Children of Pleasure
Encyclopedia
Children of Pleasure is a 1930 American MGM musical comedy film directed by Harry Beaumont
originally released with Technicolor
sequences. It was adapted from Crane Wilbur
's stage success of 1929 The Song Writer.
girl Carlie who is just playing around. He doesn't realize that his girl-Friday is the one he really loves until it is almost too late. Although he is awestruck by high society, he overhears the girl's admission that she is stringing him along in the nick of time avoid marriage.
The film is played against a theatrical backdrop, and contains many songs and production numbers.
sequences in the summer of 1930. One reviewer noted that "the revue scenes filmed in Technicolor being particularly lavish." These color sequences were later replaced with a black-and-white version that had been filmed simultaneously because the backlash against musicals (which occurred in the autumn of 1930) made the expense of printing color prints superfluous and frivolous. Only this black-and-white general release version currently exists. The same fate was shared by another of MGM's major musicals, Cecil B. DeMille
's Madam Satan
which was released during the same time period. A segment of one of the Technicolor sequences survives in an MGM short subject
in color titled Roast Beef and Movies
(1934).
. His rendition of the songs Leave It That Way and The Whole Darned Thing's For You were released on Brunswick's popular ten inch series on record number 4775.
Harry Beaumont
Harry Beaumont was an American film director, actor, and screenwriter. He worked for a variety of production companies including Fox, Goldwyn, Metro, Warner Brothers and MGM....
originally released with Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
sequences. It was adapted from Crane Wilbur
Crane Wilbur
Crane Wilbur was an American writer, actor and director for stage, radio and screen. He was born in Athens, New York...
's stage success of 1929 The Song Writer.
Plot
An acclaimed singer Terry falls in love with a socialiteSocialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
girl Carlie who is just playing around. He doesn't realize that his girl-Friday is the one he really loves until it is almost too late. Although he is awestruck by high society, he overhears the girl's admission that she is stringing him along in the nick of time avoid marriage.
The film is played against a theatrical backdrop, and contains many songs and production numbers.
Cast
- Lawrence GrayLawrence GrayLawrence Gray was an American actor of the 1920s and 1930s.During World War I he served in the U. S. Navy and gained a commission...
... Danny Regan - Wynne GibsonWynne GibsonWynne Gibson was an American actress of the 1930s.Early in her career she had a small part in a film but had no special interest in appearing before the camera. It was the stage that interested her and she began her stage career in chorus and was soon playing leads...
... Emma 'Em' Gray - Judith WoodJudith WoodJudith Wood was an American film actress from the end of the 1920s through the 1940s.Born as Helen Johnson in New York City, Wood moved to Hollywood, California to pursue an acting career in the late 1920s. Her first role was in the 1929 film Gold Diggers of Broadway...
... Patricia 'Pat' Thayer (as Helen Johnson) - Kenneth Thomson ... Rod Peck (as Kenneth Thompson)
- Lee KohlmarLee KohlmarLee Kohlmar was a German film actor and director. He appeared in 52 films between 1916 and 1941. He also directed nine films between 1916 and 1921....
... Bernie (as Lee Kolmar) - May Boley ... Fanny Kaye
- Benny RubinBenny RubinBenny Rubin was an American comedian and film actor. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Rubin made more than 200 radio, film and television appearances over a span of 50 years.-Radio and television:...
... Andy Little - Jack BennyJack BennyJack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
... Himself, Cameo Appearance (uncredited) - Sidney BraceySidney BraceySidney Bracey was an Australian-born American film actor. After a stage career in Australia, on Broadway and in Britain, he appeared in 321 films between 1909 and 1942.-Life and career:...
... Miles (butler) (uncredited) - Mary CarlisleMary CarlisleMary Carlisle was an American actress and singer. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she was a star of Hollywood films in the 1930s, having been one of thirteen girls selected as "WAMPAS Baby Stars" in 1932. The archetypal blonde, Mary Carlisle was brought to Hollywood at the age of four by her...
... Secretary (uncredited) - Carrie DaumeryCarrie DaumeryCarrie Daumery was a Dutch-born American film actress. She appeared in 63 films between 1908 and 1937.She was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands and died in Los Angeles, California...
... Dowager (uncredited) - Ann DvorakAnn DvorakAnn Dvorak was an American film actress.Asked how to pronounce her adopted surname, she told The Literary Digest: "My name is properly pronounced vor'shack. The D remains silent...
... Chorus girl (uncredited) - Jay Eaton ... Eddie Brown (uncredited)
Production
The movie was originally premiered and released with TechnicolorTechnicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
sequences in the summer of 1930. One reviewer noted that "the revue scenes filmed in Technicolor being particularly lavish." These color sequences were later replaced with a black-and-white version that had been filmed simultaneously because the backlash against musicals (which occurred in the autumn of 1930) made the expense of printing color prints superfluous and frivolous. Only this black-and-white general release version currently exists. The same fate was shared by another of MGM's major musicals, Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
's Madam Satan
Madam Satan
Madam Satan is a dramatic pre-Code musical film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille for MGM, one of the few DeMille made for the Culver City studio...
which was released during the same time period. A segment of one of the Technicolor sequences survives in an MGM short subject
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
in color titled Roast Beef and Movies
Roast Beef and Movies
Roast Beef and Movies is a short subject starring George Givot, along with Curly Howard , Bobby Callahan, and the Albertina Rasch Dancers...
(1934).
Soundtrack
Lawrence Gray recorded two of his songs from the picture for Brunswick RecordsBrunswick Records
Brunswick Records is a United States based record label. The label is currently distributed by E1 Entertainment.-From 1916:Records under the "Brunswick" label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company...
. His rendition of the songs Leave It That Way and The Whole Darned Thing's For You were released on Brunswick's popular ten inch series on record number 4775.