''Courage'' is a 1930 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

drama film, produced by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

in 1929 and released early in 1930. The movie is based on a stage play of the same name by Tom Barry which was a hit on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

in 1928.''Courage'' as produced on Broadway at the Ritz Theatre, October 8, 1928 to June 1929
ibdb.com; accessed August 11, 2015.

Plot

Bennett plays Mary Colbrook, the widowed mother of seven children living in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, Woodbury and Plymouth County, Iowa, Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, fo ...

. She moves with them to

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

to educate her children with culture and give them every advantage. Mary, who is unversed in financial matters, soon faces poverty for herself and her children. She takes out a loan from an unscrupulous lender, James Rudlin, who neglects to ask her for collateral. Mary is later only able to partially pay her creditors. Muriel, Mary's eldest daughter, is shocked by her mother's actions and attempts to sacrifice herself to Rudlin to clear her mother's obligations, although she is engaged to marry a well-to-do Harvard undergraduate. A stern aunt appears and is hell bent on taking her brother's children away from their mother. The aunt manages to turn Bennett's children against their mother, with the exception of her son, Bill, who, fortuitously, inherits the fortune of a neighbouring spinster which allows Mary to be reunited with the rest of her children. Mary discovers noble qualities in Rudlin and agrees to become his future wife.

Cast

Belle Bennett Ara Belle Bennett (April 22, 1891 – November 4, 1932) was a stage and screen actress who started her career as a child as a circus performer. She later performed in theater and films. Early life and career Bennett was born in Milaca, Minnes ...

as Mary Colbrook *

Marian Nixon Marian Nixon (born Marja Nissinen; October 20, 1904 – February 13, 1983) was an American film actress. Sometimes credited as Marion Nixon, she appeared in more than 70 films. Career Born in Superior, Wisconsin, in 1904, to parents of Finnish d ...

as Muriel Colbrook *

Rex Bell Rex Bell (born George Francis Beldam; October 16, 1903 – July 4, 1962) was an American actor and politician. Bell primarily appeared in Western Film, Western films during his career. He also appeared in the 1930 movie ''True to the Navy'', star ...

as Lynn Willard *

Richard Tucker Richard Tucker (August 28, 1913January 8, 1975) was an American operatic tenor and cantor. Long associated with the Metropolitan Opera, Tucker's career was primarily centered in the United States. Early life Tucker was born Rivn (Rubin) Ticker ...

as James Rudlin *

Leon Janney Leon Janney (April 1, 1917 – October 28, 1980) was an American actor and radio personality from 1920 to 1980. Career Leon Elbert Janney was born in Ogden, Utah, to Nathan Haines Janney and Bernice Rebecca Kohn. The names of his parents are con ...

as Bill Colbrook *

Blanche Friderici Blanche L. Friderici (January 21, 1878 – December 23, 1933) was an American film and stage actress, sometimes credited as Blanche Frederici. Early years Friderici was a native of Brooklyn, New York. Her parents were William E. Friderici and ...

as Aunt Caroline *

Charlotte Henry Charlotte Virginia Henry (March 3, 1914 – April 11, 1980) was an American actress who is best remembered for her roles in ''Alice in Wonderland'' (1933) and '' Babes in Toyland'' (1934). She also starred in the Frank Buck serial '' Jun ...

as Gwendolyn Colbrook *

Dorothy Ward Dorothy Ward (26 April 1890 – 30 March 1987) was an English actress who specialised in pantomimes, playing the principal boy roles, while her husband Shaun Glenville would play the dame roles. She had a successful 52 year career and played i ...

as Gladys Colbrook * Byron Sage as Richard Colbrook * Don Marion as Vincent Colbrook * Carter De Haven Jr. as Reginald Colbrook

Preservation

The film is believed to be lost. No film elements ther than stillsare known to exist. The complete soundtrack, however, survives on

Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National Pictures, First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone is the last major analog sound-on-disc sys ...

disks.

References

External links

*
allmovie/synopsis; ''Courage''
1930 films Lost American drama films Warner Bros. films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Archie Mayo 1930 drama films American black-and-white films English-language drama films 1930 lost films 1930s American films {{1930s-US-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Preservation

See also

References

External links