The Wind (1928)

Director:

Victor Sjöström

Writers:

Dorothy Scarborough (novel)
Frances Marion (scenario)

Release Date:

23 November 1928 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Plot:

Letty moves to West Texas from the East and it seems that the wind always blows and the sand gets everywhere...

Plot Keywords:

Wind | Storm | Marriage | Cowboy | Isolation

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Lillian Gish	...	Letty
Lars Hanson	...	Lige
Montagu Love	...	Roddy
Dorothy Cumming	...	Cora
Edward Earle	...	Beverly
William Orlamond	...	Sourdough
Carmencita Johnson	...	Cora's Child
Leon Janney	...	Cora's Child (as Laon Ramon)
Billy Kent Schaefer	...	Cora's Child

Also Known As:

Stürme (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Der Wind (Germany) [de]
El vent (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
El viento (Spain) [es]
La rosa de los vientos (Argentina) [es]
Le vent (France) [fr]
O Vento (Portugal) [pt]
Stormen (Sweden) [sv]
Vento e Areia (Brazil) [pt]
Wicher (Poland) [pl]

Runtime:

Sweden:95 min | 79 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Iceland:L | Portugal:17 (director's cut) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Bakersfield, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The film's artificially happy ending was insisted upon by the studio after test audiences balked at the original ending, where the insane Letty wanders into the desert, certain to die. This more appropriate ending reportedly still exists in Europe.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Chocolat (2000)

A Masterpiece by Any Standard.

I've watched The Wind several times, and I am convinced that it is one of the greatest movies ever. It is certainly the best silent western, and Lillian Gish has never been so profound as she is here.

What lifts it to the rank of a masterpiece is the passion of the direction and camerawork, and it certainly shows the advantage in having a mature artist like director Victor Sjöström. The central character is, as promised, the wind, and the raw power of nature supersedes the melodrama. You become engulfed in the tempests and hurricanes, and it is only to easy to understand that they might drive the young lady mad.

Lillian Gish also does a magnificent job; her usual overacting is actually appropriate for this role, as the powerful cinematic images have established the likeliness that she is falling to pieces. This surely has to be her greatest performance. Dorothy Cumming is also equally powerful as the embittered "other woman", one of the most evil characters to be found in a western. The other actors are adequate and satisfying without rising to the level of genius. Their acting is natural and unforced, unlike most silents.

It definitely gains from being a silent movie, all that dialogue would become a distraction if we had to listen to it. It helps that Thames Silents Orchestra has composed a beautiful and moving soundtrack, one that would sound good on a CD recording.

If you have any appreciation for silent film, rush out and get this one today!