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7th Heaven (1927) 7.7
A street cleaner saves a young woman's life, and the pair slowly fall in love until war intervenes. Director:Frank Borzage |
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Title: 7th Heaven (1927)
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Cast
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| Janet Gaynor | ... | ||
| Charles Farrell | ... | ||
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Ben Bard | ... | |
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Albert Gran | ... | |
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David Butler | ... | |
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Marie Mosquini | ... | |
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Lewis Borzage Sr. |
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Dolly Borzage |
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Mary Borzage |
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Sue Borzage |
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Gladys Brockwell | ... | |
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Emile Chautard | ... | |
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Jessie Haslett | ... | |
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Brandon Hurst | ... | |
| George E. Stone | ... | ||
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
In Paris, in the early years of the twentieth century, lives Chico, a sewer worker with lofty aspirations. One night, Chico saves a young prostitute named Diane from the murderous rage of her tyrannical sister. Despite her lifestyle, Diane is honest and innocent, and when the police arrive to arrest her, Chico spontaneously claims that she is his wife. Forced to maintain this facade or else both face prison sentences, Chico reluctantly allows Diane to live with him -- and in the process, love gradually blossoms between them. However, the dark spectre of World War I has begun to descend upon France, and Chico and Diane cannot help but fall under its shadow. Written by Shannon Patrick Sullivan <shannon@mun.ca>
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Expect a Big Picture. We personally assure you that you'll not be disappointed in "7th Heaven" See more »Parents Guide:
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Country:
USALanguage:
FrenchRelease Date:
1927 (Germany) See more »Also Known As:
El séptimo cielo See more »Filming Locations:
20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA See more »Company Credits
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"Seventh Heaven," Frank Borzage's poetic romantic melodrama from 1927, was the last of the three films nominated for the first Best Picture Oscar that I have now finished viewing (the other two being Lewis Milestone's "The Racket" and William A. Wellman's "Wings"). It's a sweet little movie about a meek waif (Janet Gaynor) who meets cute with a macho street cleaner (Charles Farrell) and then proceeds to fall in love with him, and he with her, while living together as a fake husband and wife in order to fool the authorities and prevent Gaynor from going to jail (that's another story, and is disposed of within the film's first 20 minutes or so). From there, the film transitions into full-blown melodrama as Farrell goes off to war and Gaynor waits stoically for him to return.
This all would be enough to make one gag, if someone other than Borzage had directed it. He had a knack for taking the most saccharine subject matter and handling it with utmost delicacy; as a result, you're utterly charmed and swept up in the film's romanticism even as your head tells you you should be rolling your eyes. It also helps that Farrell and especially Gaynor were very good actors, and they make the characters believable while keeping the rampant sentimentality at bay.
Borzage won the first Best Director Oscar for his work, and Gaynor was Oscar's first Best Actress, winning for this and two other films, "Street Angel" and "Sunrise," back when Oscars were given for entire bodies of work over a year and not for one specific film. Writer Benjamin Glazer completed the film's triplicate wins by taking home the first Oscar for Writing (Adaptation), before a screenplay award even existed.
"Seventh Heaven" was passed over in the Best Picture category for "Wings," and it also lost Art Direction (for Harry Oliver's impressive Parisian loft and WWI battlefield sets), but with five nominations it emerged as the most nominated film in Oscar's debut year.
Grade: A