Sally (1929)

Sally was an orphan who got her name from the telephone exchange where she was abandoned as a baby. In the orphanage, she discovered the joy of dancing and has been practicing since. ... See full summary »

Director:

John Francis Dillon

Writers:

Guy Bolton (author of Ziegfeld's musical comedy), Waldemar Young (screen version)

Stars:

Marilyn Miller, Alexander Gray, Joe E. Brown

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Marilyn Miller	...	Sally
Alexander Gray	...	Blair Farell
Joe E. Brown	...	Grand Duke Connie
T. Roy Barnes	...	Otis Hooper
Pert Kelton	...	Rosie
Ford Sterling	...	'Pops' Shendorff
Maude Turner Gordon	...	Mrs. Ten Brock
E.J. Ratcliffe	...	John Farell
Jack Duffy	...	Roue
Ethel Stone	...	Lutie
Nora Lane	...	Marcia

Storyline

Sally was an orphan who got her name from the telephone exchange where she was abandoned as a baby. In the orphanage, she discovered the joy of dancing and has been practicing since. Working as a waitress, she goes from job to job until she finds a job that also allows her to dance. At the restaurant, she meets Blair, and they both fall for each other, but Blair is engaged to Marcia. Sally is hired to impersonate a famous Russian dancer named Noskerova, but at that engagement, she is found to be a phony and that Blair is engaged. Undaunted, she proceeds with her life and has her show on Broadway, but she still thinks of Blair.

---

Plot Keywords:

restaurant | waitress | party | dancer | engagement | 

---

Taglines:

ALMOST TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE! (Print Ad-Milwaukee Sentinel, ((Milwaukee, Wisc.)) 5 January 1930)

---

Genres:

Musical

---

Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

12 January 1930 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cilly

Company Credits

Production Co:

First National Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Apparatus)

Color:

Color (2-strip Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In a separately filmed trailer, Vitaphone production reel #3050, Marilyn Miller speaks to the audience about the film.

---

Connections

Featured in Broadway: The American Musical: Syncopated City: 1919-1933 (2004)

---

Soundtracks

Look for the Silver Lining
(1920) (uncredited)
Music by Jerome Kern
Lyrics by Buddy G. DeSylva
Played during the opening credits
Performed by Marilyn Miller and Alexander Gray
Sung and danced by Miller and Joe E. Brown

User Reviews

From Broadway to Hollywood with Marilyn Miller

While dreaming of a Broadway musical career, bubbly blonde dancer Marilyn Miller (as Sally Bowling Green) works as a New York waitress. One busy day, Ms. Miller becomes love-stricken with handsome passer-by Alexander Gray (as Blair Farrell). Likewise interested and obviously well-heeled, Mr. Gray is unfortunately engaged to another woman. Nevertheless, they begin a courtship. Miller tells Gray about her lowly orphan past and high aspirations. Gray tells Miller to "look for the silver lining." Miller is also encouraged by wise-cracking waiter Joe E. Brown (as Connie). Later, Miller's impersonation of a Russian diva helps put her on the road to stardom...

Produced by Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., the Cinderella-like "Sally" (1920-1922) was a huge Broadway success for Miller. With this show, plus her high-profile 1922 marriage to Hollywood royalty (Mary's brother Jack Pickford), Miller was a big star before she ever made a motion picture. Reportedly, the Pickfords did not get Miller in the movies earlier because they felt her skills were not flattered by the silent movie medium; this is evident. "Sally" (also a re-make of the hit 1925 "silent" version starring Colleen Moore) was a top-line production, in full Technicolor. Gray sounds great as Miller's leading man and Brown is a best supporting actor - even without kissing T. Roy Barnes...

Unless more is found, only a rough black-and-white print of "Sally" survives. The only color portion available has most of Miller's "Wild Rose" dance and a small portion of Mr. Brown's subsequent scene. These brief color minutes indicate the whole work was visually quite appealing. However, the staging and plot are not spectacular. Miller's dancing is a highlight. Probably, she would have been a bigger musical movie star in the 1940s. Her great comic "pas de deux" with Brown makes one long for other Miller dance team-ups. Jerome Kern's music is most memorable. "Look for the Silver Lining" became a #1 million-selling hit song in 1921, and a standard thereafter.

****** Sally (12/23/29) John Francis Dillon ~ Marilyn Miller, Alexander Gray, Joe E. Brown, T. Roy Barnes