Belgian stage actor Carrie Daumery (1863-1938) starred in a couple of French films in 1908, but began her film career in earnest with a featured part in The Conquering Power (1921), an adaptation of Balzac’s Eugénie Grandet.
Daumery continued as a prominent supporting player throughout the 1920s, sometimes credited as Madame Daumery. The advent of sound saw her reduced to playing mostly uncredited bit parts. She made appearances in three Metro musicals: Children of Pleasure, New Moon and The Merry Widow. The last of these reunited Daumery with Ernst Lubitsch, for whom she had played the Countess of Berwick in Lady Windermere’s Fan (1925).
Sidney Bracy [sic] (1877-1942) was a stage actor in his native Australia before moving to America and commencing his film career in 1909. Later in life he tended to be cast as authority figures and servants, including upwards of 54 butlers and a variety of valets and chauffeurs.
Four of Bracey’s MGM musical appearances were as butlers: Children of Pleasure, A Lady’s Morals, Hollywood Party and San Francisco. He also showed up uncredited in Broadway to Hollywood, The Firefly and Rosalie.
German-born Lee Kohlmar (1873-1946) started out in live theatre and made his screen debut in 1915. He worked throughout the silent period, occasionally as director.
Most of Kohlmar’s sound roles were uncredited, and these included Children of Pleasure and, his final film, The Big Store.
Helen Johnson (1906-2002) had a very brief career in leading roles, followed by a slow decline under the name Judith Wood, culminating in an uncredited appearance in The Asphalt Jungle (1950).
In the early 30s, Johnson appeared in a number of ‘A’ features, most notably as the feckless Pat Thayer in Children of Pleasure.
Winifred Elaine Gibson (1898-1987) was an actor who starred in films without ever really becoming a film star. She had performed in vaudeville, burlesque and musical comedies before featuring in Nothing But the Truth (1929). The following year she was given the female lead in Children of Pleasure.
Thereafter, Gibson mostly appeared in ‘B’ pictures; Richard Barrios calls her “one of the best tough blondes in Depression cinema”. In the 1950s, as she moved into television work, she and her partner, Beverley Roberts, were heavily involved in the development of theatrical trade unionism in New York.
Successful songwriter Danny Regan bumps into Jack Benny while coming out of the subway, then fails to persuade a drunk to sing one of his songs. He calls into a theatre to watch Fanny Kaye perform one of his numbers [A Couple of Birds with the Same Thing in Mind]. He sits next to, and admires, an attractive young woman, but she leaves before the end of the number.
Danny Regan (Lawrence Gray) bumps into Jack Benny for no apparent reason
Finally, Danny calls at the office of his partner Bernie, a publisher and agent, who is busy dictating telegrams. His old friend Emma Gray is working there and he starts to tell her about the girl he has just seen, until she has to stop and help Bernie.
Cliff ‘Ukelele Ike’ Edwards looks in and talks to Danny about the song he is performing. Bernie recalls how it was Emma who first introduced him to Danny as a songwriter with potential.
Fanny Kaye is planning to come over and listen to a new song Danny has written for her. Emma asks Danny to finish his story about the girl, even though it is clearly painful to her. Fanny arrives with her pianist, Andy Little. It seems Fanny always marries her pianists and she has her eyes on Andy.
Danny and Emma demonstrate the new number [Dust]. Soon, the song has been turned into a production number for Fanny [Dust]. During the performance, Danny spots the young woman he saw earlier sitting in a box.
Bernie (Lee Kohlmar) chats to his partner Danny, while devoted Emma (Wynne Gibson, in the Bessie Love part) looks on devotedly
Fanny calls Danny onto the stage and he nervously thanks the audience, while being admired by the young woman. Later, Danny and Emma are dancing at a nightclub when he sees the young woman again. Her name is Pat Thayer, and she is accompanied by Rod Peck. Danny invites Pat and Rod to his table, where he introduces them to Fanny and Andy. Pat lies about where she first met Danny, claiming to have almost killed him with her car.
Danny is invited to perform one of his songs [Girl Trouble]. At the table, Pat looks on admiringly while Emma looks troubled. Danny suggests Andy sing, and Andy asks Emma to join him in a more cynical version of the song [Girl Trouble].
Danny and Pat dance, and he learns that she is part of a wealthy oil family. Rod tells Emma that he has been engaged to Pat a dozen times, on and off. The orchestra plays one of Danny’s songs [The Better Things in Life]. Later, Emma tries unsuccessfully to warn Danny that Pat may not be as serious as he is.
Pat visits Danny at his office [Leave It That Way]. Danny proposes and Pat accepts. She agrees to keep it secret so they can have a quiet wedding. Emma helps Danny choose a ring, and they see Pat and Rod at the same store. Pat is choosing favours for the bridesmaids, and tells Danny they cannot really have a small wedding, but must have a big affair with a rehearsal the night before.
At the rehearsal, the older guests gossip that the marriage will not last, and the servants agree. [The Whole Darned Thing’s for You]. Danny overhears Pat flirting with Rod, who tells her she does not love Danny any more than any of the other men she has played with. Pat says the marriage will be an experiment to find out if that is true. If it fails, she will come back to Rod. Later, Danny breaks up the rehearsal of the ceremony and repeats Pat’s own words back to her.
Pat (Judith Wood) explains her cunning plan to Rod (Kenneth Thomson)
Some days later, Emma and Bernie are worried because no one knows where Danny is. Fanny tells them she and Andy are getting married, which is news to Andy. Danny calls and Emma rushes to his apartment. She finds him drunk and feeling cynical about love. Then he tells Emma he loves her and they should get married straight away.
The next morning, Emma tells Danny that he passed out after the ceremony and she slept in the other room. She asks him if he loves her and laughs when he says yes. Pat arrives, at Emma’s invitation. Emma tells Danny she was not fooled by him and there was no wedding. She says Pat really loves him and leaves them alone together. Danny tells Pat she is sweet, but then rushes out after Emma.
George Todd (1???-1???) is a mysterious figure. Both IMDb and the American Film Institute are certain that he was a cutter on Free and Easy and Children of Pleasure…and that’s it.
