Canadian-born Bobby Breen (1927-2016) became a sensation as a boy soprano on '30s radio programs. In an era when Shirley Temple ruled the box-office, it wasn't long before Hollywood came calling. Breen established himself as a young performer with presence, charm and talent in nine feature films made over a six-year span, most of them released by RKO. Upon reaching adolescence, Breen's voice changed. Although he quietly retired from the screen shortly thereafter, he continued to make nightclub and concert appearances until his death in 2016.
BREAKING THE ICE (1938): Tommy Martin is a poor boy living in Pennsylvania's Mennonite community with his widowed mother. A sleazy conman, "Swapping Sam" Terwilligger, thinks he can make a fortune after hearing the lad's beautiful singing voice. Sam takes Tommy to Philadelphia, where he is soon making $25 a week singing at an ice skating rink. Tommy thinks $20 of his salary is being sent back home to his mother, but it is actually going to Sam. Refusing to be swindled any longer, Tommy now must make a living on the mean streets of Philadelphia, alone...
Breaking the Ice was meant to launch the career of Bobby's co-star, six year-old ice skating sensation Irene Dare. She would only make two more films, Everything's on Ice (1939) and Silver Skates (1943). Charles Ruggles, whose illustrious career spanned six decades, appeared in Trouble in Paradise (1932), Murders In The Zoo (1933), Alice in Wonderland (1933), Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (1944), and The Parent Trap (1961), among many other films. Dolores Costello was a popular screen siren in the silent era and starred in Orson Welles's The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), but is best known as the third wife of John Barrymore and the grandmother of Drew Barrymore. Breaking the Ice also earned an Oscar nomination for Victor Young's score.
ESCAPE TO PARADISE (1939): In his final starring role, Bobby plays an underage taxi driver supporting his family in South America. He is rewarded handsomely after helping an American tourist pursue a sexy Senorita. Escape to Paradise was Bobby's last movie before his voice changed. Co-star Kent Taylor later found great success on television as Boston Blackie (1951-1953). Erle C. Kenton directed numerous short comedies during the 1920s before helming cult horror classics such as Island of Lost Souls (1932), The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), and House of Dracula (1945).