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So Sonnie was in silents after all
21 May 2010 08:02 amImporting old blog entries...
For my latest bout of research I decided to look into those two mysterious 1927 film credits on Sonnie Hale's record, "On With the Dance" and "The Parting of the Ways".
I still haven't been able to confirm the existence of "Parting of the Ways" (although the IMDB gives some pretty specific details whih suggest that someone, somewhere, has access to records about it), but I can definitely confirm that "On With the Dance" exists -- and Sonnie was almost certainly in it!
From Bioscope's list of new releases, July 1927:
"On With the Dance" Series
Offered by: Pioneer
Directed by: Harry B. Parkinson
Length: series of twelve, 600 feet each.
Release Date: First week in October (approx)
Type: Interest
Cast: Binnie Hale, Sonnie Hale, Laddie Cliff, Phyllis Monkman, Leslie Henson, Madge Elliott, Cyril Ritchard, Bobby Howes, Sid Tracey, Bessie Hay, Leslie Hatton, Devina and Charles, The Tiller Girls, Annie Croft, etc.
IN BRIEF: Dances by well-known stage stars. Some good slow-motion pictures.
Suitability: Excellent short reel subjects for all houses.
An earlier article ("Pioneer Film Agency announce that they are nearing completion of their 'On With the Dance' Series...") again proclaims that the films "will feature such well-known favourites as Binnie Hale, Sonnie Hale..." So Binnie and Sonnie were not only in the series, they are repeatedly ranked as the top attraction!
Kinematograph Weekly runs an entire half-page article on "On With the Dance" on July 28th 1927 ("Something New in Dance Films"), which likewise refers to "such household names from West End theatre and cabaret as Binnie Hale, Sonnie Hale" etc., although in this case it gives a full list including such faces as Billy Leonard and Claude Hulbert. Even more excitingly, it publishes a set of eight stills underneath the article: not specifically captioned, unfortunately (the group caption mentions only four named couples, plus the Tiller Girls). But the top right-hand couple, with the man supporting his partner in a lift, looks distinctly like Sonnie and Binnie Hale.
So much for my deep scepticism as to whether this pairing (pace Gwynplaine Macintyre) ever worked together on stage: it looks as if they actually did do a demonstration dance for the benefit of Pioneer Films' cameras. What's more, at least two of these short films survive in the National Film Archive (and at least one of them was apparently screened at the National Film Theatre in 1995), so the record may even still be viewable today....
For my latest bout of research I decided to look into those two mysterious 1927 film credits on Sonnie Hale's record, "On With the Dance" and "The Parting of the Ways".
I still haven't been able to confirm the existence of "Parting of the Ways" (although the IMDB gives some pretty specific details whih suggest that someone, somewhere, has access to records about it), but I can definitely confirm that "On With the Dance" exists -- and Sonnie was almost certainly in it!
From Bioscope's list of new releases, July 1927:
"On With the Dance" Series
Offered by: Pioneer
Directed by: Harry B. Parkinson
Length: series of twelve, 600 feet each.
Release Date: First week in October (approx)
Type: Interest
Cast: Binnie Hale, Sonnie Hale, Laddie Cliff, Phyllis Monkman, Leslie Henson, Madge Elliott, Cyril Ritchard, Bobby Howes, Sid Tracey, Bessie Hay, Leslie Hatton, Devina and Charles, The Tiller Girls, Annie Croft, etc.
IN BRIEF: Dances by well-known stage stars. Some good slow-motion pictures.
Suitability: Excellent short reel subjects for all houses.
An earlier article ("Pioneer Film Agency announce that they are nearing completion of their 'On With the Dance' Series...") again proclaims that the films "will feature such well-known favourites as Binnie Hale, Sonnie Hale..." So Binnie and Sonnie were not only in the series, they are repeatedly ranked as the top attraction!
Kinematograph Weekly runs an entire half-page article on "On With the Dance" on July 28th 1927 ("Something New in Dance Films"), which likewise refers to "such household names from West End theatre and cabaret as Binnie Hale, Sonnie Hale" etc., although in this case it gives a full list including such faces as Billy Leonard and Claude Hulbert. Even more excitingly, it publishes a set of eight stills underneath the article: not specifically captioned, unfortunately (the group caption mentions only four named couples, plus the Tiller Girls). But the top right-hand couple, with the man supporting his partner in a lift, looks distinctly like Sonnie and Binnie Hale.
So much for my deep scepticism as to whether this pairing (pace Gwynplaine Macintyre) ever worked together on stage: it looks as if they actually did do a demonstration dance for the benefit of Pioneer Films' cameras. What's more, at least two of these short films survive in the National Film Archive (and at least one of them was apparently screened at the National Film Theatre in 1995), so the record may even still be viewable today....
