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Early 1929 musical that is a part-talkie and part-silent film about a singing gangster.
Richard Barthelmess as Jerry Larrabee (Photoplay, Feb 1929)
Date of Release: Jan 25, 1929
Studio: First National
Director: Frank Lloyd
Screenplay: Courtney Ryley Cooper, Bradley King, Tom J. Geraghty, Paul Perez
Music: Grant Clarke, Louis Silvers
Leading Actors: Richard Barthelmess (Jerry Larrabee), Betty Compson (Alice), William Holden (Warden), Louis Natheaux (Spadoni), George Stone (Blackie), Raymond Turner (Elevator boy), Gladden James (Manager)
Weary River, a part-silent, part-talkie musical film, tells the story of Jerry Larrabee (Richard Barthelmess), a gangster who is framed for a shooting and sent to prison. Befriended by the kindly warden (William Holden), and shaken by the hanging of a fellow prisoner, Larrabee turns his life around through the power of music. Thanks to his work with the prison band, Larrabee is granted an early pardon. Back out in the world, he struggles to stay away from the seedy underworld. Alice, Jerry's doting girlfriend (Betty Compson), and the warden help Jerry to find happiness.
The film alternates between silent and talkie, with the talkie scenes inevitably leading into song. The silent scenes are artistically superior, with interesting composition, powerful acting from the leads, and a cracking pace. Particularly noteworthy is the haunting use of shadow to depict a convict's hanging, which takes place outside Larrabee's prison cell window.
Once the microphones are switched on, all artistry flies out the door. The shots become less interesting, the dialogue is trite, and the acting is weak. Jerry Larrabee does all the singing, crooning sappy love songs to his girlfriend, Alice. The songs do not match his gruff gangster character, and the multiple repeats of the film’s title song are uninspiring.
Barthelmess insisted he did his own singing, but it was later revealed that the singing had been dubbed by Johnny Murray.
The critics were divided as to whether the talkie/silent split worked, though most agreed that the dialogue slowed the pacing of the film.
Overall, Weary River received mixed reviews. Cine-Mundial stated “Not only is the river weary, so is the viewer,” and The Film Daily lamented that the “story lacks action and rambles too much."
Meanwhile, Close Up magazine film critic Walter Kron claimed Weary River was "one of the best talkies" he had seen. The National Board of Review Magazine included the film in its selected pictures guide, and noted “The acting and directing is good and the atmosphere in the prison sequences is well created.” Variety was also enthusiastic, stating “The advantage of Weary River is that it is artistic without being hard to 'get'.”
Richard Barthelmess' performance received mixed reviews. The Film Daily described his acting as “splendid,” while The New York Times lamented “It is a pity that Mr Barthemless should waste his talent on such a hopeless hodge-podge as this.”
Despite with lukewarm reviews, Weary River was one of the top-selling, and top-priced, tickets in town. Although the Central was a smaller theatre, the film had some of the highest box office numbers in its opening week. Business only continued to improve, and Weary River grossed higher than the popular musical hit The Broadway Melody, playing to sold out houses for over 8 weeks.
As talkies continued to blossom, so did its cast and crew. In a career spanning close to five decades, Scottish-born director Frank Lloyd directed over 130 films. He was nominated four times for an Academy Award for Best Director, winning for The Divine Lady (1929) and Mutiny on the Bounty (1935).
Josephine McLaughlin, writing under the pseudonym of Bradley King, was one of the leading female screenwriters of the 1920s and 1930s. She wrote sixty screenplays, including A Passport to Hell (1932), Maid of Salem (1937), and That’s My Man (1947). More information can be found at the Women Film Pioneers Project.
Richard Barthelmess, who had been a child actor in the theatre and an immensely popular silent film actor, continued to appear in films including The Show of Shows (1929), The Cabin in the Cotton (1932), and The Man Who Talked Too Much (1940, until his retirement in 1942.
Studio: First National
Director: Frank Lloyd
Screenplay: Courtney Ryley Cooper, Bradley King, Tom J. Geraghty, Paul Perez
Music: Grant Clarke, Louis Silvers
Leading Actors: Richard Barthelmess (Jerry Larrabee), Betty Compson (Alice), William Holden (Warden), Louis Natheaux (Spadoni), George Stone (Blackie), Raymond Turner (Elevator boy), Gladden James (Manager)
Weary River, a part-silent, part-talkie musical film, tells the story of Jerry Larrabee (Richard Barthelmess), a gangster who is framed for a shooting and sent to prison. Befriended by the kindly warden (William Holden), and shaken by the hanging of a fellow prisoner, Larrabee turns his life around through the power of music. Thanks to his work with the prison band, Larrabee is granted an early pardon. Back out in the world, he struggles to stay away from the seedy underworld. Alice, Jerry's doting girlfriend (Betty Compson), and the warden help Jerry to find happiness.
The film alternates between silent and talkie, with the talkie scenes inevitably leading into song. The silent scenes are artistically superior, with interesting composition, powerful acting from the leads, and a cracking pace. Particularly noteworthy is the haunting use of shadow to depict a convict's hanging, which takes place outside Larrabee's prison cell window.
Once the microphones are switched on, all artistry flies out the door. The shots become less interesting, the dialogue is trite, and the acting is weak. Jerry Larrabee does all the singing, crooning sappy love songs to his girlfriend, Alice. The songs do not match his gruff gangster character, and the multiple repeats of the film’s title song are uninspiring.
Barthelmess insisted he did his own singing, but it was later revealed that the singing had been dubbed by Johnny Murray.
The critics were divided as to whether the talkie/silent split worked, though most agreed that the dialogue slowed the pacing of the film.
Overall, Weary River received mixed reviews. Cine-Mundial stated “Not only is the river weary, so is the viewer,” and The Film Daily lamented that the “story lacks action and rambles too much."
Meanwhile, Close Up magazine film critic Walter Kron claimed Weary River was "one of the best talkies" he had seen. The National Board of Review Magazine included the film in its selected pictures guide, and noted “The acting and directing is good and the atmosphere in the prison sequences is well created.” Variety was also enthusiastic, stating “The advantage of Weary River is that it is artistic without being hard to 'get'.”
Richard Barthelmess' performance received mixed reviews. The Film Daily described his acting as “splendid,” while The New York Times lamented “It is a pity that Mr Barthemless should waste his talent on such a hopeless hodge-podge as this.”
Despite with lukewarm reviews, Weary River was one of the top-selling, and top-priced, tickets in town. Although the Central was a smaller theatre, the film had some of the highest box office numbers in its opening week. Business only continued to improve, and Weary River grossed higher than the popular musical hit The Broadway Melody, playing to sold out houses for over 8 weeks.
As talkies continued to blossom, so did its cast and crew. In a career spanning close to five decades, Scottish-born director Frank Lloyd directed over 130 films. He was nominated four times for an Academy Award for Best Director, winning for The Divine Lady (1929) and Mutiny on the Bounty (1935).
Josephine McLaughlin, writing under the pseudonym of Bradley King, was one of the leading female screenwriters of the 1920s and 1930s. She wrote sixty screenplays, including A Passport to Hell (1932), Maid of Salem (1937), and That’s My Man (1947). More information can be found at the Women Film Pioneers Project.
Richard Barthelmess, who had been a child actor in the theatre and an immensely popular silent film actor, continued to appear in films including The Show of Shows (1929), The Cabin in the Cotton (1932), and The Man Who Talked Too Much (1940, until his retirement in 1942.
Betty Compson and Richard Barthelmess in Photoplay (March 1929)
Betty Compson was a popular and talented actress who appeared in over two hundred films. By the age of 16 she was touring as a violin soloist on the vaudeville circuit. After being spotted by a producer, Compson went into film and became a versatile silent film actress. After running her own production company during the silent era, Compson continued to perform in well-received films throughout 1930s. Sadly, the studios considered her “old” by the age of 40, and her roles became increasingly smaller.
Weary River provides a great example of the difficult transition from silent to talkie. It has flashes of brilliance, but overall is, as the title suggests, a tiresome film.
Thanks to the work of the Library of Congress, UCLA, Warner Bros, and Turner Entertainment, Weary River is available through the Warner Bros Archive Collection.
Weary River provides a great example of the difficult transition from silent to talkie. It has flashes of brilliance, but overall is, as the title suggests, a tiresome film.
Thanks to the work of the Library of Congress, UCLA, Warner Bros, and Turner Entertainment, Weary River is available through the Warner Bros Archive Collection.
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