By Violet LeVoit
Playing Around
Brief Synopsis
A tenement girl falls for a smooth con artist.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Mervyn Leroy
Director
Alice White
Sheba Miller
Chester Morris
Nickey Solomon
William Bakewell
Jack
Richard Carlyle
Pa Miller
Marion Byron
Maude
Film Details
Genre
Musical
Comedy
Crime
Drama
Music
Release Date
Jan
19,
1930
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
First National Pictures
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the short story "Sheba" by Viña Delmar (publication undetermined).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 6m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Film Length
5,972ft
(7 reels)
Synopsis
Sheba Miller, a stenographer with a desire for luxuries, lives with her elderly father, who operates a cigar counter. Though adored by Jack, a soda jerker, she will not consider marrying him unless he receives a long-anticipated raise. Jack takes her out to the Pirate's Den, an exclusive nightclub, where Sheba defiantly enters a leg contest and is awarded the prize by Nickey Solomon, a gangster, who is the judge. Impressed by Nickey's flashy car and grooming, she accepts his attentions and finally his marriage proposal, though Jack and Pa Miller are both dubious about him. Finding himself without money for their honeymoon, Nickey robs Miller's cigar counter and shoots him; but Jack's identification of Nickey leads to his arrest. Pa Miller recovers; and Sheba, chastened by her experience, agrees to marry Jack, who gets his raise.
Director
Mervyn Leroy
Director
Cast
Alice White
Sheba Miller
Chester Morris
Nickey Solomon
William Bakewell
Jack
Richard Carlyle
Pa Miller
Marion Byron
Maude
Maurice Black
Joe
Lionel Belmore
Morgan
Shep Camp
Master of ceremonies
Ann Brody
Mrs. Fenerbeck
Nellie V. Nichols
Mrs. Lippincott
Crew
Film Details
Genre
Musical
Comedy
Crime
Drama
Music
Release Date
Jan
19,
1930
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
First National Pictures
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the short story "Sheba" by Viña Delmar (publication undetermined).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 6m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Film Length
5,972ft
(7 reels)
Articles
Playing Around -
Alice White gets overlooked when compared to other screen flappers like Clara Bow, Louise Brooks and Colleen Moore, but she certainly had her charms. The blonde "baby-vamp" who came to stardom after honest-to-god being plucked from First National Picture's secretarial pool was a favorite in early talkies. (Warner Brothers, flush with cash after inventing the successful Vitaphone sync sound technology, scooped up First National, White and the rest of its stable of stars like Loretta Young and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.). Here, White plays Sheba Miller, a stenographer (natch) from a humble neighborhood who, after winning a "pretty legs" contest at a flashy nightclub, must decide between the gangster (Chester Morris) that likes her looks and the honorable neighborhood guy (William Bakewell) who wants to marry her. It's easy to see White's jazz baby appeal when she bats her big eyes and croons songs like "You Learn About Love Every Day".
By Violet LeVoit
By Violet LeVoit
Playing Around -
Alice White gets overlooked when compared to other screen flappers like Clara Bow, Louise Brooks and Colleen Moore, but she certainly had her charms. The blonde "baby-vamp" who came to stardom after honest-to-god being plucked from First National Picture's secretarial pool was a favorite in early talkies. (Warner Brothers, flush with cash after inventing the successful Vitaphone sync sound technology, scooped up First National, White and the rest of its stable of stars like Loretta Young and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.). Here, White plays Sheba Miller, a stenographer (natch) from a humble neighborhood who, after winning a "pretty legs" contest at a flashy nightclub, must decide between the gangster (Chester Morris) that likes her looks and the honorable neighborhood guy (William Bakewell) who wants to marry her. It's easy to see White's jazz baby appeal when she bats her big eyes and croons songs like "You Learn About Love Every Day".
By Violet LeVoit
