A Soldier's Plaything
| A Soldier's Plaything | |
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theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Michael Curtiz |
| Written by | Arthur Caesar (dialogue) |
| Screenplay by | Perry N. Vekroff |
| Story by | Viña Delmar |
| Starring | Ben Lyon Harry Langdon Lotti Loder Noah Beery |
| Cinematography | Barney McGill |
| Edited by | Jack Killifer |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
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Release dates
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Running time
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56 minutes 71 minutes ;;(original) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
A Soldier's Plaything is a 1930 American Pre-Code comedy-drama film with songs directed by Michael Curtiz. Warner Bros. filmed it simultaneously in 35mm and in a widescreen process called Vitascope, but it is uncertain whether the Vitascope version was ever released.[1] The film was planned as a full-scale musical comedy. The majority of the musical numbers of this film, however, were cut out before general release in the United States because the public had grown tired of musicals by late 1930. This accounts for the very short length of the film. The complete film was released intact in countries outside the United States where a backlash against musicals never occurred. It is unknown whether a copy of this full version still exists.
Plot
The story takes place towards the end of the first World War. Georgie Wilson is gambling with some friends. When one of them accuses him of cheating they get into a fight. When Wilson sees his opponent fall down the stairs he assumes he has died. He escapes with his friend, Tim, before the police arrive by joining a parade of men who are enlisting for the army. They end up joining together as Tim made his mind up that he wants to join the Army. They get into trouble with their captain on numerous occasions, leading him to punish them numerous times by making them stable cleaners. When they are stationed at the German town of Koblenz, Wilson meets and falls in love with Gretchen Rittner, daughter of an innkeeper. He is unable to propose marriage to her, however, with a murder charging hanging over his head. Eventually, the man he thought he murdered turns up and this allows Wilson to finally marry Gretchen.
Cast
- Ben Lyon as Georgie Wilson
- Harry Langdon as Tim
- Lotti Loder as Gretchen Rittner
- Noah Beery as Captain John Plover
- Fred Kohler as Hank, poker player
- Lee Moran as Corporal Brown
- Frank Campeau as Joe, poker player
Preservation status
Only copies of the cut print released in the United States (without most of the musical numbers) seems to have survived.[2] The complete film, which had a running length of 71 minutes, was released intact in countries outside the United States where a backlash against musicals never occurred. It is unknown whether a copy of this full version still exists.[3]
References
- ↑ David Coles, "Magnified Grandeur, Widescreen 1926-1931"
- ↑ Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress (<-book title) p.170 c.1978 by The American Film Institute
- ↑ A Soldier's Plaything
External links
- Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). A Soldier's Plaything at IMDb
- A Soldier's Plaything at AllMovie
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