enlists in the army and goes to the battlefields of Europe, where he is wounded and loses the use of his... See full summary »

Director:

Frank Borzage

Writers:

John Hunter Booth (dialogue), H.H. Caldwell (titles),

Stars:

Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Janet Gaynor	...	Mary Tucker
Charles Farrell	...	Timothy Osborn
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams	...	Sgt. Martin Wrenn
Paul Fix	...	Joe
Hedwiga Reicher	...	Mrs. Tucker
Gloria Grey	...	Mary Smith
Hector Sarno	...	Pop Fry (as Hector V. Sarno)

Storyline

Mary, a poor farm girl, meets Tim just as word comes that war has been declared. Tim enlists in the army and goes to the battlefields of Europe, where he is wounded and loses the use of his legs. Home again, Tim is visited by Mary, and they are powerfully attracted to each other; but his physical handicap prevents him from declaring his love for her. Deeper complications set in when Martin, Tim's former sergeant and a bully, takes a shine to Mary.

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Plot Keywords:

farm girl | physical handicap | handicap | love | army | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 August 1929 (USA)

Also Known As:

Estrellas dichosas

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 100 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System) (talking sequences) Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the New York Times, the sound version of this movie was "partly silent and partly talking, being divided about equally into the two molds." Sound effects were scattered throughout the picture, including a phonograph record and the noise of a train's departure.

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Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Hist-o-Rama: Janet Gaynor (1962)

User Reviews

Excellent performance by Charles Farrell

"Lucky Star" boasts an exceptional performance by Charles Farrell as the handicapped Tim, who falls in love with a pathetic waif, "Baa-Baa", played by the sweet and petite Janet Gaynor. Whereas in "7th Heaven", Janet Gaynor gives the performance of a lifetime, here in this film it is Charlie Farrell who wows you with his believable, dynamic acting as Tim, a good man maimed in World War One, who comes home in a wheelchair and has to cope with being lame. One can easily see Charles was much more than your typical Hollywood "pretty boy", so it is kind of bizarre that the studios quickly forgot his excellent silent film performances, and put him in vehicles like musicals once sound came in, thereby destroying what should have been a continued dramatic career throughout the coming decades.

Frank Borzage was a sentimental director whose work I have always enjoyed. He continued to make some excellent sound films as the years went on, but his silent films are his most memorable, for he had a knack of drawing excellent and subtle pantomime performances from his actors which communicated emotions far more profoundly without words than with them. I would like to see this film restored and placed on DVD so that future generations can see it. Keeping it locked up - and forcing people to watch poor bootlegs - does not do honor to this film, or to Borzage, Farrell, and Gaynor. They deserve the best showcase for this moving film. I do feel the ending - which I won't reveal - is a cop-out, but other than that "Lucky Star" is a film well worth seeing.