''So Long Letty'' is a 1929 American
pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...
musical comedy directed by
Lloyd Bacon and starring
Charlotte Greenwood
Frances Charlotte Greenwood (June 25, 1890 – December 28, 1977) was an American actress and dancer. Born in Philadelphia, Greenwood started in vaudeville, and starred on Broadway, movies and radio. Standing almost six feet tall (some sour ...
, reprising her role from the 1916 Broadway stage play. The story had previously been filmed as a
silent under the same title in 1920 with
Colleen Moore.
Plot
Uncle Claude comes to the Ardmore Beach Hotel to see Tommy and his wife. At the hotel, with his two granddaughters Ruth and Sally, Uncle Claude meets a wise-talking employee named Letty, which causes him to leave the hotel. When he finds Tommy, he mistakes Grace for his wife and likes her and the way she keeps a clean house. To get a big check from Uncle Claude and to see how life is with the other, the two couples switch spouses for a week.
Cast
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Charlotte Greenwood
Frances Charlotte Greenwood (June 25, 1890 – December 28, 1977) was an American actress and dancer. Born in Philadelphia, Greenwood started in vaudeville, and starred on Broadway, movies and radio. Standing almost six feet tall (some sour ...
as Letty Robbins
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Claude Gillingwater
Claude Benton Gillingwater (August 2, 1870 – November 1, 1939) was an American stage and screen actor. He first appeared on the stage then in more than 90 films between 1918 and 1939, including the Academy Award-nominated ''A Tale of Two ...
as Uncle Claude
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Grant Withers
Granville Gustavus Withers (January 17, 1905 – March 27, 1959) was an American film actor who acted under the screen name Grant Withers. With early beginnings in the silent era, Withers moved into sound films, establishing himself with a lis ...
as Harry Miller
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Patsy Ruth Miller
Patsy Ruth Miller (born Patricia Ruth Miller; January 17, 1904 – July 16, 1995) was an American film actress who played Esméralda in ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (1923) opposite Lon Chaney.
Early years
Miller was born and raised in St. ...
as Grace Miller
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Bert Roach
Egbert "Bert" Roach (August 21, 1891 – February 16, 1971) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 320 films between 1914 and 1951. He was born in Washington, D.C., and died in Los Angeles, California, age 79.
Selected filmogr ...
as Tommy Robbins
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Marion Byron
Marion Byron (born Miriam Bilenkin; 1911 – 1985) was an American movie comedian.
Early years
Born in Dayton, Ohio, Byron was one of five daughters of Louis and Bertha Bilenkin.
Career
After following her sister into a short stage caree ...
as Ruth Davis
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Helen Foster as Sally Davis
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Hallam Cooley
Hallam Cooley (February 8, 1895 – March 20, 1971) was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1913 and 1936. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and died in Tiburon, California.
Cooley attended Nor ...
as Clarence de Brie
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Harry Gribbon as Joe Casey
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Lloyd Ingraham
Lloyd Chauncey Ingraham (November 30, 1874 – April 4, 1956) was an American film actor and director.
Biography
Born in Rochelle, Illinois, Ingraham appeared in more than 280 films between 1912 and 1950, as well as directing more than 100 f ...
as Judge
See also
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List of early sound feature films (1926–1929)
This is a list of early pre-recorded sound and part talking/ all talking feature films made in the US and Europe during the transition to sound, between 1926-1929. During this time a variety of recording systems were used, including most notably ...
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List of early Warner Bros. sound and talking features
Release and reception
The film premiered on October 16, 1929. Film historian
Scott Eyman
Scott Eyman (born March 2, 1951) is an American author, and former book editor and art critic of ''The Palm Beach Post''. He is a frequent book reviewer for ''The Wall Street Journal'' and ''Film Comment,'' and was a contributor for ''The New York ...
, in his book ''The Speed of Sound'', wrote that the film was one of a wave of more than 70 musicals inundating American movie theaters in 1930. Like most of its genre at the time, it was financially disappointing and "barely broke even", despite the "glorious rowdy
Charlotte Greenwood
Frances Charlotte Greenwood (June 25, 1890 – December 28, 1977) was an American actress and dancer. Born in Philadelphia, Greenwood started in vaudeville, and starred on Broadway, movies and radio. Standing almost six feet tall (some sour ...
", Eyman said.
References
External links
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1929 films
American films based on plays
Films directed by Lloyd Bacon
Warner Bros. films
American musical comedy films
1929 musical comedy films
American black-and-white films
Films scored by Louis Silvers
Remakes of American films
Sound film remakes of silent films
1920s English-language films
1920s American films
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