A Soldier's Plaything
About A Soldier's Plaything
Near the end of the First World War, Georgie Wilson thinks he has killed a man in a gambling fight and leaves with his friend Tim by falling in with men enlisting. They join the army, annoy their captain, and are set to cleaning stables. In Koblenz, during the occupation, Georgie falls in love with Gretchen, an innkeeper's daughter, but will not propose while he believes a murder charge is waiting. The man he thought was dead turns up, and he can marry her.
Cast & crew
More about A Soldier's Plaything
Michael Curtiz directed. Arthur Caesar wrote it. Barney McGill photographed it. Warner Bros. shot it in 35mm and in a widescreen process called Vitascope. It is not known whether the Vitascope version was released. The film was planned as a musical. Most of the numbers were cut before the U.S. release, late in 1930, when musicals had lost their audience. The complete version, 71 minutes, went out in other countries. Ben Lyon plays Georgie and Harry Langdon plays Tim.
Themes
Background
The story uses the Allied occupation of Koblenz after the 1918 armistice, filmed in 1930.
Look
Barney McGill shot the film in standard 35mm and in Warner's Vitascope widescreen. Release of the wide version is uncertain.
Technique
Shot at the same time in 35mm and in the Vitascope widescreen process.
Music
Most of the songs were removed from the American release. The export cut kept them.
Preservation
Surviving copies are the shortened American release. The 71-minute export version is not confirmed to survive.
Notes
- Lotti Loder plays Gretchen Rittner. Noah Beery plays Captain John Plover.
- Fred Kohler and Frank Campeau play poker players. Lee Moran plays a corporal.
- Only the shortened U.S. prints are known to survive. It is not known whether a 71-minute copy still exists.
Scenes
- Georgie and Tim slip into a recruiting parade to dodge the police.
- The man from the poker fight reappears, and Georgie can propose to Gretchen.
