The Oscar Project

7^th Heaven (1927)

A Fox Film Corporation Film. Distributed by Fox Film Corporation.

7^th Heaven really swept up at the first Oscars. It was nominated for the most awards, and won three out of five of them. It’s interesting, because the film is very much a romance, with any other genre really sitting on the bench. That’s not to say it isn’t a great film, because it is.

Diane (Janet Gaynor) and her sister are prostitutes, living in a slum-like apartment in an unnamed city. After an incident goes pear-shaped with a wealthy relative, Diane’s tyrannical sister tries to kill her. Diane is rescued by Chico, a sewer-worker who dreams of becoming a street cleaner. He takes her in, and, after being mistaken for a couple and Chico receiving a promotion as a result, the pair decide to live together to reap the benefits of their fake marriage – one being Diane’s assumed protection, and the second being Chico’s new job. In true cinematic conventions, here begins a pretty sweet love story as the two fall for each other in spite of social standing, war and tragedy.

The film is wonderfully directed by Frank Borzage, and the cinematography is really world-building and all-encompassing (keep an eye out for some of the staircase scenes and the rooftop one early in the film – at the risk of sounding horribly cliché, both are visual feasts). Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell are kind of glorious together as Diane and Chico. The chemistry is tangible and when they fall in love, you believe it, which is a feat for a film in any age. Plus, as a couple aesthetically, they look great (I mean, really, speaking of visual feasts).

Farrell is strong as Chico too – he walks a fine line between charming and obnoxious, but always manages to fall on the best side of it. That said, Gaynor is the star of this film, as she is in Sunrise – she builds a character that’s blossoming under Chico’s kindness. Her fragility at the start of the film, a battered woman, is so beautifully portrayed, which makes her strength and her growth throughout the narrative a joy to watch and to be a part of.

7^th Heaven probably isn’t for everyone – it’s heavily romantic, even though the First World War features greatly towards the end. It is though a beautiful piece of cinema, and very character-oriented, and, actually, very much about female strength and growth, which isn’t something regularly featured in late twenties cinema.

Rating: 8 / 10

Director: Frank Borzage

Writers: Austin Strong, Benjamin Glazer

Cast: Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell & Ben Bard

Nominations: Outstanding Picture, Production, Best Director, Dramatic Picture (won), Best Actress in a Leading Role (won), Best Writing, Adapted Story (won), Best Art Direction

Sadie Thompson (1928)

A Gloria Swanson Pictures Film. Distributed by United Artists.

Sadie Thompson was a bit of a revelation for me. I went in with little knowledge of the film, bar a flimsy familiarity of the concept (one which is really quite dated). Sadie Thompson, played spectacularly by Gloria Swanson, a woman of questionable background, arrives on the island of Pago-Pago to start a new life. As a base for military men, Sadie enjoys the attentions until local extremist missionary, Davidson, played by Lionel Barrymore, takes issue with it. He lashes out at her with a little too much relish, in a desperate attempt to send her back to San Francisco. It all culminates into a series of pretty intense confrontations.

There’s a lot to like about this film. It deals with some controversial issues for the time – particularly corruption in the church which, at the time, was a pretty big no-no cinematically. Male dominance, patriarchy and controlled sexuality are also portrayed in a negative light. This is done particularly through Davidson’s extreme efforts to quash Sadie, but also in the effect it has on the slew of strong supporting characters, particularly Dr. McPhail (Charles Lane) and Sergeant Tim O’Hara (Raoul Walsh).

The film is held up by some pretty wonderful performances. Gloria Swanson as the title character is a powerhouse performer. She’s alternately flirty, seductive, feisty, angry and vulnerable (plus she has a pretty awesome swagger). She’s a total star in this film and steals every scene she’s in.

Lionel Barrymore as Davidson is great too. He plays a man who’s really on the edge, a missionary with old values in a new world, and Sadie’s provocation (intentional and not) pushes him over it. He becomes crazed, taking a little too much pleasure in his pursuit and then condemnation of Sadie. There’s a stand-out moment where he forces her to kneel in front of him which lends itself to a sexual charge from Barrymore’s Davidson. It’s both beautifully enacted, and really pretty creepy.

The whole film is beautifully shot too, with some wonderful uses of shadow and angles that works together with a pretty compelling script. The film is silent, so dialogue is done only through title cards, but, compared to other films I’ve watched so far, it relies in no small part on lip reading from the audience. Mostly in the fact that Swanson as Sadie swears quite a bit through the film, but as it wasn’t on the title cards, it didn’t affect the censorship during the release.

Unfortunately, the last 8-minute reel of the film is now lost, but the restoration company did a pretty good job piecing it together with remade title cards and stills from the film. You do lose some of the dramatic impact though, because the climactic confrontation is lost. That being said, I could write essays on this film. It’s wonderful and has so much happening for it that makes it feel ahead of its time. It’s a highlight for me from this year.

Rating: 8 / 10

Director: Raoul Walsh

Writers: W. Somerset Maugham & Raoul Walsh

Cast: Lionel Barrymore, Blanch Friderici, Charles Lane & Gloria Swanson

Nominations: Best Actress in a Leading Role & Best Cinematography