City Girl (1930)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

F.W. Murnau

Writers:

H.H. Caldwell (titles)
Katherine Hilliker (titles)
(more)

Release Date:

16 February 1930 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Lem goes to Chicago to sell the wheat his family has grown on their farm in Minnesota. There he meets the waitress Kate...

Plot Keywords:

Farm | Wheat | Waitress | Marital Crisis | Countryside

Cast

Charles Farrell	...	Lem Tustine
Mary Duncan	...	Kate
David Torrence	...	Lem's father
Edith Yorke	...	Lem's mother
Anne Shirley	...	Marie Tustine (as Dawn O'Day)
Tom McGuire	...	Matey
Richard Alexander	...	Mac
Patrick Rooney	...	Butch (as Pat Rooney)
Ed Brady	...	Reaper
Roscoe Ates	...	Reaper
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eddie Boland
Mark Hamilton	...	Hungry reaper
Ivan Linow	...	Taxi driver
Arnold Lucy	...	Cafe patron
Helen Lynch	...	Girl on train
Jack Pennick	...	Reaper
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams	...	Reaper
Marjorie Beebe	...	Waitress (silent version) (uncredited)
Joe Brown	...	Cafe patron (silent version) (uncredited)
Harry Gripp	...	(silent version) (uncredited)
Werner Klingler	...	(silent version) (uncredited)
Harry Leonard	...	(silent version) (uncredited)
David Rollins	...	(silent version) (uncredited)
William Sundholm	...	(silent version) (uncredited)

Directed by
F.W. Murnau

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
H.H. Caldwell		titles
Katherine Hilliker		titles
Elliott Lester		dialogue (play "The Mud Turtle")
Marion Orth		writer
Berthold Viertel		writer

Original Music by
Arthur Kay

Cinematography by
Ernest Palmer

Film Editing by
H.H. Caldwell
Katherine Hilliker

Production Design by
Edgar G. Ulmer

Art Direction by
Harry Oliver

Costume Design by
Sophie Wachner

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Frank Powolny	....	assistant director
William Tummel	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Harold Hobson	....	sound

Other crew
William Fox	....	presenter

Production Companies

• Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Fox Film Corporation (1930) (USA) (theatrical)
• Grapevine Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Forgotten Hollywood (????) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Our Daily Bread
Il nostro pane quotidiano (Italy) [it]
L'intruse (France) [fr]
La Bru (France) [fr]
Unser täglich Brot - Die Frau aus Chicago (Germany) [de]
Unser täglich Brot... (Austria) [de]

Runtime:

77 min | Canada:120 min | USA:90 min (silent version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono | Silent

Filming Locations:

Athena, Oregon, USA

Company:

Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The film is based on the play "The Mud Turtle" by Elliott Lester that opened at the Bijou Theatre on August 20, 1925 and ran for 52 performances.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Days of Heaven (1978)

Silence Is Golden for F.W. Murnau and Charles Farrell

Minnesota country boy Charles Farrell (as Lem) goes to Chicago, to sell the family's wheat harvest. In the hectic city, he meets pretty coffee shop waitress Mary Duncan (as Kate), who longs for the simple life. The attractive pair fall blissfully in love. After marrying Ms. Duncan, Mr. Farrell takes her home to live with his country family. But, father David Torrence (as Tustine) distrusts the "City Girl", and is angry with his son for selling his wheat at an inferior price. A stern patriarch, Mr. Torrence drives a wedge between the happy couple. To make matters worse, Duncan becomes prey for some arriving reapers…

This is another stunner from director F.W. Murnau ("Sunrise"), who would so tragically die in a car accident (after only one more film). "City Girl" was produced by Mr. Murnau as a "silent" ("Our Daily Bread"); but, Fox Films recalled the movie, and turned it into a "talkie". At the time, Farrell's name was rising to the upper reaches of "Box Office" star lists, but, truth be told, only Charlie Chaplin and Greta Garbo still had the power to draw audiences to a silent movie (and, even that was fading). With re-shoots, a partially talking "City Girl" was seen briefly, and forgotten.

The unearthed full length silent version was, thankfully, preserved. It is a near-perfect film. Farrell, who many felt deserves some "Best Actor" recognition fro his role in "7th Heaven", outdoes himself. Murnau, photographer Ernest Palmer, set director Harry Oliver are also award-worthy. Although she looks too startlingly glamorous in the country portions, Duncan is hot in the city. No wonder leering Richard Alexander (as Mac) couldn't keep his hands off her. The entire cast performs splendidly, right down to David Rollins giving Duncan lift at work.

Sequences to re-play (if not the whole movie): Farrell walking the crowded city streets, Duncan in her apartment (where she blows the city dust off her suffocating plant), the couple's ecstatic run through his father's wheat fields, the arrival of grinning Guinn Williams and the reapers, and their harvesting scenes. Murnau's direction of the horse-driven wagons is especially spectacular. The lighting is brilliant throughout.

********* City Girl (2/16/30) F.W. Murnau ~ Charles Farrell, Mary Duncan, David Torrence, Richard Alexander