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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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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| 0Share... |
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| 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 | ... | |
| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
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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 | ... | ||
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>
This could have been something awful. It's high schmaltz, really fever-pitched melodrama, and the plot relies on a huge number of coincidences. But it all works beautifully, through a perfect combination of acting, directing, and photography, not to mention the incredible lighting and set design. This is one of the great silent movies, and one of the great screen romances. Janet Gaynor had quite a year in 1927, turning in fantastic performances in this, as well as F. W. Murnau's Sunrise. 10/10
A year later, Buster Keaton in The Cameraman would do a brilliant spoof of the famous staircase crane shot from Seventh Heaven.