Percy Hilburn (1889-1946) had a career as a cinematographer lasting only from 1915 to 1931, but still managed to shoot over 70 pictures. Most notable amongst these was MGM’s Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925), on which he was one of several DoPs.
During the remainder of his career at the studio Hilburn shot two musicals, Children of Pleasure and Good News.
It is difficult to find any information about George Ward (????-????), the co-writer of songs featured in Children of Pleasure, Good News and the uncompleted The March of Time. Most online sources seem to confuse him with George Warde, a child actor during the 1920s.
Lyricist Howard Johnson (1887-1941) both served in the First World War and wrote popular songs about it, including the immortal ‘I’d Like to See the Kaiser with a Lily in his Hand’:
I’d like to see all mothers free from sorrow,
I’d like to see poor Belgium free from pain;
I’d like to see this cruel conflict ended,
I’d like to see my daddy once again.
I’d like to see the Yankees win this battle,
I’d like to see France get back her promised land;
I’d like to see this whole big world United,
And I’d like to see the Kaiser with a lily in his hand!
Johnson was capable of better than this, and his best-known song is probably ‘What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?,’ written in 1916 and made a UK chart hit by Shakin’ Stevens 70 years later.
Johnson co-wrote numbers for Children of Pleasure and the abandoned March of Time. His songs are also featured in Madam Satan, A Night at the Opera, For Me and My Gal and Hit the Deck.
Crew
| Harry Beaumont | Director |
| Crane Wilbur | Play and dialogue |
| Richard Schayer | Scenario |
| Robert E Hopkins | Scenario (uncredited) |
| Fred Fisher | Composer |
| Andy Rice | Lyricist |
| Fred E Ahlert | Composer |
| Roy Turk | Lyricist |
| Reggie Montgomery | Composer |
| Howard Johnson | Lyricist |
| George Ward | Lyricist |
| Percy Hilburn | Cinematographer |
| Blanche Sewell | Editor |
| George Todd | Editor (uncredited) |
| Cedric Gibbons | Art Director |
| Douglas Shearer | Recording Director |
| David Cox | Wardrobe |
| Sammy Lee | Choreographer |
Karl E Zindt (1909-78) was a sound engineer who started out in Douglas Shearer’s new sound department at MGM. While there, he worked on the highly successful Grand Hotel (1932) and, with slightly less prestige, Free and Easy. Thereafter, Zint spent most of his career on Poverty Row aand in television.
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.
William LeVanway (1896-1957) was an editor who spent his entire career at Metro-Goldwyn Mayer, latterly as head of the editing department. Unlike Douglas Shearer and Cedric Gibbons, he was not credited on every film.
While still undertaking editing assignments, LeVanway worked on the silent version of The Broadway Melody (1929), and was the cutter on Free and Easy, Good News and A Night at the Opera. He was the supervising editor for An American in Paris and Singin’ in the Rain.
Paul Bert Dickey (1883-1933) was a former vaudeville performer who partnered with Charles W Goddard to write a number of successful plays. The best-known of these is The Ghost Breaker (1909), which was filmed at least four times, most famously with Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard in 1940.
Dickey also directed in the theatre, notably the first production of the musical Rose-Marie in 1924. He acted as well, but only appeared in one film, playing Guy of Gisbourne opposite Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood (1922). His acting career was hampered by health problems.
Dickey undertook occasional screenwriting assignments, and provided the adaptation for Free and Easy.
Edward Sedgwick Jr (1889-1953) was a colleague and friend of Buster Keaton and, like him, started working in a family vaudeville act at a young age. He acted in his first comedy short in 1914, and started directing in 1920. Sedgwick’s first directorial assignment was making episodes of a serial based on the French Fantômas character.
Although is today associated with Keaton and comedy, Sedgwick worked in a variety of genres during the 1920s, including many westerns. He also did uncredited work on Lon Chaney’s The Phantom of the Opera (1925).
Sedgwick joined MGM in 1926, and went on to direct most of Keaton’s films at the studio, including his first talking picture, Free and Easy.
Some years later Sedgwick did uncredited work on Easy to Wed and Excuse My Dust.
Crew
| Edward Sedgwick | Director |
| Richard Schayer | Scenario |
| Paul Dickey | Adaptation |
| Al Boasberg | Dialogue |
| Fred E Ahlert | Composer |
| Roy Turk | Lyricist |
| Lawrence Weingarten | Producer (uncredited) |
| Leonard Smith | Cinematographer |
| Cedric Gibbons | Art Director |
| William LeVanway | Editor |
| George Todd | Editor (uncredited) |
| Douglas Shearer | Sound Recording Engineer |
| Karl Zint | Sound Recording Engineer (uncredited) |
| David Cox | Costume Designer |
| Sammy Lee | Choreographer |
| Ann Dvorak | Choreographer (uncredited) |
| Jack Mintz | Assistant Director (uncredited) |
