Free and Easy (1930)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Edward Sedgwick

Writers:

Al Boasberg (dialogue)
Paul Dickey (adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

22 March 1930 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Plot:

Gopher City Kansas hosts a beauty contest. The winner, Elvira Plunkett, and her mother go to Hollywood...

Plot Keywords:

Train | Fall Down Stairs | Unrequited Love | Studio Cop | Explosion

Cast

Buster Keaton	...	Elmer Butts
Anita Page	...	Elvira Plunkett
Trixie Friganza	...	Ma Plunkett
Robert Montgomery	...	Larry Mitchell
Fred Niblo	...	Himself
Edgar Dearing	...	Studio Gate Security Officer
Gwen Lee	...	Herself
John Miljan	...	Himself
Lionel Barrymore	...	Himself
William Haines	...	Himself
William Collier Jr.	...	Himself
Dorothy Sebastian	...	Herself
Karl Dane	...	Himself
David Burton	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jack Baxley	...	Train Conductor (uncredited)
Edward Brophy	...	Benny, The Stage Manager (uncredited)
Richard Carle	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Louise Carver	...	Big German Woman (uncredited)
Emile Chautard	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Jackie Coogan	...	Himself (uncredited)
Cecil B. DeMille	...	Himself (uncredited)
Drew Demorest	...	Larry's Valet (uncredited)
Ann Dvorak	...	Chorine, Free and Easy Number (uncredited)
Joseph Farnham	...	Himself (uncredited)
Pat Harmon	...	Doorman at Premiere (uncredited)
Lottice Howell	...	Vocalist, 'It Must Be You' (uncredited)
Arthur Lange	...	Himself (uncredited)
Theodore Lorch	...	Dynamite scene director (uncredited)
Billy May	...	Himself (uncredited)
Marion Shilling	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)

Directed by
Edward Sedgwick

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Al Boasberg		dialogue
Paul Dickey		adaptation
Richard Schayer		writer

Produced by
Edward Sedgwick	....	producer

Cinematography by
Leonard Smith

Film Editing by
William LeVanway
George Todd		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director
Jack Jordan	....	sound assistant (uncredited)
Douglas Shearer	....	sound recording engineer (uncredited)
Karl Zint	....	sound recording engineer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
George Hurrell Sr.	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
David Cox	....	wardrobe

Other crew
Sammy Lee	....	dance staged by

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1930) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1990?) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Easy Go (USA) (TV title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The three main characters of the film - Elmer Butts, and Elvira and Ma Plunkett - come to Hollywood from Gopher City, Kansas. Trixie Friganza, who plays Ma Plunkett, was in fact from Kansas.

Goofs:

Continuity: At approx. 1h 25min in, after the clown is pulled up, the circle of girls waits for him to come back; they turn to run off stage; cut to new film, they are still waiting for clown to return, then they turn to run off stage again.

Quotes:

Elmer Butts: Oh woe is me, the sqween has quooned.

Movie Connections:

Featured in So Funny It Hurt: Buster Keaton & MGM (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Oh King, Oh Queen

Slow and Dreadful!

Keaton had been able to maintain some control over his first two films at MGM,which were his last silents,but the studio foisted this TURKEY on him,and as it was a financial winner he lost any say over his final six films for the studio. This is perhaps the most leaden film Keaton ever made! It is incredibly slow and dull,with only minimal patches of action ,and nothing really funny for Buster to do. The dance numbers performed by the chubbiest dance line I've ever seen,are incredibly bad! It's interesting to compare them to the ones in "Speak Easily" (perhaps his best MGM sound film.) One can understand Buster's drinking and depression after making something as bad as this!