Beggars of Life
About Beggars of Life
After Nancy kills her stepfather, she leaves with the drifter Jim. She dresses as a boy. They hop freight trains, quarrel with a group of hobos, and steal a car while the police follow, trying to reach Canada. Louise Brooks plays Nancy. Richard Arlen plays Jim. Wallace Beery is billed with them.
Cast & crew
More about Beggars of Life
William A. Wellman directed this part-talkie. Benjamin Glazer wrote it. Jesse L. Lasky and Adolph Zukor produced it. Karl Hajos wrote the music. Paramount released it on 22 September 1928, on disc and on film. A few scenes have dialogue. Most of the picture is a synchronized score and effects. The discs that circulate are mute prints from the disc version, and the discs themselves are believed lost except the first reel. Brooks wrote about the shoot in Lulu in Hollywood (1982). Blue Washington, Kewpie Morgan, Guinn Williams, and Roscoe Karns are billed. A copy is on Wikimedia Commons.
Themes
Music
Karl Hajos wrote the synchronized score. Spoken scenes exist, but the discs for them are believed lost after the first reel.
Preservation
Mute prints from the sound-on-disc version circulate. The discs are believed lost except the first reel. A copy is on Wikimedia Commons.
Notes
- Nancy's disguise is a boy's clothes on the trains.
- The English Wikipedia calls it Brooks's best American movie.
- The surviving public copies are silent, from the disc version.
Scenes
- Nancy dresses as a boy and rides the freights with Jim.
- They take a car while the police are still behind them.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Beggars of Life)
