City Girl (1930)

Lem goes to Chicago to sell the wheat his family has grown on their farm in Minnesota. There he meets the waitress Kate. They fall in love and get married before going back to the farm. ... See full summary »

Director:

F.W. Murnau

Writers:

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

Stars:

Charles Farrell, Mary Duncan, David Torrence

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

Lem goes to Chicago to sell the wheat his family has grown on their farm in Minnesota. There he meets the waitress Kate. They fall in love and get married before going back to the farm. Kate is accepted by Lem's mother and kid sister but is rejected by his father, who believes she married for the money. (And the fact that Lem didn't get a fair price for the wheat is her fault too). The reapers arrive and quickly they make things even more complicated by making their move on Kate. Lem misunderstands the situation and believes Kate is actually interested. In despair Kate leaves the farm and Lem goes looking for her.

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Plot Keywords:

farm | wheat | waitress | marital crisis | countryside | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1930 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Our Daily Bread

Filming Locations:

Athena, Oregon, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min 90 min (silent)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System) Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.19 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director F.W. Murnau wanted the title of the film to be "Our Daily Bread", but the studio refused. In addition, the film, which had been shot silent, was scheduled by the studio to have parts of it reshot with sound. Murnau refused, wanting nothing to do with "talkies", and after this and other clashes with the studio he left the picture before it was completed. An assistant director finished it.

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Goofs

Each time when Lem's father, Kate, and Mac storm out of the farmhouse after Kate bandages Mac's hand, the shadow of the screen door moves across the "sky" backdrop in the background.

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Connections

Referenced in Days of Heaven (1978)

User Reviews

Stunning and Unforgettable!

I was so astonished by this movie that as soon as "The End" came up, I started watching it all over again. For one thing, the restoration of this forgotten classic was so stunning it was like watching a black and white movie made an hour ago. Each scene simply glowed with amazing grays and whites and charcoals. Mary Duncan as the 'City Gir' was absolutely enchanting. She was a sweet, young girl who was also feisty and was so believable and likable that she became someone you'd love to know. The movie's great loss is that she made only one other movie, 'Morning Glory" before leaving the screen to marry millionaire polo player. She only died recently at the age of 92 She was matched by silent screen great Charles Farrell who had t difficult role of Lem, who was also simple, sweet but manly, too. Although released in l930, this film confirms how incredibly smooth and profound silent movies had become. Director Murnau brilliantly cast and directed this amazing drama--proving to one and all what a profound loss silent movies became when they were overtaken by those noisy talkies. You should definitely check out this masterpiece and be amazed