The Oscar Project

The Crowd (1928)

A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Film. Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

This was actually the first film I watched from this year’s Oscars, and I guess was in some ways the film that started me off on this whole thing. It was probably a good thing all in all too – The Crowd is largely regarded as one of the triumphs of silent cinema and, watching it back now, it really still stacks up.

The film wastes no time introducing us to John Sims, who we watch grow from infant to boy to man. As a boy, his father praises him without restraint, telling him that he’ll be something in life, whilst John preens under the praise and yet shows little skill at anything in particular. John’s father dies abruptly when John’s a boy, and the film flashes forwards to John as a young man moving to the city, equally idealistic and full of self-importance. He meets and marries Mary in the space of a few days, and together they have two children whilst John works at a menial job without promotion or recognition.

The film’s focus lies in John, but also in Mary, covering milestones across their lives together and the unravelling of his character from ambitious, big-dreamed and egocentric to ultimately another lost soul in a big city. It’s interesting because for a film pushing 85, it’s thematically still totally relevant. John’s desire to separate himself from the masses and his expectation that this would come to him without ever having to work for it is hugely reflective of society in any age. It embodies the average developed-world man who grows up being told he’s special only to realise, ultimately, that he’s not. Of course it’s not just that. The film is a study in loss and grief, of the turbulence of a marriage built on unsteady foundations; it’s about shifting self-image and changing self-worth, and in all of these ways thematically it succeeds.

It’s melodramatic, sure, but it’s got a lot going for it that kind of lets you forgive that. The cinematography for one is gorgeous and photographic; the performances all wonderful, and the score (created in 1981 by composer, Carl Davis) does wonderful things at capturing the shifting moods of the film. This one is definitely worth the watch.

Rating: 8.5 / 10

Director: King Vidor

Writers: King Vidor & John V.A. Weaver

Cast: Eleanor Boardman, James Murray & Bert Roach

Nominations: Best Director, Dramatic Picture & Best Picture, Unique & Artistic Production.