The River (1928)

A naïve young man is working on a logging camp beside a turbulent river. When it closes for winter, he opts to stay for the experience. He meets a woman who was the girlfriend to the boss ... See full summary »

Director:

Frank Borzage

Writers:

John Hunter Booth (dialogue), Dwight Cummins

Stars:

Charles Farrell, Mary Duncan, Ivan Linow

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Charles Farrell	...	Allen John Spender
Mary Duncan	...	Rosalee
Ivan Linow	...	Sam Thompson
Margaret Mann	...	Widow Thompson
Alfred Sabato	...	Marsdon (as Alverdo Sabato)
Bert Woodruff	...	The Miller

Storyline

A naïve young man is working on a logging camp beside a turbulent river. When it closes for winter, he opts to stay for the experience. He meets a woman who was the girlfriend to the boss of the outfit, recently locked up for murder. This worldly lady and the innocent boy find a powerful attraction, that builds to a violent climax.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | wanderer | partially lost film | based on novel | 

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Taglines:

Would He Descend To Her Level Or Would She Rise To His...? (Print Ad-St. Lawrence Plaindealer,((Canton, NY)) 5 November 1929)

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 October 1929 (USA)

Also Known As:

Backwash

Filming Locations:

William Fox Studios - 1401 N. Western Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min 55 min (restored)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System) (talking sequences) Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Charles Farrell is one of the first male American stars to appear in a nude scene in a major motion picture, in this 1928 production.

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Quotes

Title Card: There is a river called life, its source a hidden fountain. The sea is its goal. Upon it sail the rafts of human destinies.

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Connections

Featured in Murnau, Borzage and Fox (2008)

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Soundtracks

I Found Happiness (When I Found You)
music by Erno Rapee
lyric by Lew Pollack

User Reviews

a few added tidbits

The other reviewers have pretty well covered this film, but I would like to add that the Cinémethèque Suisse, along with some other film preservationists, has created a version that reconstructs the plot using the script deposited at UCLA, and still images. Thanks to their hard work, it is now easy to understand the story (though the music they added left something to be desired--"Flight of the Bumblebees" is not appropriate for a seduction scene).

If you've always wanted to see Charles Farrell without his shirt on (and who hasn't?), this is the movie for you. I agree with the other reviewers that the film contains a strong erotic charge. The stunning camera-work and lighting, the world-weary, Dietrichesque beauty of Mary Duncan (intriguingly out of place in the hardscrabble setting), and the always-gorgeous Farrell combine to fashion a moody, seductive world. But most of my fellow audience members were unable to give themselves over to the melodrama, and could only laugh at the plot and complain afterward, which was very annoying to us romantics in the audience.

In addition to Charles and Mary, the remaining footage contains pieces of Ivan Linow's sympathetic portrayal of "a deaf-mute giant". You will also see a trained pet crow with a lot of personality, and a dead bear whose presence is unwittingly tragic.