''The Duke Steps Out'' is a 1929 American silent

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by

James Cruze James Cruze (born James Cruze Bosen; March 27, 1884 – August 3, 1942) was a silent film actor and film director. Early years Cruze's middle name came from the battle of Vera Cruz. He was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

and starring William Haines and

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pic ...

. The film is lost, but the

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 from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone was the last major analog sound-on-disc system and the only one ...

sound discs track of music and sound effects survive in the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the ar ...

.''The Duke Steps Out'' at silentera.com
/ref>

Plot

Duke (Haines) a pampered

millionaire A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire. In countries that use the short s ...

's son, who longs to be a boxer, takes an interest in Susie (Crawford), a

college A college ( Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

coed Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

, after he defends her from being bullied. Duke's interest in Susie leads him to enroll in the same school as Susie. After a misunderstanding between Duke and Susie, they realize they are meant to be together and are reunited.

Cast

* William Haines as Duke *

as Susie * Karl Dane as Barney, Duke's Chauffeur * Tenen Holtz as Jake, Duke's Manager * Edward Nugent as Tommy Wells *Jack Roper as Poison Kerrigan * Delmer Daves as Bossy Edwards *Luke Cosgrave as Professor Widdicomb * Herbert Prior as Mr. Corbin * Gwen Lee (uncredited) *Harold Lockwood (uncredited) * Gertrude Messinger (uncredited) *Marie Messinger (uncredited)

Box Office

According to MGM records the film earned $714,000 in the US and Canada and $206,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $343,000.

References

External links

* * * 1929 films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American comedy-drama films 1929 comedy-drama films Lost American films Films directed by James Cruze 1929 lost films 1920s American films Silent comedy-drama films Silent American drama films Silent American comedy films {{silent-comedy-drama-film-stub