City Girl (1930)

Copyright 10 January 1930 by Fox Film Corporation. U.S. release: 16 February 1930. 8,217 feet. 91 minutes. SYNOPSIS: A farm boy arrives in Chicago to sell his father's wheat crop, falls for a waitress, marries her and takes her home to Minnesota. His father does not approve and tries to come between the boy and his bride.NOTES: Filmed as a silent-fortunately Murnau's original cut of the movie survives-City Girl was then considerably tinkered with by studio management in order to turn it into a part-talkie, with disastrous results. The stage play opened on Broadway at the Bijou on 20 August 1925 and ran a modestly successful 52 performances. Helen MacKellar and Buford Armitage starred; Willard Mack directed.COMMENT: Beautifully filmed, superbly acted (particularly by Charles Farrell and Mary Duncan) romance of the wheatfields, the silent version is available on an excellent DVD from Grapevine Video. The city scenes are so startling in their impressionistic (but nonetheless hectic) pace, which all comes to a charming coda when the lovers meet, we wonder what Murnau is holding in reserve to beguile us back on the farm. We're not kept long in suspense. After a lyrical introduction as the lovers run through the wheat fields, we are brought down to earth when miserly in words, deeds and manner David Torrence comes back on the scene. How these three clashing personalities resolve their differences is worked out forcefully, if a little melodramatically, but nonetheless in a satisfyingly picturesque manner, thanks equally to the consummate skill of F.W. Murnau in staging, the engrossing acting of the principals, and the superbly lit camerawork of Ernest Palmer.

F. W. Murnau's 'forgotten' film probably isn't as good as Sunrise – and in fact looks like a pale imitation of it at times – but it's still better than much of Hollywood's output at the end of the 1920s. Big Charles Farrell plays Lem, an innocent country bumpkin whose lack of assertiveness threatens his still-to-be consummated marriage to city girl Mary Duncan. Lem's curmudgeonly father takes an instant dislike to his son's new bride, whom Lem impulsively wed while on a trip to sell Pop's harvest, believing she is a gold digger – which is a bit odd given that Lem failed to sell his harvest at the minimum price necessary to make ends meet. Despite the whirlwind nature of their romance, Kate really does love Lem even though he stands by and does nothing when his father knocks her about a bit… While the characters and their motives are strictly ordinary, it's Murnau's skill as a director that lifts City Girl above the ordinary. The juxtaposition between the stifling confines of the dirty city and the wide open spaces of Lem's homestead is subtly created, as is the change of emphasis from the depressing impact of technology on city dwellers to the equally distressing influence of personal relationships in the countryside. Murnau also creates enormous sympathy for the plight of Kate in spite of the relatively clichéd situation she finds herself in. She's no Lillian Gish type, dependent on a broad-shouldered hero to save her from her plight, but a spirited independent heroine in her own right who pretty much forces Farrell's insipid Lem to face up to – and eventually overcome – his glaring shortcomings.

For it's time I'm sure The City Girl was a bawdy piece of film work what with all the sexual advances and threats of rape posed by the hired hands. I'm not sure it has lost that quality as I found the hitting of women and the lechery of the men to be quite unsettling in it's reality. The film is simple, so simple it could have been written out on a couple pieces of paper, the dialog is good, the acting fair and the lighting and music exceptional. Heavy makeup on the actors especially Charles Farrell is a bit distracting and takes away from the modernness of the images. Even though this film is from 1930 you can easily relate to the times and characters. It is an enjoyable film and a time machine back to a simpler era but the story is too predictable and a bit contrived.

This film came as a complete surprise. What a masterpiece!!! It may very well be Murnau's second best film (after Sunrise). It is extremely well made and the acting is superb. I can't for the life of me understand why this film is not better known. And why it has not got the DVD treatment it deserves.I bought my copy at ebay (from emoviez). The transfer is actually quite good, considering that this is a private seller. The music was how ever quite tiring and repetitive, most likely just put there to have something playing, for the ones that can't stand the silence.Murnau plays with some of the same motives as in Sunrise, but with a totally different approach. It is especially interesting to compare the City girl in Sunrise and the one in this film. I also wonder if he was not also dealing with his own past, but the father in the film really resembles what we know about Murnau's own father.A must see!!! 10/10