Sunny (1930)
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| Sunny in her circus costume. Wasn't she a pretty little bareback rider? |
"Sunny" started out with high hopes. It was based upon a successful Broadway show, had a score by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein and starred its original Broadway star, the great Marilyn Miller. Once sound films swept the nation, musicals and stage stars flooded the theaters.
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| Marilyn Miller |
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| Marilyn Miller in her stage consume as "Sunny." More circus and less glamour than the film version |
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| Sunny waits for her Prince Charming |
They also could not omit the show's hit number "Who?" Marilyn wasn't a great singer, but the poor quality of the sound doesn't do her any favors. Still, her star power gets her through. Here she is with the uninspiring Mr. Gray.
Personally, I found Marilyn's performance in "Sunny" even more appealing than her performance in "Sally." She comes across as quite an adorable and cheeky woman and looked lovely once she was adorned in her non-stowaway clothes. It's a shame that there was only one more film in store for Marilyn before she headed back to Broadway. I thought she had quite a nice comic touch when not trying to play the innocent.
Another joy is the inclusion of Joe Donahue as the hapless fellow who Sunny marries and then divorces. Joe was the brother of Jack Donahue, a favorite stage dancing partner of Marilyn Miller. While his film career was pretty non-existent, he and Marilyn pair comfortably in "When We Get Our Divorce." Since I can't find a stand alone clip of their dance, I am posting the entire film and ask you to go to 58:17 to see this delightful pairing.
Sadly, much of the music was cut cut from the film before release in the US. The existing version of "Sunny" is pretty tattered and badly in need of preservation. A full musical version of this film that included the entire original score was released outside of the US (where they apparently had not yet tired of musicals). Oh, if only this version would surface!
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| Sunny dreaming of fleeing the circus and winning her man |
Interested in knowing more about Marilyn Miller? Check out "The Other Marilyn," by Warren G. Harris.
14 comments:
Thank you for that picture of Marilyn Miller's statue and for the story of her time in Hollywood. It is a shame those early pictures ran into such troubles, but I guess Broadway was her true home.
Yes, CW, Broadway was her true home. I had little hopes that this film would even be watchable, based on current review, but I found Marilyn natural and charming. She would have handled comedy just fine. But, I think she loved being a Broadway Diva. Too bad her life was cut short, but she was a real case of live fast and die young. Plus, her life as a child performer didn't help. I find her endlessly fascinating.
Thank you for submitting to #AtTheCircus, I look forward to enjoying your post this weekend!
-Summer
I liked the picture of her in the door frame. That was enough to make me wanna watch the whole thing. She is very fetching.
The film had potential! Too bad the musical numbers were cut. We can see that Marilyn is a good tap dancer, and if paired with an Astaire type the film would have been a hit. I also hope that the full international version surfaces someday!
Thanks for joining us, Marsha, it was great to have you among our guests!
Kisses!
Le
I hope the version with musical numbers will show up one day. I think I first heard of Marilyn Miller when I read a biography of WC Fields. I didn't realize what a big deal she was until I read a biography of Flo Ziegfeld. I didn't see any of her films until the internet and YouTube came along years later. I enjoyed your essay and your selection of illustrations.
Marilyn resembled a delicate flower, like the ballerina in a music box--but I'll wager she was also an iron butterfly--singing and dancing up a storm. A lovely post about a lovely lady by a lovely lady! Thanks!
Summer - thank you for co-hosting. I'm a bit late, but I plan to visit the other fun posts.
Quiggy - she was quite fetching - she had a winning charm that, I'm sure, was muted by film. She must have been something on stage.
Le - thank you for co-hosting. And yes - such a shame many of those charming musical numbers were ditched. Maybe someday the film will surface....
Thank you, Joe. Sadly, Marilyn only made 3 films and that last one with Fields was a turkey.
Inge - yes, she was quite an iron butterfly - a real hard-drinking tough talking diva who came up the hard way. But, the illusion is timeless.
Nice tribute to Marilyn Miler in this relatively unknown film. She was such a lioness on Broadway but her star was fading and her fast life was catching up to her quickly by then. Thanks for including the dance clip, and by the way, the movie was remade at RKO in 1941 with Anna Neagle.
Oh, this film sounds like a lovely idea, and its cuts seem detrimental! Thank you for sharing an relatively obscure pic! The dance clip was fabulous, thank you for your contribution to #AtTheCircus!
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