Beggars of Life

Artfully photographed, dark and riveting silent film following the story of a handsome tramp (Richard Arlen) who has entered a house looking for work, finds a man slumped over at the table and discovers he has been shot to death. A young lady (Louise Brooks) appears at the top of the stairs dressed in male clothing - she admits she killed the man (he "adopted" her from the orphanage two years before - okey dokey), but reasons that she did it to protect herself from being raped. So - they run off together and hitch a ride on a rail car to get out of town. The two of them soon arrive at a side of the railyard hobo camp where they encounter one really hardened, bully of a hobo (Wallace Beery) who actually ends up helping them. When she is recognized by one of the hobos as being a woman, the bunch want to get her away from her fellow and have her for themselves - oh dear, that struck me as a pretty bad/scary situation for a female to find herself in (the looks on these men's faces as they stared in lust at this poor girl were enough to frighten anyone)! Later "Wanted" posters begin to appear on signposts, as they discover she is now wanted for murder with a $1,000 reward offered for her capture.

I found this to be a very interesting and enjoyable film, full of some beautifully photographed scenes - Brooks and Arlen in close-up as they hide out one night in a hay loft, Brooks falling from a train into a grassy field, a montage of images in the beginning showing the decadence of the girl's "father" as he paws and pursues her. The plot is, in a few ways, reminiscent of the early 40s comedy "Sullivan's Travels" - the female dressed in male clothing stealing rides on rail cars with a male friend/lover, the hobo camp, etc. Interestingly, I thought Louise Brooks looked even more beautiful dressed as a boy than when she puts on a dress! All in all, this is a visual treat and a highly entertaining film.

"Beggars of Life" is (and I hate to use this word) awesome. Louise Brooks takes command of this photoplay right away and makes it her own. Watch her act with her facial expressions in the scene inside the haystack. Brooks' acting is very subtle and is quite effective. She is in good company with Richard Arlen, always a fine actor, and Wallace Beery, whose portrayal of the complex Oklahoma Red is excellent. The all-male supporting cast is also of high quality. This is a first rate cinematic event with a first rate actress and supporting cast. It is something modern day film audiences should not miss.

While she is known primarily for her work for G.W. Pabst in the German films Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl, Louise Brooks is phenomenal in William Wellman's movie of a young girl on the run after she murders her sexually abusive guardian. The opening scene, in which the murder takes place, is gorgeously imagistic and ranks (for me) as one of the most indelible moments in all of cinema. Richard Arlen and Wallace Beery are very good in their roles, but the movie belongs to Brooks, whose ability to underplay in the silent era -- when mugging and exaggeration were more the rule than the exception -- makes her seem ultra-contemporary. It is little wonder Brooks has such resonance with modern audiences.

I write to amend this earlier complaint about an earlier print from Grapevine (see below). The newest release - 2015 - is much improved. Although a few parts seem to be from a 16mm reduction print (I'm no expert on this), most of the film is much easier to watch. It is brighter, correctly tinted and much sharper than the earlier film I had watched and reviewed here. Moreover, a completely new score by Jack Hardy matches the action on the screen and improves this release by 100%. While shopping, be sure to obtain this newest print released on January 16, 2015. EARLIER REVIEW: I finally obtained a copy of Beggars of Life having read and heard so much about it over the years. William Wellman does some remarkable things in this film including an interesting flashback technique superimposing a close-up of Louise Brooks as she relates details of the altercation with her adoptive guardian. Brooks is not quite at her Pandora's Box level, but she's close. Brooks' filmography is actually rather sparse. However this film coupled with Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl justify all the accolades she receives to this day. These films are true artistic achievements. In Beggars of Life, Wallace Beery is at his sleazy best as the hobo alpha-chimp who turns out to have a soft heart of gold and Richard Arlen, while maintaining his matinée idol good looks, is superb as he slips out of his boy-next-door persona. Roscoe ("Shapley's the name and that's how I like 'em") Karns and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams also have parts and each adds spice to the story. Unfortunately the only copy I could find was a VHS tape produced by Grapevine Video out of Arizona that appears to be dubbed off of a 16mm television print with music that has nothing to do with the story. I like Beery, Brooks and Arlen as well as Beethoven, but not in this particular mix. Grapevine Video even had the nerve to claim a copyright to the music!!! I am sure the film is in the public domain and I KNOW Beethoven is. As others have noted, a crisp DVD would be greatly appreciated. I understand a better print exists and that the Mont Alto Motion Picture orchestra accompanied the film at the SFSFF in 2008. Let's hope they get together and prepare a decent video release! It would be worth the effort as Beggars of Life is truly one of the great films of the late silent era and ranks, in my opinion, up there with The Crowd and Sunrise in its realism and with its fine performances.

Handsome hobo Richard Arlen (as Jim) is hungry. Smelling breakfast as he passes by a home, Mr. Arlen ventures inside to beg for food. Arlen is startled to discover the body of a dead man, as beautiful Louise Brooks (as Nancy) descends her stairway to explain. Tired of waiting on the pawing man, Ms. Brooks shot her sexually abusive guardian. Believing Brooks story (and taken by her beauty), Arlen invites her to accompany him east. They hop a freight train with Brooks disguised as a boy, to deter the police. Love blooms when the two share a bed made in hay. Arlen's "leg-locking" and Brooks' look of approval are part of these actors' well-played scene. With the police on their trail, Arlen and Brooks fall in with a group of hobos.

Brooks' disguise as Arlen's "kid brother" only lasts so long, and she is discovered as a girl. This arouses the interest of boozy tramp leader Wallace Berry (as Okalahoma Red). When their gang of hobos hitches a ride on another train, Mr. Berry wants to throw Arlen overboard and rape Brooks. Berry's swaggering introduction, with a keg of ale for the hobos, is a jolt - as we hear his voice in a "synchronized sound effected" film. Berry, who is billed over Arlen and Brooks, quickly becomes a major character. His change during the last act becomes one of the film's problems. Still, this is still a fine-looking production (despite the prints available).

You get "Wings" director William A. Wellman with one of his greatest stars (Arlen), a fine new actress (Brooks), and one of the movies' most popular character players (Berry). And, hang on tight for some exciting train sequences.

******** Beggars of Life (9/22/28) William A. Wellman ~ Richard Arlen, Louise Brooks, Wallace Berry, Edgar Washington