So Long Letty is a 1929 American pre-Code musical comedy directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Charlotte Greenwood, reprising her role from the 1916 Broadway stage play.[3][4][5] The story had previously been filmed as a silent under the same title in 1920 with Colleen Moore.
| So Long Letty | |
|---|---|
_poster.jpg) Movie poster | |
| Directed by | Lloyd Bacon |
| Written by | Robert Lord Arthur Caesar (dialogue) De Leon Anthony (titles) |
| Based on | So Long Letty (1916 stage musical) Book: Oliver Morosco Elmer Harris Music and Lyrics: Earl Carroll[1] |
| Starring | Charlotte Greenwood |
| Cinematography | James Van Trees |
| Edited by | Jack Killifer |
| Music by | Louis Silvers Grant Clarke Peter DeRose Charles Tobias Sidney Clare Earl Carroll Harry Akst[2] |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 64 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
Uncle Claude comes to the Ardmore Beach Hotel to see Tommy and his wife. At the hotel, with his two granddaughters Ruth and Sally, Uncle Claude meets a wise-talking employee named Letty, which causes him to leave the hotel. When he finds Tommy, he mistakes Grace for his wife and likes her and the way she keeps a clean house. To get a big check from Uncle Claude and to see how life is with the other, the two couples switch spouses for a week.
Cast
- Charlotte Greenwood as Letty Robbins
- Claude Gillingwater as Uncle Claude
- Grant Withers as Harry Miller
- Patsy Ruth Miller as Grace Miller
- Bert Roach as Tommy Robbins
- Marion Byron as Ruth Davis
- Helen Foster as Sally Davis
- Hallam Cooley as Clarence de Brie
- Harry Gribbon as Joe Casey
- Lloyd Ingraham as Judge
See also
Release and reception
The film premiered on October 16, 1929. Film historian Scott Eyman, in his book The Speed of Sound, wrote that the film was one of a wave of more than 70 musicals inundating American movie theaters in 1930. Like most of its genre at the time, it was financially disappointing and "barely broke even" despite the "glorious rowdy Charlotte Greenwood".[6]
