LUCKY BOY (1929)George JesselGwen LeeRichard Tucker | Drama, Musical | B&W | Cinema Gem

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Lucky Boy is a 1929 American sound part-talkie musical comedy-drama film directed by Norman Taurog and Charles C. Wilson, most notable for starring George Jessel in his first known surviving feature picture. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score, singing and sound effects along with English intertitles. The sound was recorded using the Tiffany-Tone system using RCA Photophone equipment. The film's plot bore strong similarities to that of the hit 1927 film The Jazz Singer, which had originally been intended to star Jessel (the star of The Jazz Singer stage production) before Al Jolson took over the role.

Due to being a film published in 1929, it entered the public domain on January 1, 2025.

Synopsis

A young Jewish man works in his father's jewelry business, but he does not like it at all—he wants to be an entertainer, something he knows that his father would never approve of. He comes up with a scheme to put on his own show in a theater and show his father that he can be a success, but things do not work out quite as well as he planned.

Cast & Crew

George Jessel as Georgie Jessel
Gwen Lee as Mrs. Ellis [8]
Richard Tucker as Mr. Ellis
Gayne Whitman as Mr. Trent[9]
Margaret Quimby as Eleanor
Rosa Rosanova as Mamma Jessel
William H. Strauss as Papa Jessel
Mary Doran as Becky[10]
'Patty and Fields' (amateur night act)
Joe Sevely (amateur night act)

Directed by: Norman Taurog, Charles C. Wilson
Screenplay by: Isadore Bernstein, George Jessel, Harry Braxton
Based on: "The Schlemiel" by Viola Brothers Shore
Produced by: John M. Stahl

Cinematography: Harry Jackson, Frank Zucker
Edited by: Desmond O’Brien, Russell Shields
Music by: Hugo Riesenfeld
Production Company: Tiffany Pictures
Distributed by: Tiffany-Stahl Productions
Release Date:

February 2, 1929
Running Time:

10 reels (8900 ft.)
Country: United States
Language: Sound (Part-Talkie, English Intertitles)
Budget: $90,000
Box Office: ~ $1,000,000