City Girl (1930)

A Chicago waitress falls in love with a Minnesota farmer, and decides to face a life in the country.

Director:

F.W. Murnau

Writers:

Elliott Lester (play), Berthold Viertel (adaptation)

Stars:

Charles Farrell, Mary Duncan, David Torrence

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Charles Farrell	...	Lem Tustine
Mary Duncan	...	Kate
David Torrence	...	Mr. J.L. Tustine
Edith Yorke	...	Mrs. J.L. Tustine Blair
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams	...	Reaper (as Guinn Williams)
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

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:

city country contrast | farmhouse | harvest | overbearing father | newlywed | 

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Taglines:

SEE AND HEAR LIFE IN THE "RAW" WITH THE "CITY GIRL" (Print Ad-Urbana Daily Courier, ((Urbana, Ills.)) 14 March 1930)

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The wheat harvest scenes took place near Pendleton, OR, and the entire cast had to learn how to operate the wheat combine. The combines were pulled by a team of 32 mules.

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Goofs

At 17:35, Mr. Tustine, father of Lem Tustine calls her wife as "Mother".

his quote was: "No letter from Lem yet... I'm worried, mother."

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Quotes

Kate: Life on a farm must be wonderful!

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Alternate Versions

There is a silent version, shot by F.W. Murnau, and a part-talkie sound version, with music and parts re-shot by two directors hired by the studio, after Murnau's refusal to do so. The sound version is now considered lost. The silent version was restored and edited in DVD and Blu-Ray with an original score added in August 2008.

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Connections

Referenced in Murnau's 4 Devils: Traces of a Lost Film (2003)

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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 January 1930 (USA)

Also Known As:

El pan nuestro de cada día

Filming Locations:

Athena, Oregon, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

F.W. Murnau Production, Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System) Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.19 : 1