So Long Letty (1929) | Directed by Lloyd Bacon

At a beach hotel, a wealthy, grumpy uncle meets the loud, wisecracking Letty and immediately dislikes her. When he later encounters Letty’s husband, he mistakenly assumes the man is married to a more “proper” woman. To secure the uncle’s approval (and his money), the couples engineer a one-week spouse swap that spirals into misunderstandings, jealousy, and comic chaos.

Genre: Musical comedy; early sound (all-talking) pre-Code comedy.

Director: Lloyd Bacon

Lloyd Bacon (December 4, 1889 – November 15, 1955) was a prolific American director and former stage/vaudeville performer who worked across many genres at Hollywood studios, especially Warner Bros. He was known for speed and efficiency, and his better-known credits include 42nd Street (1933).

Star Cast:

Charlotte Greenwood as Letty Robbins

Claude Gillingwater as Uncle Claude Davis

Grant Withers as Harry Miller

Patsy Ruth Miller as Grace Miller

Bert Roach as Tommy Robbins

Marion Byron as Ruth Davis

Helen Foster as Sally Davis

Hallam Cooley as Clarence de Brie

Harry Gribbon as Joe Casey

Lloyd Ingraham as Judge

The film arrived at the peak of the early-talkie musical boom. Later film historians have described it as part of a flood of 1929 musicals and noted it performed modestly financially (often described as barely breaking even). In modern write-ups, Charlotte Greenwood is frequently singled out as the main reason to watch thanks to her physical comedy and high-kicking persona, while the film itself is usually treated as a light, era-specific vehicle rather than a major classic.

Fun Facts:

Charlotte Greenwood reprises the Letty role she originated on Broadway in the 1916 stage version.

It was marketed as an “all-talking” early sound feature from Warner Bros. and was also issued in a silent version.

There was an earlier silent film adaptation titled So Long Letty released in 1920.

Production is recorded as beginning in late May 1929, with a copyright filing dated November 4, 1929.

Because it was released in 1929, it entered the public domain in the United States on January 1, 2025.

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