Directed by Fred Niblo
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)
Superb story of innocent lovers in rural France, who run away to the big city after his father forbids their marriage. Arriving at the train station, Jean (Ramon Novarro) goes to look for a place to get married, leaving Marise (Enid Bennett, the director's wife) alone. He is picked up outside the station by the police, accused by his father of a theft he did not commit. Marise waits, and waits, but by the time Jean escapes from the police and returns she is gone. Years pass and the two lovers are corrupted by poverty and life in the city. Jean never gives up hope of finding her, and eventually they meet by chance. She lives in a one room apartment, drinks and picks up men, he is a professional crook, hunted by the police. She sacrifices herself for his escape and ends up in the hospital, while he ends up in prison. They meet once more, years later. Bristling with real emotion, sentimental but never melodramatic, one of those rare silents that has the power to completely draw you into its world without any dialogue. The modern soundtrack by Scott Salinas adds greatly to the power of the film.
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