Available on YouTube
Edit City Girl is a 1930 American silent film directed by F. W. Murnau, and starring Charles Farrell and Mary Duncan. It is based upon the play "The Mud Turtle" by Elliot Lester. Though shot as a silent feature, the film was refitted with some sound elements and released in 1930.
F.W. Murnau, (born December 28, 1889, Bielefeld, Germany)
Moved to California in 1926 - he made three silent films for Fox Studios before forming his own company
—died March 11, 1931, Hollywood, California, - from injuries in an Automobile accident
City Girl was shot on location in Athena and Pendleton, Oregon, and was Murnau's third and final Hollywood production. It was released shortly after the introduction of sound films, and was quickly shelved. As a result, the film is relatively unknown today.
However, City Girl is a beautiful and moving film that deserves to be rediscovered. It is a simple story, but it is told with great skill and sensitivity. The film's performances are excellent, and Murnau's direction is masterful.
The acting is emotional and effective, and the cinematography is breathtaking. In spite of the exceptionality of the film, it wasn't a success at the time of its release. However, that can likely be explained by the fact that the version we are seeing today is as director F.W. Murnau intended - a gloriously beautiful silent narrative. Unfortunately, what the audiences saw in 1930 was a bastardized version that had talkie sequences added and comedy inserted -- all after Murnau refused to make any changes to his silent creation.
There is an excellent plot summary on the link below
https://www.silentsaregolden.com/featurefolder10/citygirlcommentary.html
Films by German directors are an important part of post World War One German Culture, from the groundbreaking silent classics of the Weimar Republic to the movies of Leni Reisenthal in celebration of Nazi rule, beloved by Goebels, to modern Oscar winners, I am pleased to see German Literature Month XIII now welcomes posts on Films by German Directors
This is a post for German Literature Month XIII 2023 November 1 to December 7
German Literature Month is hosted by Lizzy’s Literary Life
https://lizzysiddal2.wordpress.com/2023/09/22/announcing-german-literature-month-xiii/
1 comment:
I wonder what it was like for actors and creators who saw their work come to fruition without dialogue and with simpler technologies, to later see features added in. It must have felt very strange. Like an additional layer of reality was revealed.
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