The Crowd

"Marriage isn't a word... it's a sentence"

This is one of those magical silent films that stand the test of time as a bright and energetic comment on the changing world. The Crowd is a film that examines the very essence of life, specifically in the context of the society that the western world has built for itself. As a comment on the soulessness and pressures of post-industrial cities like New York, the film is remarkably relevant to our modern day lives, but in the context of a film made in 1928 there's the added irony that the Wall Street crash of 1929 and the Great Depression were just around the corner - a vindication of the film's tragi-comic damnation of the 9-to-5 crunch. Director King Vidor straddles the line between satire and tragedy, switching moods and keys with an ease that's idiosyncratic to silent cinema.

Johnny Sims (James Murray) is a boy held in the esteemed company of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington by his own father. He's a future leader, the kind of man who will stand out from the crowd, and this expectation is imprinted on Johnny's consciousness from day one. Johnny's dad dies when he's still fairly young though, and the death of his father foreshadows the disappointments of his life that are still yet to come. When Johnny comes of age he decides to go to New York to make his fortune in the business world, a journey accompanied by the following needle-sharp intertitle:

"When John was 21 he became one of the 7 million that believes New York depends on him"

Upon entering New York, John makes fun of a sandwich board clown, thinking that he's above such lowly jobs. Oh you shouldn't have done that, Johnny! Fate frowns at such boasting, and has a poetic way of making people pay. Sure enough, after a rollercoaster ride through marriage, fatherhood and the ups and downs of a career in advertising, Johnny becomes the very clown he once disaparaged, and has hit rock bottom so hard that he's even happy to do it. It's an ironic twist that this act of lowliness becomes John's gratefully accepted salvation... the bulk of The Crowd focuses on his struggle to 'make it' before revealing an underlying truth: that happiness can sometimes lie in not chasing unrealistic dreams.

Much of the film is concerned with ideas of individuality and conformity, flaunting a cheerful cynicism that's completely at odds with the idealised Great American Dream. The romance of New York and all its promise is boiled away to reveal the measly morsels left for the average citizen. Much of the 20th Century's popular western culture has sold the idea that everyone has it in them to be the hero, the rock star or the millionaire, but it's a little bit disturbing to know that as early as 1928 there was a voice of reason that spoke for 99% of the population who don't get to be the hero, the rock star or the millionaire. Despite the healthy doses of humour, New York is depicted here as a city wholly unsympathetic to tragedy. As indignation after indignation are heaped upon John it becomes clear that trying to stand out from the crowd is a futile exercise for many, and that their life might be more happily lived without such baseless ambition. It's quite a radical idea, when you think about it in the context of America's lust for free enterprise.

James Murray reminded me at times of the kind of comically awkward leading men played by Ben Stiller, especially in scenes where he has to contend with the in-laws from hell. Vidor takes this identifiable character and his humourous misadventures and puts him on this big cinematic canvas in order to contrast the seriousness of New York with the plight of the 'little guy'. This means that there's lots of location filming in New York, capturing the modern hustle and bustle of the city in a way that probably hadn't really been captured on film before 1928. Vidor also uses specially constructed sets to get some unique shots, such as a dizzying perspective that shows the view down some stairs, or a scene inside an office building that shows an endless sea of desks. Anyway, this is an amazing movie... I found it both hilarious and poignant, and due to the subject matter and execution it's the sort of silent film that could be shown to modern audiences with some significant merit.

TRIVIA: There's a tragic slant to the casting of James Murray as Johnny Sims. Murray had been working as a film extra for several years and had just about given up hope of ever 'making it' in Hollywood when Vidor noticed him and cast him as the lead in his film. After this taste of stardom Murray found it hard to capitalise on his success, and less than five years later he was reduced to begging on the street. One day, in 1934, he unwittingly begged money off a man that turned out to be King Vidor. The director offered him a role in his latest film, but Murray recognised it as an act of pity and turned it down! In 1936 he fell off a bridge and drowned... it was impossible to tell if it was suicide or an accident, owing to his alcoholism.

DIRECTOR: King Vidor
WRITER/SOURCE: King Vidor and John V. A. Weaver.
KEY ACTORS: James Murray, Eleanor Boardman, Bert Roach, Dell Henderson

RELATED TEXTS:
- Other early films that deal with concerns relating to the increasingly urbanised modern lifestyle: Rich and Strange, Modern Times, City Lights and Tokyo Chorus (a Japanese film directly influenced by The Crowd.
- King Vidor was mainly inspired by the German director F. W. Murnau, famous for the films Sunrise and The Last Laugh.
- Vidor explored similar themes in The Big Parade and Our Daily Bread.

AWARDS
Academy Awards - nominated for Best Film and Best Director.