Alpha Video is set to release Beggars of Life on DVD on January 25, 2025. As Alpha Video is a budget label, there is little to recommend this release except its cheap price. I don't expect this release of the film to be as good as the Kino Lorber release, but as I haven't yet seen this new disc, I can't say. The run-time is given as one hour and twenty three minutes. For those interested, more information about the Alpha Video release of Beggars of Life can be found HERE (amazon link).
Directed by William Wellman the year after he made Wings (the first film to win an Academy Award for best picture), Beggars of Life is a terse drama about a girl (Louise Brooks) dressed as a boy who flees the law after killing her abusive stepfather. With the help of a young hobo (Richard Arlen), she rides the rails through a male dominated underworld in which danger is close at hand. Picture Play magazine described the film as “Sordid, grim and unpleasant,” adding, “it is nevertheless interesting and is certainly a departure from the usual movie.”
The film stars Wallace Beery, though it's Louise Brooks who steals the show. According to the director's son, Beggars of Life was Wellman's favorite silent film. And today, it is widely considered Brooks' best American silent.
Here is the front and back cover.
For more about Beggars of Life, be sure and check out the newly revamped Beggars of Life (Filmography page).
THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2025. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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