- Published on
Silent film star Billie Dove's first talkie.
The Film Daily (Dec 3, 1929)
Date of Release: Dec 1, 1929
Studio: First National
Director: Millard Webb
Screenplay: Forrest Halsey
Music: M. K. Jerome, Herman Ruby
Leading Actors: Billie Dove (Mamie Hudler/Rodeo West), Edmund Lowe (Brood), George MacFarlane (Oldfield), Cissy Fitzgerald (Ma Hudler), J. Farrell MacDonald (Pa Hudler), Norman Selby (Jule), Nellie Bly Baker (Sippie)
Studio: First National
Director: Millard Webb
Screenplay: Forrest Halsey
Music: M. K. Jerome, Herman Ruby
Leading Actors: Billie Dove (Mamie Hudler/Rodeo West), Edmund Lowe (Brood), George MacFarlane (Oldfield), Cissy Fitzgerald (Ma Hudler), J. Farrell MacDonald (Pa Hudler), Norman Selby (Jule), Nellie Bly Baker (Sippie)
Silent film stat Billie Dove in a promo shot from Exhibitors Herald World (Nov 30, 1929)
Billie Dove was an immensely successful and popular silent film actress. She had started out as a Ziegfeld girl, and was known for her beauty and flawless complexion.
The Painted Angel was based on the short-story “Give the Little Girl a Hand” by Fannie Hurst. Born to well-off family with a Jewish background, Hurst was a socially progressive and prolific writer. Not only was she a best-selling author, but she was one of the highest paid in Hollywood. Many of Hurst’s stories and novels were adapted for film, including Imitation of Life (1934 and 1959) and Humoresque (1946).
The Painted Angel told the story of Mamie Hudler, a night club singer in New Orleans who seeks a better life. Mamie relocates to San Francisco, where a rich oil man provides her with financial assistance. With a new troupe, Mamie heads to New York and opens her own club and starts calling herself Rodeo West. After helping "her girls" find rich husbands, Mamie finds a love of her own.
The Painted Angel was based on the short-story “Give the Little Girl a Hand” by Fannie Hurst. Born to well-off family with a Jewish background, Hurst was a socially progressive and prolific writer. Not only was she a best-selling author, but she was one of the highest paid in Hollywood. Many of Hurst’s stories and novels were adapted for film, including Imitation of Life (1934 and 1959) and Humoresque (1946).
The Painted Angel told the story of Mamie Hudler, a night club singer in New Orleans who seeks a better life. Mamie relocates to San Francisco, where a rich oil man provides her with financial assistance. With a new troupe, Mamie heads to New York and opens her own club and starts calling herself Rodeo West. After helping "her girls" find rich husbands, Mamie finds a love of her own.
Exhibitors Herald World (Jan 11, 1930)
Along with newspaper and magazine ads and features, the film was advertised with various cross-promotional gimmicks. One theatre manager in Lakeland, Florida, negotiated with a local Ford dealer to keep a new model Ford on display in the theatre in exchange for advertising.
Rodeo West and her girls, still from Picture Play Magazine (Dec 1929)
The film received mixed reviews. The Educational Screen claimed Billie Dove was “not up to the requirements” of her role, and Variety stated “Miss Dove has no singing voice, choosing to articulate and pout her way through.”
Variety praised the camera work, stating that a “High perched camera, as well as under leg” angles helped to “relieve the monotony of revue grind element.”
Despite having nothing to do with the plot, the production numbers were well-received. Screenland described the numbers as, “lavish," and perhaps even more Ziegfeld than Ziegfeld himself.
Variety praised the camera work, stating that a “High perched camera, as well as under leg” angles helped to “relieve the monotony of revue grind element.”
Despite having nothing to do with the plot, the production numbers were well-received. Screenland described the numbers as, “lavish," and perhaps even more Ziegfeld than Ziegfeld himself.
Variety praised the high camera angles. Image from Screenland (Nov 1929)
Despite the mixed reviews, The Painted Angel performed well at the box office, attracting solid business around the country.
Billie Dove continued to appear in films and made another nine talkies, though none achieved the success of her silent films. She later became a successful novelist.
The Educational Screen claimed that The Painted Angel contained "one of the most pernicious spoken lines that have yet been heard in the talkies.” It's a shame they didn't give us a direct quote as the film is considered lost.
Billie Dove continued to appear in films and made another nine talkies, though none achieved the success of her silent films. She later became a successful novelist.
The Educational Screen claimed that The Painted Angel contained "one of the most pernicious spoken lines that have yet been heard in the talkies.” It's a shame they didn't give us a direct quote as the film is considered lost.
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