''It's a Great Life'' is a 1929 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Sam Wood Samuel Grosvenor Wood (July 10, 1883 – September 22, 1949) was an American film director and producer who is best known for having directed such Hollywood hits as '' A Night at the Opera'', '' A Day at the Races'', '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'', '' ...

and written by

Al Boasberg Al Boasberg (December 5, 1891 – June 18, 1937) was an American comedy writer in vaudeville, radio, and film, as well as being a film director. Biography Boasberg was born in Buffalo, New York in a Jewish family. He is credited with helpin ...

and

Willard Mack Willard Mack (September 18, 1873 – November 18, 1934) was a Canadian-American actor, director, and playwright. Life and career He was born Charles Willard McLaughlin in Morrisburg, Ontario. At an early age his family moved to Brooklyn, New ...

. The film stars Rosetta Duncan,

Vivian Duncan The Duncan Sisters (Rosetta and Vivian Duncan) were an American vaudeville duo who became popular in the 1920s with their act ''Topsy and Eva''. Biography Early career Rosetta (November 23, 1894Sources differ on their birth dates. These are ta ...

Lawrence Gray Lawrence Gray (July 28, 1898 – February 2, 1970) was an American actor of the 1920s and 1930s. Biography Born in San Francisco in 1898, Gray served during World War I in the U. S. Navy and gained a commission. After the war he began i ...

Jed Prouty Jed Prouty (born Clarence Gordon Prouty; April 6, 1879 – May 10, 1956) was an American film actor. Biography Born as Clarence Gordon Prouty in Boston, Massachusetts, Prouty was a vaudeville performer before becoming a film actor. Mostly app ...

and

Benny Rubin Benny Rubin (February 2, 1899 – July 15, 1986) was an American comedian and film actor. Born in Boston, Rubin made more than 200 radio, film and television appearances over a span of 50 years. Career In 1929, Rubin went to Hollywood, where he ...

. The film was released on December 6, 1929, by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

. During production, it was provisionally known as "Cotton and Silk."

Plot

Babe (

) and Casey ( Rosetta Duncan) Hogan are sisters and work in the department store Mandelbaum & Weill in the music sheet department. Once a year there is a big department store show, in which employees act. Babe Hogan in love with the piano player of the music sheet department James Dean (

) is the younger sister and her older sister Casey is looking very much after her. When the act of Jimmy and Babe doesn't seem to work out she improvises on the stage rescuing the situation, but also starting a new career for the three of them, as a producer was in the audience and liked them. Unfortunately Casey and Jimmy are antagonists in the trio, so one day they split, when Babe and Jimmy tell Casey they would get married. While Casey tries to get along as a Single Act in small Vaudeville stages, Babe and Jimmy have not a bit of success as the duo Dean and Hogan. Moreover Babe gets a bad cold ending in delirium, so that Jimmy finally puts away his pride and go and see Casey. Meanwhile old colleague David Parker (

) has come to ask Casey to marry him and go with him to Paris that night, as he is appointed Manager of the Paris branch of the store. Casey can't believe that somebody loves her and accepts, but Jimmy convinces her, that Babe is going to die if she doesn't see her sister. The marriage with Parker is off and the three are reunited dreaming to have a big successful show.

Cast

* Rosetta Duncan as Casey Hogan *

as Babe Hogan *

as Jimmy Dean *

as Mr. David Parker *

as Benny Friedman *

Clarence Burton Clarence Forrest Burton (May 10, 1882 – December 2, 1933) was an American silent film actor. Biography Burton was born in Fort Lyon, in Benton County, Missouri and started in show business at the age of 5, playing stock and musical comedy ...

as Policeman *George Davis as Store show stage hand *

Oscar Apfel Oscar C. Apfel (January 17, 1878 – March 21, 1938) was an American film actor, director, screenwriter and producer. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1913 and 1939, and also directed 94 films between 1911 and 1927. Biography Apf ...

as Mr. Mandelbaum * George Periolat as Mr. Weill *

Rolfe Sedan Rolfe Sedan (born Edward Sedan; January 20, 1896 – September 15, 1982) was an American character actor, best known for appearing in bit parts, often uncredited, usually portraying clerks, train conductors, postmen, cooks, waiters, etc. Ea ...

as Vaudeville violinist * Ann Dvorak as Dancer in "Hoosier Hop" number

References

External links

*
It's a Great Life at tcm.com
{{Sam Wood 1929 films 1920s color films 1920s English-language films Silent American comedy films 1929 comedy films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films directed by Sam Wood American black-and-white films 1920s American films