Breaking the Ice (1938 film)
Encyclopedia
Breaking the Ice is a 1938 American film directed by Edward F. Cline
. A young Mennonite
boy runs away from home to earn money for his widowed mother.
) and his mother, Martha Martin (Dolores Costello
) say goodbye to Henry and Reuben Johnson ( John 'Dusty' King
and Delmar Watson
). After having stopped by the Mennonite farm, where Tommy and Martha stay with the William and Annie Decker ( Robert Barrat
and Dorothy Peterson
), the Johnsons are headed back to their hometown of Goshen. That night over dinner, Tommy, Martha and the Decker’s discuss the possibility of Tommy and Martha returning to their home in Kansas to work their farm, having fully recovered from the death of Mr. Marti. William Decker does not wish to allow them to return without the help of a man on the farm. Tommy suggests that Henry Johnson would be happy to assist. Mrs. Decker agrees that Henry had displayed affections for Martha while he was at the farm. It is decided that in order to get both Tommy and Martha home, $92 would be needed in order to pay the train fare home. To Martha’s dismay, William writes Henry for the $92 if he wishes to marry Martha and send her home. Henry is to respond with a letter detailing his answer. William gives the letter to Tommy, who is to mail it when he is through with his chores. Instead, Tommy tears the letter up and does not send it. imdb.com
Enter Samuel Terwilliger ( Charles Ruggles
), a street-smart, money-making man. Tommy tells Mr. Terwilliger that he has saved old newspapers for him to buy. As Tommy runs in the house to get the papers, a man comes by to drop off money for William Decker for a tobacco sale. Tommy takes the money and sets it on William’s desk. Next to the desk is the trunk where Tommy kept the newspapers. While Tommy was rummaging through the trunk, one of the twenty dollar bills on the desk landed in a newspaper, to be taken to Mr. Terwilliger. As Tommy and Mr. Terwilliger get to talking Tommy learns about Philadelphia, Mr. Terwilliger’s home town. That evening, Tommy decides to go to Philadelphia with Mr. Terwilliger, so he sneaks out of the house and hops in Mr. Terwilliger’s wagon.
Mr. Terwilliger and Tommy travel along the next day, and after a close-call with a train, make it to Philadelphia. Soon Tommy gets a job at the adjacent ice rink, scraping the ice after the performers practice. Back at home, William has discovered the missing twenty dollars, and blames Tommy for taking it. Every week, Tommy sends a letter home with a dollar, but William remains angry. One day as Tommy is scraping the ice, he sings along to a song the band is playing. The manager of the rink offers to hire him on as a singer for the shows. Mr. Terwilliger acts as Tommy’s manager, and negotiates a wage. Later Tommy finds out that Mr.Terwilliger had been secretly keeping Tommy’s money. Tommy uses the stashed money to return home.
Upon his return home, he is greeted with joy from everyone except for William, who insists on the return of his twenty dollars. Tommy traces the money back in his mind, and realizes that it fell into one of the newspapers Mr. Terwilliger used to stuff an antique chair. The two of them then run around the country in order to seek the chair, and find the twenty dollars. Finally, they locate the chair, and bring the twenty dollars back home. With all debts cleared, Tommy and Martha can finally go home to Goshen where they run the farm with Henry and Reuben Johnson. archive.org
"Put Your Heart in a Song"
"The Sunny Side of Things"
by Frank Churchill and Paul F. Webster
Tellin' My Troubles to a Mule
Goodbye, My Dreams, Goodbye (Arrangement of Shubert's Serenade) archive.org
by Victor Young and Paul F. Webster
Edward F. Cline
Edward Francis Cline was a screenwriter, actor, writer and director. He was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin and died in Hollywood.-Career:...
. A young Mennonite
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
boy runs away from home to earn money for his widowed mother.
Plot
Breaking The Ice begins while Tommy Martin ( Bobby BreenBobby Breen
Bobby Breen is a Canadian-born actor and singer of the 1930s. He made his professional debut at age four in a night club in Toronto and was an immediate sensation. He made his radio debut soon after. He played in vaudeville and his sister paid for his musical education. Breen went to Hollywood in...
) and his mother, Martha Martin (Dolores Costello
Dolores Costello
Dolores Costello was an American film actress who achieved her greatest success during the era of silent movies. She was nicknamed "The Goddess of the Silent Screen"...
) say goodbye to Henry and Reuben Johnson ( John 'Dusty' King
John 'Dusty' King
John 'Dusty' King John 'Dusty' King John 'Dusty' King (born Miller McLeod Everson, July 11, 1909 – November 11, 1987 was a singer and film actor renowned for his Westerns particularly the Range Busters series.-Biography:Everson was born in Cincinnati, Ohio...
and Delmar Watson
Delmar Watson
David Delmar Watson was an American child actor and news photographer.-Biography:He was the son of actor, stuntman, and pioneer special effects artist Coy Watson Sr. They lived by Mack Sennett's studios in the old Edendale area of Los Angeles, California and Delmar attended Belmont High...
). After having stopped by the Mennonite farm, where Tommy and Martha stay with the William and Annie Decker ( Robert Barrat
Robert Barrat
Robert Harriot Barrat was an American stage, motion picture, and television character actor.-Career:Born in New York, Barrat's theatrical debut was in a stock company in Springfield, Massachusetts...
and Dorothy Peterson
Dorothy Peterson
Dorothy Peterson was an American actress.Peterson was born in Hector, Minnesota of Swedish immigrant ancestry. She made her screen debut in 1930's Mothers Cry, a domestic drama that required the 29-year-old actress to age nearly three decades in the course of the film...
), the Johnsons are headed back to their hometown of Goshen. That night over dinner, Tommy, Martha and the Decker’s discuss the possibility of Tommy and Martha returning to their home in Kansas to work their farm, having fully recovered from the death of Mr. Marti. William Decker does not wish to allow them to return without the help of a man on the farm. Tommy suggests that Henry Johnson would be happy to assist. Mrs. Decker agrees that Henry had displayed affections for Martha while he was at the farm. It is decided that in order to get both Tommy and Martha home, $92 would be needed in order to pay the train fare home. To Martha’s dismay, William writes Henry for the $92 if he wishes to marry Martha and send her home. Henry is to respond with a letter detailing his answer. William gives the letter to Tommy, who is to mail it when he is through with his chores. Instead, Tommy tears the letter up and does not send it. imdb.com
Enter Samuel Terwilliger ( Charles Ruggles
Charles Ruggles
Charles Sherman “Charlie” Ruggles was a comic American actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films. He was also the brother of director, producer, and silent actor Wesley Ruggles .-Background:Charlie Ruggles was born in Los Angeles, California in 1886...
), a street-smart, money-making man. Tommy tells Mr. Terwilliger that he has saved old newspapers for him to buy. As Tommy runs in the house to get the papers, a man comes by to drop off money for William Decker for a tobacco sale. Tommy takes the money and sets it on William’s desk. Next to the desk is the trunk where Tommy kept the newspapers. While Tommy was rummaging through the trunk, one of the twenty dollar bills on the desk landed in a newspaper, to be taken to Mr. Terwilliger. As Tommy and Mr. Terwilliger get to talking Tommy learns about Philadelphia, Mr. Terwilliger’s home town. That evening, Tommy decides to go to Philadelphia with Mr. Terwilliger, so he sneaks out of the house and hops in Mr. Terwilliger’s wagon.
Mr. Terwilliger and Tommy travel along the next day, and after a close-call with a train, make it to Philadelphia. Soon Tommy gets a job at the adjacent ice rink, scraping the ice after the performers practice. Back at home, William has discovered the missing twenty dollars, and blames Tommy for taking it. Every week, Tommy sends a letter home with a dollar, but William remains angry. One day as Tommy is scraping the ice, he sings along to a song the band is playing. The manager of the rink offers to hire him on as a singer for the shows. Mr. Terwilliger acts as Tommy’s manager, and negotiates a wage. Later Tommy finds out that Mr.Terwilliger had been secretly keeping Tommy’s money. Tommy uses the stashed money to return home.
Upon his return home, he is greeted with joy from everyone except for William, who insists on the return of his twenty dollars. Tommy traces the money back in his mind, and realizes that it fell into one of the newspapers Mr. Terwilliger used to stuff an antique chair. The two of them then run around the country in order to seek the chair, and find the twenty dollars. Finally, they locate the chair, and bring the twenty dollars back home. With all debts cleared, Tommy and Martha can finally go home to Goshen where they run the farm with Henry and Reuben Johnson. archive.org
Cast
- Bobby BreenBobby BreenBobby Breen is a Canadian-born actor and singer of the 1930s. He made his professional debut at age four in a night club in Toronto and was an immediate sensation. He made his radio debut soon after. He played in vaudeville and his sister paid for his musical education. Breen went to Hollywood in...
as Tommy Martin - Charles RugglesCharles RugglesCharles Sherman “Charlie” Ruggles was a comic American actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films. He was also the brother of director, producer, and silent actor Wesley Ruggles .-Background:Charlie Ruggles was born in Los Angeles, California in 1886...
as Samuel Terwilliger - Dolores CostelloDolores CostelloDolores Costello was an American film actress who achieved her greatest success during the era of silent movies. She was nicknamed "The Goddess of the Silent Screen"...
as Martha Martin - Irene Dare as Irene Dare
- Robert BarratRobert BarratRobert Harriot Barrat was an American stage, motion picture, and television character actor.-Career:Born in New York, Barrat's theatrical debut was in a stock company in Springfield, Massachusetts...
as William Decker - Dorothy PetersonDorothy PetersonDorothy Peterson was an American actress.Peterson was born in Hector, Minnesota of Swedish immigrant ancestry. She made her screen debut in 1930's Mothers Cry, a domestic drama that required the 29-year-old actress to age nearly three decades in the course of the film...
as Annie Decker - John 'Dusty' KingJohn 'Dusty' KingJohn 'Dusty' King John 'Dusty' King John 'Dusty' King (born Miller McLeod Everson, July 11, 1909 – November 11, 1987 was a singer and film actor renowned for his Westerns particularly the Range Busters series.-Biography:Everson was born in Cincinnati, Ohio...
as Henry Johnson - Billy GilbertBilly GilbertBilly Gilbert was an American comedian and actor known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects and television shows starting in 1929. He is not to be confused with silent film actor Billy Gilbert Billy Gilbert (September 12, 1894 – September 23,...
as Mr. Small - Margaret HamiltonMargaret HamiltonMargaret Hamilton was an American film actress known for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz...
as Mrs. Small - Charles MurrayCharles MurrayCharles Murray is the name of:*Charles Murray, 1st Earl of Dunmore *Charles Augustus Murray , British author diplomat*Charles Murray, 7th Earl of Dunmore *Charles James Murray , British politician...
as Janitor - Jonathan HaleJonathan HaleJonathan Hale was a Canadian-born film and television actor.-Career:Born Jonathan Hatley in Ontario, Canada, Hale was well known as Dagwood Bumstead's boss, Julius Caesar Dithers, in the Blondie film series in the 1940s. He is also notable for playing Inspector Farnack in various The Saint films...
as Kane - Delmar WatsonDelmar WatsonDavid Delmar Watson was an American child actor and news photographer.-Biography:He was the son of actor, stuntman, and pioneer special effects artist Coy Watson Sr. They lived by Mack Sennett's studios in the old Edendale area of Los Angeles, California and Delmar attended Belmont High...
as Reuben Johnson - Spencer ChartersSpencer ChartersSpencer Charters was an American film actor. He appeared in over 220 films between 1920 and 1943.He was born in Duncannon, Pennsylvania, and died in Hollywood, California by suicide, from a mix of sleeping pills and carbon monoxide poisoning.His first stage work soon after leaving school was a...
as Farmer Smith - Cy KendallCy KendallCy Kendall was an American film actor. He appeared in over 140 films between 1935 and 1950.Kendall's heavy-set, square-jawed appearance and deep voice were perfect for wiseguy roles such as policemen and police chiefs, wardens, military officers, bartenders, reporters, and mobsters.He was born...
as Judd
Soundtrack
"Happy as a Lark""Put Your Heart in a Song"
"The Sunny Side of Things"
by Frank Churchill and Paul F. Webster
Tellin' My Troubles to a Mule
Goodbye, My Dreams, Goodbye (Arrangement of Shubert's Serenade) archive.org
by Victor Young and Paul F. Webster