Beggars of Life

Beggars of Life

Wallace Beery is very enjoyable in his role, and I understand he was the bigger star. But Louise Brooks is the highlight of this movie for me, her subtle charisma shines through splendidly. I was not particularly wild about the male romantic lead, perhaps it's just a case of being contrasted by Brooks and Beery, not an easy situation for anyone to be in. I did really enjoy the direction, it was shot beautifully, with eye to detail for the contrast of black and white. The action scenes towards the end of the movie were quite impressive and very well done.

Beggars of Life is a melodrama about a young woman who takes to a life on the run after the death of her abusive stepfather. Wanted by police, the girl (Brooks) disguised as a boy, comes to find herself riding the rails with a group of unlikely friends. Released in both sound and silent formats, and thought lost for many years, the silent version of Beggars is noteworthy not only for Brooks's appearance, but for its cinematography and on-location shoots, not to mention the alarmingly dangerous looking train sequences (Klaus Ming March 2017).

Monday, October 11, 7pm, The Paramount, Seattle "Ain't it funny when you think of the millions o' people in warm houses and feather beds, an' us just driftin' 'round like the clouds?" An orphan (Louise Brooks) kills the molesting farmer who adopted her and escapes, disguised as a boy, to a perilous life on the road. Rescued by a tramp (Richard Arlen) that stumbles on the scene while begging for a meal, they sleep in haystacks, hop freight trains and struggle to survive while dreaming of a better life. Wanted for murder, the girl's true identity is discovered by the denizens of a hobo camp, whose malevolent leader Oklahoma Red (Wallace Beery) forges a tenuous friendship with the youngsters and ultimately paves their way to freedom. Loosely based on the harrowing autobiography of Jim Tully's youth and brought to the screen by notorious Hollywood roughneck William Wellman, Beggars of Life (1928) is a sublime convergence of writing, directing and casting. Arlen and Brooks display palpable chemistry, while Beery cements his indelible image as a lovable scoundrel in his last great silent-era performance.

I write to amend this earlier complaint about an earlier print from Grapevine (see below). The newest release - 2015 - is much improved. Although a few parts seem to be from a 16mm reduction print (I'm no expert on this), most of the film is much easier to watch. It is brighter, correctly tinted and much sharper than the earlier film I had watched and reviewed here. Moreover, a completely new score by Jack Hardy matches the action on the screen and improves this release by 100%. While shopping, be sure to obtain this newest print released on January 16, 2015. EARLIER REVIEW: I finally obtained a copy of Beggars of Life having read and heard so much about it over the years. William Wellman does some remarkable things in this film including an interesting flashback technique superimposing a close-up of Louise Brooks as she relates details of the altercation with her adoptive guardian. Brooks is not quite at her Pandora's Box level, but she's close. Brooks' filmography is actually rather sparse. However this film coupled with Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl justify all the accolades she receives to this day. These films are true artistic achievements. In Beggars of Life, Wallace Beery is at his sleazy best as the hobo alpha-chimp who turns out to have a soft heart of gold and Richard Arlen, while maintaining his matinée idol good looks, is superb as he slips out of his boy-next-door persona. Roscoe ("Shapley's the name and that's how I like 'em") Karns and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams also have parts and each adds spice to the story. Unfortunately the only copy I could find was a VHS tape produced by Grapevine Video out of Arizona that appears to be dubbed off of a 16mm television print with music that has nothing to do with the story. I like Beery, Brooks and Arlen as well as Beethoven, but not in this particular mix. Grapevine Video even had the nerve to claim a copyright to the music!!! I am sure the film is in the public domain and I KNOW Beethoven is. As others have noted, a crisp DVD would be greatly appreciated. I understand a better print exists and that the Mont Alto Motion Picture orchestra accompanied the film at the SFSFF in 2008. Let's hope they get together and prepare a decent video release! It would be worth the effort as Beggars of Life is truly one of the great films of the late silent era and ranks, in my opinion, up there with The Crowd and Sunrise in its realism and with its fine performances.

Lovingly enduring balance throughout the bitter-sweet nature of life. Strongly bind etches off a shadow's corridor seeping variant threefold counter-collision in a bleeding soul. Cuddled in a bleak world starved of hope. Darkness into light, light unto darkness. It is greatly difficult to find anything in this world to help maintain my enthusiasm. Even further, to find anything that can fully reach me. So when I claim such high praise and rating, I do sincerely mean it. If you don't mind silent (or, silent-ish, depending on which version you view) films, and are looking for a divinely tranquil experience, there's a good chance you'll enjoy this. Give it 5 minutes, just 5.

Maybe I should give this movie another try when I can find it in a better print but somehow I thought it would make it much better. The dramatic and adventurous story is actually quite nice when Louise Brooks and Richard Arlen meet and decide to flee to Canada together. You immediately see there is growing something lovely between them. The strongest scene was when Nancy was telling Jim about what her stepfather tried to do to her. An attempted rape, it must have been quite something in the 1920s. But once our lovely couple runs into the hobos the movie becomes a lot less interesting. Often I was wondering what was going on and what the point was of some scenes. The trial scene and than the fight after it I thought were rather boring and silly. The train sequences were nice but it couldn't beat the strong first part of the movie. A satisfying end however.

Notable for its tautly realistic performances and unrelentingly downbeat atmosphere, "Beggars of Life" is put over with considerable power by director Wellman who makes the most of his location material with a real train on the San Diego-Yuma railroad. Although it's hard to tell in the print under review, the photography by Henry Gerrard was also a potent ingredient; and certainly the remarkably astute film editing by Alyson Shaffer also aids both the film's tight pace and its ability to grip the viewer. With her beguiling face and charismatic presence, Louise Brooks rivets attention from start to finish as the wanted girl and even manages to outshine Wallace Beery who pulls out all his usual thespian tricks as a good badman.

Beggars of Life (1928) ** 1/2 (out of 4) This William Wellman directed film is often called one of the last great silent movies but I must have missed something. In the film, a sexually abused young girl (Louise Brooks) kills her adopted father and runs into a hobo (Richard Arlen). The two are jumping trains trying to make their way to Canada when they run into another group of hobo's led by Oklahoma Red (Wallace Beery). When this other group of hobo's discover that the girl is wanting by the police, they must decide what to do with her. Once again, I'm really not sure what all the fuss about this film is over. Granted, I'll give it one more viewing because the print I watched appeared to be from a 16mm source and was way too dark. As it is, the best thing about the film are the performances by Arlen and Brooks. The two make for a very nice couple and the film is quite fun for the first thirty minutes when the two are the only thing on screen. After that, when the additional hobo's come into play, I'm not sure what the film was going for. The trial scene goes on and on and for what point I don't know. The visual style is nice but certainly not in the same league as Sunrise, which I've heard this film compared to.