Beggars of Life is an American film directed by William Wellman and starring Wallace Beery and Richard Arlen as hobos, and Louise Brooks as a young woman who dresses as a young man and flees the law. The film is regarded as Brooks's best American movie.[1]
Beggars of Life | |
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![]() 1928 lobby card | |
Directed by | William A. Wellman |
Written by | Jim Tully (autobiography) Maxwell Anderson (play) |
Produced by | Jesse L. Lasky Adolph Zukor |
Starring | Wallace Beery Louise Brooks Richard Arlen |
Cinematography | Henry W. Gerrard |
Edited by | Alyson Shaffer |
Music by | Karl Hajos |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date | September 22, 1928 |
Running time | 74 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The actress recounted her memories of working on the film in her essay, “On Location with Billy Wellman,” which is included in her 1982 book, Lulu in Hollywood.[2]
Beggars of Life was released as both a silent and sound film (the latter with added music, sound effects, and dialogue) in September 1928. The sound sequences, which included train noises and Beery singing a song, are now considered lost. This was Paramount's first feature with spoken dialogue and the first time Beery's voice was recorded for a film, although Beery's spoken dialogue was limited. Today, only the silent version of Beggars of Life is known to survive.[3][4]
The film is based on Outside Looking In, a stage play by Maxwell Anderson adapted from Jim Tully’s 1924 autobiographical book, Beggars of Life. The play debuted September 7, 1925 at the Greenwich Village Theater. Among those who attended a performance was Charlie Chaplin, who was accompanied by Louise Brooks. Paramount purchased the rights to Tully's book and Anderson's play in early 1928.[5]
Arlen and Brooks had appeared together the previous year in Rolled Stockings, which is considered a lost film. Beery and Brooks had appeared together the previous year in Now We're in the Air, which was considered a lost film until 2016 when an incomplete copy was found in Czech Republic.[6][7]
In 2017, the best surviving copy of Beggars of Life was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Kino Lorber.