It's an interesting coincidence that I saw the 1930s remake of "Seventh Heaven" just a week or so prior, so I was able to compare them. While I hated the remake for so many reasons (the dumb casting of Jimmy Stewart as a Frenchman among them), I adored this silent version. There are three main reasons for this. First, the direction in the silent was fantastic as was the camera-work. I loved the scenes where you see the leads walking up the many flights of steps with the camera following them, but the movie also was so artfully conceived in so many other ways. It truly was a work of art. Second, this sort of old fashioned romance just seems to work better as a silent. Whereas you might be more willing to accept the old fashion style in a silent, in a talking picture the plot seemed much more forced. Third, the acting was just better--a lot better. Jimmy Stewart was just lost playing an Atheistic Frenchman--whereas Charles Farrell was much more believable and likable--plus his character was softer and more likable in the earlier film. Stewart, oddly, played a jerk. And while Simone Simon was well cast in the remake (as she is French), Janet Gaynor was just magnificent--and the audience really felt compelled to want to take care of this waif-like character as she really pulled at your hearts with a combination of fine acting and her physical looks.
Aside from thinking the 1927 version was much better, it also was, surprisingly, a little less scandalous--even though it was made before the strengthened Production Code and the remake was made after--when it SHOULD have been harder to make this film. That's because in the later one, the female lives in a brothel and the Madame is trying to force her to put out for customers. Here, the Madame is instead Gaynor's abusive sister and she forces her to steal.
The bottom line is that the 1927 is a classic--one of the better silents I have ever seen (and I have seen an unbelievable number of silents--sometimes to my family's consternation). I can see why this and other 1927-28 films resulted in Miss Gaynor receiving the first Oscar for Best Actress--she was great. But so was this entire production. Well worth seeing and probably Gaynor's best silent, as I liked its simple story even more than her more famous "Sunrise".
Aside from thinking the 1927 version was much better, it also was, surprisingly, a little less scandalous--even though it was made before the strengthened Production Code and the remake was made after--when it SHOULD have been harder to make this film. That's because in the later one, the female lives in a brothel and the Madame is trying to force her to put out for customers. Here, the Madame is instead Gaynor's abusive sister and she forces her to steal.
The bottom line is that the 1927 is a classic--one of the better silents I have ever seen (and I have seen an unbelievable number of silents--sometimes to my family's consternation). I can see why this and other 1927-28 films resulted in Miss Gaynor receiving the first Oscar for Best Actress--she was great. But so was this entire production. Well worth seeing and probably Gaynor's best silent, as I liked its simple story even more than her more famous "Sunrise".