Sunny

Released at the end of 1930 just as the Great Depression began to really hit hard, audiences were no longer in the mood for light happy musicals such as Ms. Miller's first film, "Sally", which had opened just the year before.

That film had large helpings of music and really was a fine showcase for Marilyn Miller's dancing. What a difference a year made. People lost their taste for Cinderella stories and for musicals, so First National was forced to remove from "Sunny" what made Marilyn Miller so special - her ability to express herself through dance. What remains is a pretty decent comedy with some cute farcical situations, and Marilyn Miller holds her own. She actually comes across somewhat like a young Irene Dunne in the comedy parts, but if First National had been going for comedy, I doubt Miller would have been the centerpiece in the first place.

I'd say you'll really enjoy it if you watch it expecting a romantic comedy of errors punctuated by occasional music and just a little bit of dancing by Miller, but you'll be very disappointed if you loved Sally and are expecting more of the same. Also don't expect to see anybody that you'll remotely recognize other than perhaps Lawrence Gray, who plays the romantic lead opposite Marilyn Miller.

The plot is actually rather cute. Sunny is a bareback rider in an English circus who loves Tom Warren (Lawrence Gray), a wealthy American who is planning to return to the states to marry someone from his own station - basically an arranged marriage. He loves Sunny, but realizes it will never work and, furthermore, Sunny gives him no encouragement due to her pride. Meanwhile, her father wants her to marry the owner of the circus - someone Sunny describes as "a fish". Sunny sneaks on board the ship carrying Tom home to America - just to say goodbye - but winds up locked in a stateroom and can't get away before the ship sails. The stateroom is that of the unlucky Jim Denning, who has made a promise to his jealous girl to be true to her until he makes his fortune and can return for her. Sunny is discovered in the stateroom and now has double trouble - a scandal for being discovered in Jim's room, and the fact that she is a stowaway who must return to England as soon as the ship docks in America. Only marriage to an American citizen can fix both problems - but who will be the lucky groom? And that's only the first 45 minutes or so.

I'd recommend this one if you like the early talkies and know that this film only qualifies as a musical in the barest of terms.

Interesting note about the cast - Joe Donahue, who plays Jim Denning here, got the job primarily because of Marilyn Miller's campaigning for him after Joe's older and famous brother Jack, who was slated for the role of Jim Denning, died. Joe never really went over with audiences and had a very short movie career, but he has had a very long life. Born in 1903, at the time I am writing this, he is still alive at the age of 107.

That about sums it up. We can gain no further insight as to what made her such a legendary performer from "Sunny", a creaky old movie billed as a musical but with precious little music. As noted by other reviewers, only "Who" remains from the original work, and most of the omitted songs were written by Oscar Hammerstein and Jerome Kern.

So here is Marilyn, smiling and of cheerful demeanor, caught in a poorly written screenplay which has been further vandalized by subsequent generations of distributors and made slightly incoherent, as pieces of scenes have evidently been cut out of the original. As is, the story is far-fetched with stale, poorly-delivered jokes and with very stagey acting.

That leaves us to judge Marilyn's talent, but that, too, is a chore. In contrast to her first film, "Sally", here she sings better than she dances, horsing about the stage and appearing dumpy and out of shape. She does better in a duet dance with Tom Donahue, who nearly carries the whole picture appearing in almost every scene.

Too bad she couldn't have been given a picture that really did her justice. The sound accompanying this movie was awful, and it could be that it was just too early in the sound era, as well as for musicals themselves. There is still one more Marilyn Miller film left that I haven't seen, and I'll hope for the best.

The Vitaphone/Warner Brothers folks were the foremost studio when it came to sound. Because of that, I was a bit confused when I watched "Sunny" as the sound was really, really bad. It seriously sounded as if the sound was recorded in a telephone booth--and you were outside trying to listen! Fortunately, the version shown on Turner Classic movies IS captioned and I strongly advise you to turn on your television's captioning for this film. You'll need it!

"Sunny" stars Marilyn Miller--a very talented Broadway star who only made three early sound films before dying at age 37! The film begins with Miller feeling fed up with life in the circus and she disappears dressed as a man. She then stows away on a ship bound for America--not realizing her father is in pursuit. He is determined that she should marry a rich but dreadfully dull Brit--who Marilyn keeps referring to as 'the fish'. Can she manage to make it to America or is it an unhappy marriage to a weenie instead?

While this film is a bit antiquated, you can clearly see the formula that would become the norm in future musicals of its type. The film features a few songs (actually not that many for a musical) and several dance numbers from Miller. And, true to the formula, a bit of comic relief to keep the overall mood very light. If it weren't for the bad sound, I'd strongly encourage you to see it. In its present form, however, it's one you might just want to skip.

By the way, in the wedding scene on the ship, how did they get a bridal gown for Miller and all the bridesmaids? After all, they were in the middle of the ocean and the wedding was unplanned!!

Sunny (1930)

** (out of 4)

The second of three pictures that Broadway star Marilyn Miller would make at First National. This one here has her playing Sunny, a girl working at a circus who sneaks on a boat heading for America so that she can find a better life. Along the way she ends up marrying Tom (Lawrence Gray) but their hopes for a good future are challenged. SUNNY isn't nearly as good as Miller's previous film (SALLY) but fans of the actress will probably still want to watch it and especially when you considering how few movies she made due to her early death. The biggest problem with this film is actually the sound quality. I'm really not sure what happened during the making of this movie but the sound quality is downright awful from start to finish. It doesn't seem to be an issue with the discs today because if it was the case of a movie just having a poor soundtrack then it would be uneven from reel to reel. This film sounds the same from start to finish so this leads me to believe it was something done during production. Every time someone talks it's as if they're standing in a cave to where we get an echo as well as some hiss. This is annoying at first but overtime you just get used to it. Miller is without question the real reason to watch this film as she has a certain charm and energy that was made for the big screen. Gray, on the other hand, comes across pretty bland and boring as does the majority of the supporting cast, although BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN fans will get a look at O.P. Heggie in a role here. SUNNY also features some rather mediocre music and songs, which certainly doesn't help matters.

I always thought that "Her Majesty Love" was Marilyn Miller's finest film until I saw "Sunny". Most of the movie crowd crowns the high notes on "Sally" but I find it boring and oh so long. "Sunny" is in rotten shape but what survives is wonderful to watch. MM simply illuminates the screen and is full of mischief in this tale of a circus bare back rider/dancer who stows away on an ocean liner. Note that Warner's used either the Aquitania or Mauretania for the cast off scene, and another two stacked liner for the long shot.... Somehow the ship loses two funnels once it's at sea... All in all, this one is a keeper for sure. Too bad MM didn't make more movies and died so young.