''The River'' is a 1929 partial-talkie
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by
Frank Borzage
Frank Borzage (; April 23, 1894 – June 19, 1962) was an Academy Award-winning American film director and actor, known for directing '' 7th Heaven'' (1927), '' Street Angel'' (1928), '' Bad Girl'' (1931), '' A Farewell to Arms'' (1932), ''Man's ...
, and starring
Charles Farrell
Charles David Farrell (August 9, 1900 – May 6, 1990) was an American film actor of the 1920s silent era and into the 1930s, and later a television actor. Farrell is probably best recalled for his onscreen romances with actress Janet Gaynor ...
and
Mary Duncan
Mary Duncan (August 13, 1894 – May 9, 1993) was an American stage and film actress. She is best known for her performances in F.W. Murnau's '' City Girl'' (1930) and ''Morning Glory'' (1933).
Early years
Duncan was born in Luttrellville ...
. Much of the film has been lost. A reconstructed Version with the about 45 minutes of surviving film, using still images and explanatory titlecards to bridge the missing scenes, was produced by the Munich Filmmuseum, in collaboration with the cinémathèques of
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
. This version was screened in 2006 by the
American Museum of the Moving Image
The Museum of the Moving Image is a media museum located in a former building of the historic Astoria Studios (now Kaufman Astoria Studios), in the Astoria neighborhood in Queens, New York City. The museum originally opened in 1988 as the Amer ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Borzage also directed Farrell, opposite
Janet Gaynor
Janet Gaynor (born Laura Augusta Gainor; October 6, 1906 – September 14, 1984) was an American film, stage, and television actress.
Gaynor began her career as an extra in shorts and silent films. After signing with Fox Film Corporation (later ...
, in ''
Seventh Heaven'' (1927), ''
Street Angel'' (1928), and ''
Lucky Star'' (1929) during this period.
Plot summary
Allen John Spender (
Charles Farrell
Charles David Farrell (August 9, 1900 – May 6, 1990) was an American film actor of the 1920s silent era and into the 1930s, and later a television actor. Farrell is probably best recalled for his onscreen romances with actress Janet Gaynor ...
) is a virile outdoorsman and Rosalee (
Mary Duncan
Mary Duncan (August 13, 1894 – May 9, 1993) was an American stage and film actress. She is best known for her performances in F.W. Murnau's '' City Girl'' (1930) and ''Morning Glory'' (1933).
Early years
Duncan was born in Luttrellville ...
) is his high society sweetheart.
Cast
*
Charles Farrell
Charles David Farrell (August 9, 1900 – May 6, 1990) was an American film actor of the 1920s silent era and into the 1930s, and later a television actor. Farrell is probably best recalled for his onscreen romances with actress Janet Gaynor ...
as Allen John Spender
*
Mary Duncan
Mary Duncan (August 13, 1894 – May 9, 1993) was an American stage and film actress. She is best known for her performances in F.W. Murnau's '' City Girl'' (1930) and ''Morning Glory'' (1933).
Early years
Duncan was born in Luttrellville ...
as Rosalee
*
Ivan Linow
Ivan Linow (born Jānis Linaus; November 21, 1888 – November 11, 1940), also known as Jack Linow, was a Latvian-born American wrestler, who became a character actor in American films during the silent and early sound film eras.
Biography
Born ...
as Sam Thompson
*
Margaret Mann
Margaret Mann (4 April 1868, in Aberdeen, Scotland – 4 February 1941, in Los Angeles, California), was a Scottish-American actress.
Biography
Margaret Mann starred in a number of major silent films such as ''Black Beauty'' in 1921 and playe ...
as Widow Thompson
* Alfred Sabato as Marsdon
*
Bert Woodruff
William Herbert "Bert" Woodruff (April 29, 1856 – June 14, 1934) was an American actor of the silent era.
Woodruff was born in Peoria, Illinois, and was the son of Mrs. Hannah Woodruff. He performed on stage before he began acting on fi ...
as The Miller
Reception
''Revue du Cinema'' critic Jean George Auriol described ''The River'' as "undoubtedly the most lyrical love film ever made."
[Hervé Dumont (2006) ''Frank Borzage: the life and films of a Hollywood romantic,'' McFarland DNA translator]
See also
*
List of early sound feature films (1926–1929)
This is a list of early pre-recorded sound and part talking/ all talking feature films made in the US and Europe during the transition to sound, between 1926-1929. During this time a variety of recording systems were used, including most notably ...
References
External links
*
*
*
1929 films
1929 romantic drama films
American black-and-white films
American romantic drama films
Fox Film films
Films directed by Frank Borzage
Films produced by William Fox
Transitional sound films
1920s American films
Silent romantic drama films
{{1920s-US-film-stub