Weary River

Director: Frank Lloyd Frank Lloyd

Overview

This tuneful prison drama centers upon a recently incarcerated bootlegger who discovers that he is a talented singer. He ends up joining the prison band. Amazingly, the band scores a major hit. The governor is so impressed with the amiable singer/ex-gangster that he arranges for an early release.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/02/2010
UPC:	0883316232217
Original Release:	1929
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[Full Frame]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:29:00
Sales rank:	53,290

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Richard Barthelmess	Jerry
Betty Compson	Alice
William Holden	Warden
Louis Natheaux	Spadoni
George Stone	Blackie,Blackie
Raymond Turner	Elevator Boy
Gladden James	Manager
Robert O'Connor	Actor

Technical Credits

Bradley King

Tom Geraghty

Frank Lloyd	Director
Richard A. Rowland	Producer
Bradley King	Screenwriter
Tom Geraghty	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Richard Barthelmess sings Louis Silvers and Grant Clarke's "Weary River" at least six times in this gangster drama/musical and a modern viewer may be excused for feeling not only weary but downright exhausted already by the third go-around. Weary River is really a talking picture with silent sequences rather than the other way around and the result is plenty of dreary dialogue exclaimed rather than merely spoken. There are clear signs of editing along the way and although billed sixth in the onscreen credits, African-American comedian Raymond Turner's contribution in the surviving print consists merely of opening and closing the doors to an elevator; the same amount of screen time, in fact, as Blue Washington, a fellow black comic, spotted ever so fleetingly having a bath in a prison tub.