Numbered Men

Numbered Men is a 1930 American PreCode prison drama film originally with songs produced and released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros., and directed by Mervyn LeRoy. The movie stars Bernice Claire, Conrad Nagel, Raymond Hackett and Ralph Ince. The film was based on the play, entitled Jail Break, by Dwight Taylor.

Although music was mentioned when the film was in production and first previewed, ads and reviews soon mentioned that, although Bernice Claire was primarily a musical comedy star, there would be no singing in the picture. This was due to the publics apathy and aversion to anything musical during the latter part of the summer of 1930. Current existing prints of Numbered Men are missing at least five minutes of film. The complete musical film was released intact in countries outside the United States where a backlash against musicals never occurred. It is unknown whether a copy of this full version still exists.citation needed The film survives only in the cut version which was released in late 1930 by Warner Brothers, with the musical sections removed. This version has been broadcast on television and cable.citation needed ........

Source: Wikipedia