Sally | |
---|---|
Directed by | Alfred E. Green |
Written by | June Mathis |
Based on | Sally 1920 musical by Guy Bolton and Clifford Grey |
Produced by | John McCormick |
Starring | Colleen Moore Lloyd Hughes Leon Errol |
Cinematography | Ted D. McCord |
Edited by | George McGuire |
Music by | Harry Tierney Joseph McCarthy |
Distributed by | First National Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Sally is a 1925 American silent romantic comedy film starring Colleen Moore. The film was directed by Alfred E. Green, produced by Moore's husband John McCormick, and based on the musical Sally written by Guy Bolton and Clifford Grey that was adapted to film by June Mathis. [1] The play was a Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. production written specifically for Marilyn Miller that opened on December 21, 1920, at the New Amsterdam Theatre on Broadway. It ran for 570 performances. [2]
As described in a film magazine review, [3] Sally (Moore), from a foundling asylum, is a dishwasher at a cafe resort in Paris when a refugee, the Duke of Checkergovinia (Errol), is also employed in a like humble capacity, unknown to his fellow workers. Sally again meets Blair Farquar (Hughes), who had rescued her in an alley fight and who has had an affair with the Russian danseuse Noskerova, as had the Duke. Sally has a chance to dance at the cafe and is a success. Otis Hooper (Murray), an American theatrical agent, sees her dance and suggests that Sally pose as a Russian dancer at a fete. She consents and makes a big hit. The proprietor of the inn where she works follows and unmasks her, and she is greatly humiliated. Ziegfeld had been present, however, and she is offered a contract for Broadway. A reconciliation follows between Sally and Blair.
This was the second of five films, in three years, with Moore and Hughes starring. They also appeared together in The Huntress (1923), The Desert Flower (1925), Irene (1926), and Ella Cinders (1926). [4]
During the production of this film, Moore met a young gag man who worked for Alfred Green who billed himself as a “comedy constructor,” named Mervyn LeRoy. They would become good friends and LeRoy would eventually direct Moore in her 1928 film Oh, Kay!
As of a January 2017 update, the combined Library of Congress and International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) American Silent Feature Film Survival Database reports Sally as a lost film, [5] despite speculation in 2014 that a short sequence of color film, from the nine-reel movie, might have been discovered in "a previously unknown cache of over a dozen 45 - 75 second 35mm Technicolor nitrate spools with previously lost color scenes" from four early films. [6]
Sally is a musical comedy with music by Jerome Kern, lyrics by Clifford Grey and book by Guy Bolton, with additional lyrics by Buddy De Sylva, Anne Caldwell and P. G. Wodehouse. The plot hinges on a mistaken identity: Sally, a waif, is a dishwasher at the Alley Inn in New York City. She poses as a famous foreign ballerina and rises to fame through joining the Ziegfeld Follies. There is a rags to riches story, a ballet as a centrepiece, and a wedding as a finale. "Look for the Silver Lining" continues to be one of Kern's most familiar songs. The song is lampooned by another song, "Look for a Sky of Blue," in Rick Besoyan's satirical 1959 musical Little Mary Sunshine.
Colleen Moore was an American film actress who began her career during the silent film era. Moore became one of the most fashionable stars of the era and helped popularize the bobbed haircut.
Leon Errol was an Australian-American comedian and actor in the United States, popular in the first half of the 20th century for his appearances in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in films.
The Show of Shows is a 1929 American pre-Code musical revue film directed by John G. Adolfi and distributed by Warner Bros. The all-talking Vitaphone production cost almost $800,000 and was shot almost entirely in Technicolor.
Sally is a 1929 American Pre-Code film. It is the fourth all-sound, all-color feature film made, and it was photographed in the Technicolor process. It was the sixth feature film to contain color that had been released by Warner Bros.; the first five were The Desert Song (1929), On with the Show! (1929), Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929), Paris (1929) and The Show of Shows (1929).. Although exhibited in a few theaters in December 1929, Sally entered general release on January 12, 1930.
Elisha Helm Calvert was an American film actor and director. He appeared in more than 170 films, as well as directing a further 60 titles.
The Bad Boy is a lost 1917 American silent crime drama film directed by Chester Withey and starring Robert Harron, Richard Cummings, and Mildred Harris. The film marks the debut of Colleen Moore, who plays a supporting role in the film.
Footlights and Fools is a 1929 American pre-Code film directed by William A. Seiter that was billed by Warner Brothers as an all-talking musical film and released in Vitaphone with Technicolor sequences.
Smiling Irish Eyes (1929) is a Vitaphone American pre-Code musical film with Technicolor sequences. The film is now considered a lost film. However, the Vitaphone discs still exist.
Irene is a 1926 American silent romantic comedy film starring Colleen Moore, and partially shot in Technicolor. The film was directed by Alfred E. Green, produced by Moore's husband John McCormick, and based on the musical Irene written by James Montgomery with music and lyrics by Harry Tierney and Joseph McCarthy.
Why Be Good? is a 1929 American sound comedy film produced by First National Pictures starring Colleen Moore and Neil Hamilton. While the film has no audible dialogue, it is accompanied by a Vitaphone soundtrack that features a musical score with sound effects and some synchronized singing.
We Moderns is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by John Francis Dillon and starring Colleen Moore. The film was produced by Moore's husband John McCormick and was released through First National Pictures. It was based on the play and novel by Israel Zangwill, which ran for 22 performances in 1924 at the Gaiety Theatre in New York, produced and directed by Harrison Grey Fiske and starring Helen Hayes and Isabel Irving.
Synthetic Sin is a 1929 American sound comedy film directed by William A. Seiter, based on a play of the same name. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. It was released by Warner Bros. and was recorded using the Vitaphone sound system. Only the soundtrack disc for the last reel is known to survive.
Twinkletoes is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film directed by Charles Brabin and starring Colleen Moore. The film, as with most of Moore's vehicles at this time, was produced by her husband John McCormick with the couple distributing through Moore's resident studio First National. This film is one of Moore's surviving films from the late silent era and is available on DVD.
The Busher is a 1919 American drama film directed by Jerome Storm featuring Colleen Moore, and produced by Thomas H. Ince. The film still exists and is available on DVD from Kino Video, running 55 minutes. There is an alternate edition available from Grapevine Video. This version runs 63 minutes, including a longer opening exposition sequence, and more frequent original intertitles, which help to clarify the story. A print is also held by Gosfilmofond Russian State Archives.
Ella Cinders is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by Alfred E. Green, starring Colleen Moore, produced by her husband John McCormick, and featuring Moore's recurring co-star, Lloyd Hughes. The film is based on the syndicated comic strip of the same name by William M. Conselman and Charles Plumb, which in turn was based upon the millennia-old folk tale of Cinderella.
The Girl from Montmartre is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Barbara La Marr in her last film role. It was distributed through First National on the day after La Marr died.
It Must Be Love is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Colleen Moore, Jean Hersholt, and Malcolm McGregor.
The Huntress is a 1923 American drama film directed by Lynn Reynolds and written by Percy Heath. It is based on the 1922 novel The Huntress by Hulbert Footner. The film stars Colleen Moore, Lloyd Hughes, Russell Simpson, Walter Long, C.E. Anderson, and Snitz Edwards. The film was released on August 20, 1923, by Associated First National Pictures.
The Desert Flower is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by Irving Cummings and written by June Mathis. It is based on the 1924 play The Desert Flower by Don Mullally. The film stars Colleen Moore, Lloyd Hughes, Kate Price, Gino Corrado, Fred Warren, and Frank Brownlee. The film was released on June 21, 1925, by First National Pictures.
Status: Lost