''Sonny Boy'' is a 1929 film released by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

, directed by

Archie Mayo Archibald L. Mayo (January 29, 1891 – December 4, 1968) was a film director, screenwriter and actor. Early years The son of a tailor, Mayo was born in New York City. After attending the city's public schools, he studied at Columbia Unive ...

, and starring

Davey Lee Davey Lee (December 29, 1924 – June 17, 2008) was an American child actor. He was born in Hollywood, California, United States. He appeared in six feature films between 1928 and 1930. Biography The younger brother of actor Frankie Lee (191119 ...

Edward Everett Horton Edward Everett Horton Jr. (March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970) was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television, and voice work for animated cartoons. Early life Horton was born in Kings County ...

, and

Betty Bronson Elizabeth Ada Bronson (November 17, 1906 – October 19, 1971) was an American film and television actress who began her career during the silent film era. Early years Bronson was born in Trenton, New Jersey, to Frank and Nellie Smith Bronso ...

. Some of the movie was shot silent, and some was filmed in the

Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone was the last major analog sound-on-disc system and the only one th ...

sound-on-disc system.

Plot

Sonny Boy's parents are in the midst of a bitter

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

when the boy's mother talks her sister into kidnapping him because she is terrified that her husband will take the boy out of the country after the divorce. The nervy sister takes the lad to the apartment of her sister's husband's lawyer who believes that she has gone away for a time. A merry mix-up ensues when he returns to the apartment with his parents in tow. To maintain appearances, the sister must pose as the lawyer's wife. Eventually she decides to take the boy and flee, but then she realizes that Sonny Boy has vanished. It seems he saw an interesting theater marquee, climbed down the fire escape, and went to the movies. The adults arrive just in time to hear a rousing rendition of the hit song " Sonny Boy".

Cast

as Sonny Boy *

as Aunt Winigred Canfield *

as Crandall Thorpe *

Gertrude Olmstead Gertrude Olmstead (November 13, 1897 – January 18, 1975) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 56 films between 1920 and 1929. Her last name was sometimes seen as Olmsted. Career Olmstead was born in Chicago, Illinoi ...

as Mary *

John T. Murray John T. Murray (28 August 1886 – 12 February 1957) was an Australian stage and film actor.Leider p. 316 Biography Born in Melbourne in 1886, Murray was married to actress Vivien Oakland, who he had appeared with on the vaudeville stage.

as Hamilton * Tom Dugan as Mulcahy * Lucy Beaumont as Mother Thorpe *

Edmund Breese Edmund Breese (June 18, 1871 – April 6, 1936) was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. Biography Breese was born in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were Renshaw Breese and Josephine Busby. The Opera House in Eureka Springs ...

as Thorpe *

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 ...

as Phil *

Richard Talmadge Richard Talmadge (born Sylvester Alphonse Metz; 3 December 1892 – 25 January 1981) also known as Sylvester Metzetti, Ricardo Metzetti, or Sylvester Ricardo Metzetti, was a German-born actor, stuntman and film director. Early life Born ...

Reception

According to Warner Bros records the film earned $838,000 domestically and $234,000 foreign.

Preservation status

According to silentera.com, a print of ''Sonny Boy'' exists.

References

External links

* * 1929 films 1929 comedy films American black-and-white films Silent American comedy films 1920s English-language films Films scored by Louis Silvers Films directed by Archie Mayo Transitional sound films Warner Bros. films 1920s American films {{1920s-comedy-film-stub