Sonny Boy (1929 film)
Sonny Boy is a 1929 film released by Warner Bros., directed by Archie Mayo, and starring Davey Lee, Edward Everett Horton, and Betty Bronson. Some of the movie was shot silent, and some was filmed in the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system.[2]
Sonny Boy | |
---|---|
Directed by | Archie Mayo |
Written by | Charles Graham Baker James A. Starr |
Story by | "Leon Zuardo" (Jack L. Warner) |
Starring | Davey Lee Betty Bronson Edward Everett Horton Gertrude Olmstead |
Cinematography | Ben F. Reynolds |
Edited by | Owen Marks |
Music by | Louis Silvers |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 70 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $98,000[1] |
Box office | $1,072,000[1] |
Plot
Sonny Boy's parents are in the midst of a bitter divorce 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
- Davey Lee as Sonny Boy
- Betty Bronson as Aunt Winigred Canfield
- Edward Everett Horton as Crandall Thorpe
- Gertrude Olmstead as Mary
- John T. Murray as Hamilton
- Tom Dugan as Mulcahy
- Lucy Beaumont as Mother Thorpe
- Edmund Breese as Thorpe
- Jed Prouty as Phil
- Richard Talmadge
Reception
According to Warner Bros records the film earned $838,000 domestically and $234,000 foreign.[1]
Preservation status
According to silentera.com, a print of Sonny Boy exists.[2]
References
- Warner Bros financial information in The William Shaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 7 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551
- "Progressive Silent Film List: Sonny Boy". silentera.com.