THE CROWD (1928)

A silent masterpiece about the dreams and frustrations of everyday people. Office clerk James Murray goes out on a double date with an office pal (Bert Roach) and promptly falls in love with his date, Eleanor Boardman. They get married and have children, and over time, their domestic life seems happy enough, but Murray is continually frustrated at work, with his inability to rise in the company, unlike his friend. Murray keeps telling his wife that his ship will come in, though it gets harder and harder for him to believe it himself. There is one brief bright moment when he wins $500 in an ad slogan contest; they use some of the money to buy new toys for the kids, but in a heartbreaking scene, as the children come running home to see the toys, one of them is hit by a car and killed. Murray, distraught, can't recover from the tragedy, loses his job, is driven from his home, and hits rock bottom, contemplating suicide. His surviving child gives him the strength to go on, even, as the last shot shows, against overwhelming odds that he will ever be able to stand out from the crowd of humanity around him. Much of the look of the movie seems inspired by German expressionism; there's an especially interesting claustrophobic shot early on when the Murray character, as a boy, climbs dark and crooked stairs to discover his father has died. Shots of the office workers, at endless rows of desks, making endless (and seemingly useless) notations on paper, are also quite effective. The tension between the individual and the crowd is often noted, as in a creepy scene where tunnel of love riders at an amusement park are harshly exposed, as though in a zoo, at the end of the ride. The plot, the visuals, and the acting all combine to make this an indelible viewing experience, even for people who don't typically like silent films. Directed by King Vidor, who was married to leading lady Boardman at the time. [TCM]