Honky Tonk (1929 film)
Encyclopedia
Honky Tonk is a 1929
American
musical film
starring Sophie Tucker
in her film debut. The film was a flop when released and is now lost
, although the soundtrack for the trailer still exists. Tucker sings a number of songs in the movie, including her theme song "Some of These Days
", and "I'm the Last of the Red Hot Mamas", from which she took her billing as "The Last of the Red Hot Mamas".
) to Europe to be educated, keeping her work as an entertainer a secret from her. When the grown-up, expensively educated Beth returns to America, she is shocked to discover her mother's true profession and disowns her, breaking Sophie's heart.
1929 in film
-Events:The days of the silent film are numbered. A mad scramble to provide synchronized sound is on.*January 20 - The movie In Old Arizona is released. The film is the first full-length talking film to be filmed outdoors....
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musical film
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
starring Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker was a Russian/Ukrainian-born American singer and actress. Known for her stentorian delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first half of the 20th century...
in her film debut. The film was a flop when released and is now lost
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
, although the soundtrack for the trailer still exists. Tucker sings a number of songs in the movie, including her theme song "Some of These Days
Some of These Days
"Some of These Days" is a popular song published in 1910 associated with Sophie Tucker.-Background:Originally written and composed by Shelton Brooks for the “Last of the Red-Hot Mamas”, "Some of These Days" became a signature song for Sophie Tucker, who made the first of her several recordings of...
", and "I'm the Last of the Red Hot Mamas", from which she took her billing as "The Last of the Red Hot Mamas".
Plot
Sophie Tucker plays Sophie Leonard, a singer in a nightclub who at great sacrifice sends her daughter Beth (Lila LeeLila Lee
Lila Lee was a prominent screen actress of the early silent film era.-Early life:Lila Lee was born Augusta Wilhelmena Fredericka Appel in Union Hill, New Jersey into a middle-class family of German immigrants who relocated to New York City when Lila was quite young...
) to Europe to be educated, keeping her work as an entertainer a secret from her. When the grown-up, expensively educated Beth returns to America, she is shocked to discover her mother's true profession and disowns her, breaking Sophie's heart.
Cast
- Sophie TuckerSophie TuckerSophie Tucker was a Russian/Ukrainian-born American singer and actress. Known for her stentorian delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first half of the 20th century...
as Sophie Leonard - Lila LeeLila LeeLila Lee was a prominent screen actress of the early silent film era.-Early life:Lila Lee was born Augusta Wilhelmena Fredericka Appel in Union Hill, New Jersey into a middle-class family of German immigrants who relocated to New York City when Lila was quite young...
as Beth (Sophie Leonard's daughter) - Wilbur MackWilbur MackWilbur Mack was an American film actor and early vaudeville performer from the 1920s through the 1960s. His film acting career began during the silent film era....
as Stuttering Valet - Audrey FerrisAudrey FerrisAudrey Ferris was an American film actress of the early silent film era of the late 1920s and into the 1930s.Born Audrey Kellar in Detroit, Michigan, Ferris first moved to Hollywood around 1926, and began working to pursue a career as an actress. In 1927 she received her first supporting role in...
as Jean Gilmore - Tom Keene as Freddie Gilmore
- Mahlon HamiltonMahlon HamiltonMahlon Preston Hamilton Jr. was an American stage and screen actor. He was the son of a bartender born in Baltimore, Maryland the eldest of three daughters and a son raised by his parents...
as Jim Blaken - John T. Murray as Cafe Manager
Musical numbers
- "I'm Doing What I'm Doing for Love" (Milton AgerMilton AgerMilton Ager was an American composer.Ager was born in Chicago, Illinois, the sixth of nine children. Leaving school with only three years of formal high-school education, he taught himself to play the piano and embarked on a career as a musician. After spending time as an accompanist to silent...
, Jack YellenJack YellenJack Selig Yellen was an American lyricist and screenwriter.-Life and career:Born in Poland, Yellen emigrated with his family to the United States when he was five years old. The oldest of seven children, he was raised in Buffalo, New York and began writing songs in high school...
) - "He's a Good Man To Have Around" (Ager, Yellen)
- "I'm Feathering a Nest (For a Little Blue Bird)" (Ager, Yellen)
- "I'm the Last of the Red Hot Mamas" (Ager, Yellen)
- "I Don't Want To Get Thin" (Ager, Yellen)
- "Some of These DaysSome of These Days"Some of These Days" is a popular song published in 1910 associated with Sophie Tucker.-Background:Originally written and composed by Shelton Brooks for the “Last of the Red-Hot Mamas”, "Some of These Days" became a signature song for Sophie Tucker, who made the first of her several recordings of...
" (Shelton BrooksShelton BrooksShelton Brooks was a popular music and jazz composer who wrote some of the biggest hits of the first third of the 20th century.Brooks was born in Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada...
)