Sunny
"The Broadway Sensation Now a Singing, Dancing Picture!"
Plot
Sunny Peters is a spirited American circus performer working in a British circus who finds herself betrothed to a man she does not love. When her former flame, Tom Warren, visits her before departing for the United States, Sunny realizes her true feelings and decides to stow away on his ocean liner to win him back. Complications arise when she discovers Tom has become engaged to a wealthy socialite, Margaret Manners, during the voyage. To legally enter the U.S. without a passport, Sunny enters into a sham marriage with her friend Jim, leading to a series of comedic misunderstandings and pre-Code romantic entanglements. Ultimately, Sunny must prove her worth to Tom's high-society family and navigate the fallout of her 'marriage' to secure a future with the man she loves.
About the Production
The film was originally planned and announced as a full Technicolor production to capitalize on the success of Marilyn Miller's previous hit, 'Sally' (1929). However, due to a sudden and severe public backlash against musicals in late 1930, the studio pivoted to a black-and-white release for the domestic market. Large portions of the musical numbers were edited out or significantly truncated to minimize the 'musical' aspect of the film for American audiences, though a full musical version was reportedly released internationally.
Historical Background
Released in 1930, 'Sunny' arrived at a critical juncture in Hollywood history. The industry was grappling with the Great Depression's onset and the rapid, often chaotic transition from silent films to 'talkies.' Furthermore, the year 1930 saw a peculiar phenomenon known as 'musical exhaustion,' where the public, previously enamored with the novelty of sound, suddenly rejected the deluge of backstage musicals, leading studios to frantically re-edit films like 'Sunny' into straight comedies or dramas.
Why This Film Matters
The film serves as a rare preserved record of Marilyn Miller's talent, who was arguably the greatest musical comedy star of the 1920s but died young at age 37. It also represents the early collaboration of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, whose work would later revolutionize the American musical. As a pre-Code film, it contains suggestive dialogue and a casual attitude toward marriage and divorce that would be censored just a few years later under the Hays Code.
Making Of
Production was marked by the transition of Broadway legend Marilyn Miller to the silver screen. Director William A. Seiter had to manage the technical limitations of the Vitaphone system, which required actors to stay near hidden microphones, often resulting in static staging. The set for the ocean liner was noted for its massive, cavernous design, particularly a ribbed corridor that crew members joked looked like the inside of a whale. The most significant behind-the-scenes drama involved the post-production 'gutting' of the film; as musical numbers were being cut, the narrative had to be re-edited with additional exposition to bridge the gaps left by the missing songs.
Visual Style
The cinematography by Ernest Haller (who later won an Oscar for 'Gone with the Wind') and Arthur Reeves is typical of early sound films, featuring high-key lighting and relatively stationary camera setups. Despite the move to black-and-white, the film retains a 'lavish' look with high-contrast circus and shipboard sets that were originally designed to pop in Technicolor.
Innovations
The film is a primary example of the Vitaphone sound-on-disc technology in its twilight. It also experimented with translating complex Broadway dance choreography to the screen, using multiple camera angles to capture Marilyn Miller's footwork, a precursor to the more fluid musical cinematography of the mid-1930s.
Music
The score features music by Jerome Kern with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach. Notable songs include 'Who?', 'I Was Alone', 'The Hunt Dance', and 'When We Get Our Divorce'. Several songs like 'D'Ya Love Me?' and 'Two Little Love Birds' were filmed but cut from the domestic release.
Famous Quotes
Sunny: 'I'm not going to marry him, and I'm not going to marry Julius either!'
Tom: 'There are just as many girls with just as much money who aren't half-witted.'
Jim: 'You're the first real human being that's been in this family since Jean the Pirate!'
Memorable Scenes
- The 'Who?' musical number where Marilyn Miller and Lawrence Gray perform a romantic duet that became the film's signature moment.
- The 'Hunt Dance' sequence where Sunny performs an acrobatic and graceful dance in traditional fox-hunting attire.
- The comedic climax involving the revelation of Sunny's sham marriage to the stuffy Warren family.
Did You Know?
- Marilyn Miller was paid a staggering $500,000 for her work on this film, making her one of the highest-paid stars of the era.
- The film is based on the 1925 Broadway musical of the same name which ran for 517 performances.
- O.P. Heggie, who plays Sunny's father, is best known to modern audiences as the blind hermit in 'Bride of Frankenstein' (1935).
- The 1930 version of 'Sunny' was one of the last major films to utilize the Vitaphone sound-on-disc process before the industry fully transitioned to sound-on-film.
- The song 'Who?' became a massive hit and remains one of the most enduring standards from the Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II catalog.
- The film features a 'Hunt Dance' performed by Marilyn Miller, which showcases her unique blend of tap and ballet-influenced choreography.
- Due to the 'musical fatigue' of 1930, the title song 'Sunny' was actually cut from the final American release, though it is heard played by a circus band.
- A 1941 remake was produced by RKO starring Anna Neagle, but it lacked the pre-Code edge of the 1930 original.
What Critics Said
At the time of release, critics were mixed; while they praised Marilyn Miller's 'effervescent' and 'radiant' screen presence, many found the plot thin and the pacing uneven due to the heavy editing. Modern critics view it as a fascinating, if flawed, 'Dawn of Sound' artifact. It is often cited for its historical value in showing how studios reacted to changing audience tastes during the early sound era.
What Audiences Thought
Audiences in 1930 were beginning to cool on the musical genre, which reflected in the film's box office performance—it failed to recoup its high production budget. However, Miller's personal fans remained loyal, and the film was a significant draw in international markets where the musical backlash was less severe.
Film Connections
Influenced By
- The 1925 Broadway musical 'Sunny'
- The success of 'Sally' (1929)
This Film Influenced
- Sunny (1941 remake)
- The Gay Divorcee (1934)
- Various 'backstage' musicals of the 1930s
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Film Restoration
The film is preserved in the Library of Congress. However, it only survives in the truncated 78-minute American cut. The audio quality of current circulating prints is often poor, having been transferred from original Vitaphone discs in the 1950s, though the original discs still exist and could potentially be used for a high-quality restoration.