The Wind (1928)

A frail young woman from the east moves in with her cousin in the west, where she causes tension within the family and is slowly driven mad.

Director:

Victor Sjöström (as Victor Seastrom)

Writers:

Frances Marion (scenario), Dorothy Scarborough (from the novel by)

Stars:

Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson, Montagu Love

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lillian Gish	...	Letty Mason
Lars Hanson	...	Lige
Montagu Love	...	Wirt 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

Storyline

Innocent and naive Letty Mason moves from her Virginia home to Sweet Water on the western prairies to live on the ranch of her cousin Beverly, his wife Cora and their three children. Letty quickly learns how inhospitable the environment in Sweet Water is, the most obvious item being the incessant wind. But equally inhospitable are the unrefined way the people in Sweet Water live to which she is unaccustomed, and Cora, who believes Letty has come to steal Beverly away from her. As such, Cora orders Letty out of her and Bev's house. With no money, Letty is forced to accept one of the marriage proposal she receives, the lesser evil being that from Bev and Cora's ranching neighbor, Lige Hightower, a man who she does not love. Despite a less than harmonious start, Letty, in part due to her isolation as she is more often than not forced to stay inside due to the wind, begins to have affection for Lige, who wants to do right by her, and who promises to send her back to Virginia when he is ...

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Plot Keywords:

sand | buried in sand | paranoia | female protagonist | cousin cousin relationship | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 November 1928 (USA)

Also Known As:

Stormen

Filming Locations:

Bakersfield, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While it is popularly believed that the film was made in over 120-degree temperatures, this is not true. The average temperature for the location and season where the movie was filmed is between 90-105 and the record highs are around 115 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Connections

Featured in The Race to Save 100 Years (1997)

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Soundtracks

Good Night, Irene
Played at the Shindig

User Reviews

Best silent movie along with same year'"Sunrise"

If you want to know how powerful, lyrical and emotive silent movies could be in their last days, just see Murnau's "Sunrise" and this absolute masterpiece, "The Wind". In both you quickly forget the absence of sound and come to enjoy it. Without voices' distraction, you're able to full appreciate the beautiful direction and photographic work, as well as Lilian Gish's wonderful interpretation - she should have won the first Oscar for best actress on a tie with Janet Gaynor. 1927 could be the last year for silent movies yet it was the greatest one, so that one wonders along with current reviewers if talkies were not a regress rather than a progress, after all.