Smiling Irish Eyes

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Smiling Irish Eyes

Publicity still of Colleen in costume for Smiling Irish Eyes.
Directed by William A. Seiter
Produced by John McCormick
Written by Thomas J. Geraghty (story, screenplay, titles)
Starring Colleen Moore
James Hall
Robert Homans
Claude Gillingwater
Music by Louis Silvers
Cinematography Henry Freulich
Sidney Hickox
Editing by Alexander Hall
Studio First National Pictures
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
First National Pictures
Release dates 28 July 1929 (sound version)
22 September 1929 (silent version)
Running time 90 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Smiling Irish Eyes (1929), known as Hymyilevät silmät in Finland, is a sound (All-Talking) American musical film with Technicolor sequences.[1]The film is now considered a lost film, however the Vitaphone discs still exist.[2]

Plot

Rory O'More leaves his sweetheart Kathleen O'Connor back in the old country while he travels to America to establish himself. He is a musician, and hopes to make it big. Kathleen grows tired of waiting and travels to America, only to find him on stage performing "their" song and kissing another woman. Kathleen returns to Ireland, followed by Rory, who explains everything. In the end they wed and return to America.

Cast

Background

Smiling Irish Eyes was Colleen Moore's first musical role, and only her second sound film. Produced by her husband at the time, John McCormick (1893-1961), the film featured Moore as Kathleen O'Connor, an Irish woman who follows her musician sweetheart Rory O'More (James Hall) to New York City.[3][4]

This film is similar to an earlier film Moore made for Samuel Goldwyn, Come On Over (1922), directed by Rupert Hughes. As in Smiling Irish Eyes, Colleen played an Irish girl whose betrothed crosses the ocean to start a new life in America before sending for her. In both films, the boyfriends do not send for her right away, in both she travels to America only to find the boyfriend seemingly besotted by another girl. In both, cases this is a misunderstanding. In Come On Over, Colleen's character reluctantly remains in America where she learns that her boyfriend is actually helping the father of the "other woman" quit drinking. In Smiling Irish Eyes, Colleen's character returns to Ireland, followed by the boyfriend, who convinces her back in Ireland that it was a misunderstanding. They marry and return to America. Following this film, Moore made another film directed by Seiter, Footlights and Fools (1929). This latter film also had Technicolor sequences, and is now considered a lost film, although the Vitaphone discs survive.

Soundtrack

  • "Old Killarney Fair"
by Herman Ruby and Norman Spencer
Sung by Coleen Moore
  • "Then I'll Ride Home with You"
by Herman Ruby and Norman Spencer
Sung by Coleen Moore
  • "A Wee Bit o' Love"
by Herman Ruby and Norman Spencer
Sung by Coleen Moore
  • "Smiling Irish Eyes"
by Herman Ruby and Ray Perkins
Sung by Coleen Moore and James Hall

References

  1. ↑ The Lodi News-Sentinel (March 6, 1930), page 23
  2. ↑ SilentEra entry
  3. ↑ Rockett, Kevin; Luke Gibbons, John Hill (1987). John Hill, ed. Cinema and Ireland. Taylor & Francis. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-7099-4216-0. Retrieved 2009-10-08. 
  4. ↑ "Smiling Irish Eyes (1929)". All Movie Guide. Macrovision Corporation. Retrieved 2009-10-08. 

See also

External links

Films directed by William A. Seiter
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