A person of the crowd

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Movie
German title A person of the crowd (alternatively: The Crowd, A person in the crowd)
Original title The crowd
Crowd 1928 film poster.jpg
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1928
length 104 minutes
Rod
Director King Vidor
script King Vidor,
John VA Weaver
production Irving Thalberg
camera Henry Sharp
cut Hugh Wynn
occupation

A man of the crowd (Original title: The Crowd ) is an American drama film directed by King Vidor. The film was shot as a silent film in 1928. The premiere of the film took place on February 18, 1928 under the original title. In Germany, the production was shown for the first time on April 1, 1983 on German television ( ZDF ). Later broadcasts carried, among other things, the titles The crowd and A man in the crowd .

action

John Sims has believed since childhood that he would be important one day. John's father, who does everything to ensure that his son is well, dies in his youth. At 21, John is one of the many employees at an insurance company in New York. His friend and colleague Bert invites him to go on a double date in the Coney Island Lunapark ; After just one evening, John Mary, one of the two girls, proposes marriage. She agrees, they get married and spend their honeymoon at Niagara Falls .

The newlyweds move into a modest apartment. On Christmas Eve, Mary's mother, who is hard of hearing, and her brothers Jim and Dick come to visit. The wealthy brothers-in-law are hostile to John. John goes to Bert to get alcohol. There's a party going on there so John comes home drunk long after the guests have left. Mary forgives John. But soon in the new year there is a dispute over the condition of the apartment and Mary's appearance. All arguments are forgotten when Mary tells her husband that she is expecting a child. The couple have a son in October. John tells Mary that the birth of his son is the lack of momentum that has driven him to work even harder.

After five years another daughter was added, but John's salary has not increased that much; he's still one of many employees. Mary tells him that she doesn't think he will ever be known. John, who creates slogans as a hobby, enters a competition and wins $ 500. John comes home with presents for Mary and his children. When the two of them call home the children who are playing in the street, the girl is run over by a truck and dies. While Mary recovers from the loss after a while, John remains depressed and can no longer concentrate on his work; when he is reprimanded for this, John quits without first telling Mary.

Mary is at his side and helps him apply. But John quits every job after a short time, which leads Mary to take a job as a seamstress. Mary's brothers offer John work out of pity, but John refuses. Mary is now upset and calls him a hypocrite and slacker. John feels suicidal, but his son's unconditional love keeps him from doing it. He accepts a job as an advertising character for a restaurant. When he comes home, Mary packs her bags and wants to move in with her brothers. However, he can convince Mary to stay. With his first salary, John bought his wife a bouquet of flowers and tickets for the variety show. John, Mary and their son attend the show. They see that John's advertising slogan is printed in the program booklet. John and Mary enjoy the performance in the crowd.

background

The story of the film shows parallels to Vidor's own career. Vidor was an employee of Universal Pictures and secretly wrote scripts for comedies under a pseudonym. Employees were not allowed to submit their own scripts. When Vidor revealed himself to be the scriptwriter, he was out of his job as an office worker. He was soon hired by Universal as a comedy writer.

The MGM film was shot in New York State . The studio wanted to show a positive ending to the film because of the global economic crisis. For this purpose, director Vidor shot nine different versions for the end.

Cedric Gibbons and A. Arnold Gillespie , later known as an effects technician , took care of the film construction and equipment. The composer Carl Davis was a specialist in the musical remodeling of silent films. In 1981 he re-composed the music for the film.

At the time of filming, King Vidor and leading actress Eleanor Boardman were married.

Reviews

The industry journal Variety was negative in its criticism in the course of the publication. The film is "a dark, narrative-free story and hideous length" and tells "apparently nothing". The TimeOut film guide, on the other hand, considered the film "one of Vidor's best films, a masterpiece of silent films, a keen consideration of the illusionism of the American dream ". Even Channel 4 praised the film as "Vidor's masterpiece" and his " cynical look to the display of the American dream."

Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that the film was "not an easy film". It is an art film that is "completely outside the mainstream of the films of its time or at all". The Time Magazine picked Vidor directed as "honest and sensitive" out. Eleanor Boardman plays her role with "unsettling grace".

Today the film is unanimously seen by contemporary critics as a masterpiece. The lexicon of international films describes the film as “a farewell to the American dream, which is contrasted with sheer Darwinism , which only guarantees the strongest survival in the anonymity of the big city. The romantic-melancholy social verism of the film had a style-forming effect and the film aesthetics also pointed new paths - a masterpiece of the late silent film. "

Awards

In 1929 the film was nominated for an Oscar in the categories of Best Film and Best Director . In 1989 he was inducted into the National Film Registry of the National Film Preservation Board.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ A person of the crowd at Turner Classic Movies (English)
  2. ↑ See Trivia on imdb.com
  3. ↑ The Crowd . In: Variety . 1928.
  4. ↑ See timeout.com
  5. ↑ See channel4.com ( Memento from December 15, 2004 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ Mick LaSalle: The Crowd . In: San Francisco Chronicle . November 8, 1995.
  7. ↑ See Cinema: The New Pictures . In: Time . March 5, 1928.
  8. ↑ The Crowd on rottentomatoes.com (with a high average rating of 9.1)
  9. ↑ A man of the crowd. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed May 25, 2019 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used