Weary River (1929)
Weary River (1929)
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Cast & Crew.
Richard Barthelmess
Jerry Larrabee
Betty Compson
Alice Gray
William Holden
Prison Warden
Louis Natheaux
Spadoni
George E. Stone
Blackie
Ray Turner
Elevator Boy
Gladden James
Jerry's Manager
Ernie Adams
Ex-Con in Alley (uncredited)
Brooks Benedict
Jerry's Guest (uncredited)
Ruth Cherrington
Actress Backstage Who Locks Door (uncredited)
James Conaty
Attorney at Trial (uncredited)
Richard Cramer
Prison Radio Announcer (uncredited)
Edwards Davis
Prison Chaplain (uncredited)
Sally Eilers
Hatcheck Girl (uncredited)
Paul Perez
Writer
Jim Farley
Plainclothesman with Sergeant (uncredited)
Sherry Hall
Prison Phone Operator (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton
Prison Photographer (uncredited)
Pat Harmon
Bartender (uncredited)
Ernest Hilliard
Literary Club Host (uncredited)
Bob Kortman
Prison Guard (uncredited)
Louis Mercier
Friend at Barney's (uncredited)
Robert Emmett O'Connor
Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Virginia Sale
Noisy Lady in Audience (uncredited)
Randolph Scott
Audience Member (0:56) (uncredited)
Harry Semels
Telephone Informer / Friend at Barney's (uncredited)
Charles Sullivan
Friend at Barney's (uncredited)
Blue Washington
Prisoner in Bathtub (uncredited)
Frank Lloyd
Director / Producer
Bradley King
Writer
Edward Schroeder
Editor
Courtney Ryley Cooper
Story
Media.
Details.
Release DateFebruary 10, 1929
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 26m
Content RatingNR
Genres
Last updated:
This Movie Is About.
Wiki.
Weary River is a 1929 American sound part-talkie romantic drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Richard Barthelmess, Betty Compson, and William Holden (no relation to William Holden, star of such films as Sunset Boulevard). The film was produced and distributed by First National Pictures. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score, singing and sound effects along with English intertitles. The soundtrack was recorded using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system.
Based on a story by Courtney Riley Cooper, the film is about a gangster who goes to prison and finds salvation through music while serving his time. After he is released and falls back into a life of temptation, he is saved by the love of a woman and the warden who befriended him. The film received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Director in 1930.
Weary River was preserved at the Library of Congress and restored by the LoC, UCLA Film and Television Archive, and Warner Bros. It is available on DVD directly from the Warner Archive Collection.
While Barthelmess's character sings and plays the piano throughout the film, Barthelmess did not sing or play the piano. Frank Churchill played the piano, and Johnny Murray sang into a microphone far away from Barthelmess while he lip-synced and played a piano that had strings deadened with felt.