''City Girl'' is a 1930 American

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

directed by

F. W. Murnau Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (born Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe; December 28, 1888March 11, 1931) was a German film director, producer and screenwriter. He was greatly influenced by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Shakespeare and Ibsen plays he had seen at th ...

, 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 Luttrellvill ...

. 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. The film is credited as being the primary inspiration for

Terrence Malick Terrence Frederick Malick (born November 30, 1943) is an American filmmaker. His films include ''Days of Heaven'' (1978), '' The Thin Red Line'' (1998), for which he received Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay ...

's film ''

Days of Heaven ''Days of Heaven'' is a 1978 American romantic period drama film written and directed by Terrence Malick, and starring Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard and Linda Manz. Set in 1916, it tells the story of Bill and Abby, lovers who travel ...

'' (1978).

Plot

In the years of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, Lem Tustine is sent to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

by his father to sell the family farm's wheat crop. He meets Kate, a waitress who is sick of the endless bustle of the city and has dreams of living in the countryside. The stock market price of wheat starts to drop and Lem hurriedly sells the crop for far less than the bottom line his father had given him. Meanwhile, Lem has fallen in love with Kate and they marry. They travel back to the countryside, but Lem's father, angry at the disastrous wheat sale, subjects Kate to hostility and physical abuse, mistakenly believing that she is simply after Lem's money. Lem fails to stand up to his father in support of Kate and the relationship appears doomed. Matters are made worse when a group of farm hands arrive to help with the wheat harvest and one of them - Mac - tries to woo Kate away. Lem's father interprets Mac's unwanted attentions as evidence of Kate's wanton nature and swears to break Lem and Kate apart. When reports of a hurricane destroying the country's wheat crops arrives, Lem's father tries to get the crop in early by working through the night. In an attempt to gain Kate's affections Mac calls a strike to sabotage the harvest. Lem, reading a farewell letter from Kate, realizes that his own lack of action has caused all the misery, and finally responds. He fights with Mac, berates his father and then goes searching for Kate. The workers abandon Mac and return to finish the harvest. Lem and Kate talk and finally agree to try again. Lem's father begs forgiveness from Kate as the film ends.

Cast

Production

''City Girl'' was shot on location in

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of v ...

and

Pendleton, Oregon Pendleton is a city and the county seat of Umatilla County, Oregon. The population was 17,107 at the time of the 2020 census, which includes approximately 1,600 people who are incarcerated at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution. Pendleton ...

. According to research by film historians, a farm was constructed for the making of the film. According to a newspaper article in the ''Heppner Gazette-Times'' on the arrival of Murnau and actress Mary Duncan in Pendleton, the film's original working title was ''Our Daily Bread''. Upon her arrival to shoot the film in August 1928, Duncan was granted the Round-Up Queen of the 1928

Pendleton Round-Up The Pendleton Round-Up is a major annual rodeo in the northwestern United States, at Pendleton in northeastern Oregon. Held at the Pendleton Round-Up Stadium during the second full week of September each year since 1910, the rodeo brings roug ...

rodeo. The

Fox Film The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film C ...

studios for whom Murnau was working were subject to a takeover during filming. The new owners requested a number of changes to ''City Girl'', including the addition of sound sequences which Murnau resisted, and eventually he walked away to begin filming '' Tabu, A Story of the South Seas''. The sound version of ''City Girl'' was released but flopped at the box office and has since been lost.

Rediscovery

The silent version film was among those rescued from the Fox vaults in 1970 by Eileen Bowser of

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of t ...

and screened at the museum.

References

External links

* * {{F. W. Murnau 1930 films American silent feature films Films directed by F. W. Murnau 1930 drama films American black-and-white films Silent American drama films Films produced by William Fox Films shot in Oregon Fox Film films Films with screenplays by Berthold Viertel 1930s American films