Lucky Star

How a broken man changed a dirty kid in a real splendid woman, and how in return his growing Love gave him the strength to fight and and practice his legs until the miracle. Again and again unBorzage's masterpiece and the adorable lovebirds of th 20's Janet and Charles. A memorable spanking who probably maked laugh them for years ♥

It is hard to resist a film with such a lovely title or a premise that immediately resonated with me. Janet Gaynor was an immensely talented actress, her Best Actress Oscar win for more than one role for that year being proof that year (this was ground-breaking too, being the first ever recipient for the award and being the only one to get it for more than one role in the same year). Frank Borzage was always a sensitive director with some of his best directing coming from his three collaborations with Gaynor and Charles Farrell. 'Lucky Star' is the third and last of those film collaborations, the others being 1927's '7th Heaven' and 1928's 'Street Angel'. Of the three, 'Lucky Star' is my personal favourite due to being the one to connect with me the most emotionally. It is one of Borzage's best and most relatable films and one of the finest examples of showing what his strengths were as a director. Gaynor is as just as she was in the three films that gave her her Oscar and it is a shame that Farrell didn't become a bigger star after his collaborations with Gaynor and Borzage. First and foremost, 'Lucky Star' looks wonderful. Borzage began developing a lush romantic style in the lead up to '7th Heaven', 'Street Angel' and 'Lucky Star' and had fully done so when it came to those films. The photography is lush and often dazzles, making the sets and costumes even more beautifully elegant than they already are. Borzage directs typically sensitively and intelligently, not allowing the film to become too lightweight or too heavy. Moreover, 'Lucky Star' has a lot of sensitivity and subtlety in the writing too. The story has moments of real charm, the chemistry between Gaynor and Farrell is irresistibly charming and affecting with some truly lovely little things between them (well actually 'Lucky Star' is full of those little things). It is also incredibly moving to me, Borzage specialised in the sort of films where the characters had to go through and overcome great adversity and how he portrayed love through those trials. 'Lucky Star' is one of those films, being disabled myself the story was very relatable to me. As were the characters, ones that were interesting and easy to get behind every step of the way. Gaynor is expectedly marvellous in a deeply felt performance that is as good as the performances that got her deserved awards attention. It is a shame that Farrell didn't become a bigger star, judging from his restrained and equally poignant performance that is perhaps the best one of his three collaborations with Gaynor and Borzage. The rest of the cast are all fine if not quite in the same league as Gaynor and Farrell, both of whom doing amazingly at telling so much through their eyes and faces. Overall, absolutely wonderful. 10/10

The third Gaynor-Farrell picture I have watched, and quality-wise it sits somewhere in the middle between '7th Heaven' and 'Street Angel', though perhaps closer to '7th Heaven'. 'Lucky Star' is a sensitively directed, well-acted and amazingly photographed love story. Janet Gaynor develops from a prickly, lying and cheating brat to a beautiful young woman - she changes fundamentally, but in a way that convinces the viewer. The other characters stay largely the same. Charles Farrell is the nice guy, and that he does not drown in self-pity after having lost the use of his legs makes him likeable. His antagonist, Guinn Williams, is the more interesting person. He plays really well - I found his mix of bonhomie, lying and threatening quite fascinating. What makes 'Lucky Star' a little less good than '7th Heaven' is the ending. After having spent months in a wheelchair, Farrell regains the use of his legs basically within an afternoon. All of a sudden, he is able to walk quite a distance through deep snow. Seriously. With a better ending I would have rated the film 8 stars; as it is, it gets 7. But it is still a very good picture.

The story is indeed hackneyed, and the title cards ("it's gran", "Baa- Baa") are a minus, but this is a simple little romance back when sentiment and honest emotions were allowed to be expressed, instead of drowned in cynicism as they often are in today's films. Janet Gaynor was the bigger star, but Charles Farrell is the heart and soul of this film and he gives a moving performance. He never allows Tim to be an object of pity even when the script presents him as one. He expresses his emotions on such a pure level. There's a scene where Tim hugs Mary ("Baa Baa") and as she clings to him, we see expressed on his face the full, startling realization of how much he loves her. It is a gorgeous performance and one which, if you see the film, I don't think you will forget.

Finally,a film in which Charles Farrell holds his own against frequent co-star Janet Gaynor. He plays a paralyzed WWI veteran who befriends a poor, ignorant, prevaricating farm girl, and a la Pygmalion, transforms her into a proper, truthful, dutiful young lady. He begins to fall in love with her, and eventually she begins to return his affection. Guinn Williams plays an evil menace, a man with no redeeming qualities, much removed from his later portrayals as either a comedic buffoon or an unthinking henchman. The scene where Farrell tries to walk with crutches for the first time is quite heartrending. Unfortunately, the realism is somewhat lost in the last 15 min. when Farrell makes a rapid and almost miraculous recovery from his paralysis in an effort save Gaynor from "a fate worse than death".

Another silent movie by Borzage and another winner ,with or without a lucky star!Frank Borzage is the poet of compassion ,of simple happiness, of the bright side of the human soul.Borzage's heroes ("seventh heaven" " street angel" "little man what now?" ) have got to fight against a hostile world .They have to give all they've got: Charles Farrell crawling in the snow would find an exact equivalent in the yet-to-come "the river " when Rosalee warms the lumberjack's naked body with her own body. Timothy ,confined to a wheelchair ,has everybody against his : the mother who dreams of a rich wedding for her daughter and the buck who seduces all the girls around.Like the other Borzagesque heroes ,he never gives up,ready to sacrifice everything if the girl he loves (Janet Gaynor) finds true happiness.

If someone wants to understand what happened between the end of the silent period and the beginning of sound, to experience an immersion in the sort of lyrical romance that people responded to at the time, there are few better films than Lucky Star. Both of the featured players, Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell had already established themselves as audience favorites in films from Seventh Heaven on, and this simple tale of a crippled soldier finding love with a rustic local girl allowed both of them to give rich, likable performances without gross exaggeration or hysteria. For contemporary moviegoers, accustomed to multiple layers of irony and a cynical take on romance between a man and a woman, this film may be laughable, but for those willing to transport themselves to another world (which is what film can do so well!) director Frank Borzage's magical, shadowy, soft-focus rustic never-never land creates a sweet, idyllic romance

Lucky Star begins in a small town and focuses on a small tomboy (Janet Gaynor). She spends her time carting various goods around town to make money for her family and brings some milk to a work site for sale. There she causes trouble between two of the men, one named Martin who believes she tried to cheat him out of his money (Guinn Williams) and the other, Tim, who defends her innocence (Charles Farrell). Suddenly, the quaint sentiment is broken by the announcement of WWI and then scatter off to enlist. A few years later, we see the town after the war. Tim has lost the ability to use his legs and is confined to a wheelchair. Martin is a man about town who uses his stint in the war for his own personal gain. The tomboy is a bit older now, but still as mischievous as before. She befriends Tim, who by this time is very lonely, and the two form a strong bond. However, Martin sees how beautiful the girl has become and goes about wooing her mother for her hand in marriage. A heartfelt movie with a great cast, Lucky Star is one of those movies that should be released on DVD. It is talked about often among cinephiles but is rarely seen. The copy I saw was a terrible print with an ill-fitting soundtrack; if it was good in spite of those things, just think of how wonderful it could be with a clear print and a great soundtrack! Unfortunately, most of Frank Borzage's beautiful cinematography was lost in the haze of the damaged print, but it was no doubt an asset to the film. The outdoor scenes show a picturesque town with almost fantastical homes. It adds to the charm of the love story.

Lucky Star (1929) *** (out of 4) Entertaining silent drama has Timothy (Charles Farrell) and poor farm girl Mary (Janet Gaynor) meeting under bad circumstances before the start of WWI. After the war Timothy returns home as a cripple and soon he and Mary strike up a strong friendship, which doesn't sit too well with people in town or Mary's mother due to their prejudice against him being cripple. LUCKY STAR should have been a complete disaster but director Frank Borzage and the two stars do a remarkable job at building up the drama and there's no question that the message really packs a punch. The film is incredibly dark and this is especially true when it comes to the message of how people were pretty much throwing cripples into a lonely shack and forgetting about them. The message of this not being right is certainly well told here and especially because there's no melodrama preaching but instead it's perfectly built into the story. I was really surprised to see how dark this part of the story was told and it's pretty darn grim. Some of the best moments in the film deal with the blossoming relationship between the two stars. They made several films together and it's easy to see why because their chemistry just jumps right off the screen. The romance here is quite good and manages to keep a smile on your face throughout. Gaynor, as you'd expect, has no trouble playing the charming farm girl and Farrell is just as great and especially during his more dramatic scenes dealing with not being able to walk. Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams is excellent as the rival for Gaynor's attention and Hedwiga Reicher makes for a great villain as her mother. The ending is incredibly far-fetched but it's so perfectly executed that you can't help but get caught up in the drama.

Lucky Star is a lovely film. It's good to have a contrast, I ended up watching ten minutes of the Fantastic Four before this film. So after that incredible dross, the Borzage was a double-barrelled blast of wonder to the face. It's a very simple movie story-wise. We start off looking at a farm very early in the morning, still dark, it's awesomely Gothic, probably a set because it's so perfect, but you can't tell. You got these windy lanes and crooked fenceposts and creepy trees. Mary (Janet Gaynor) a dirty and chiselling but winsome little ragamuffin lives on the farm with her Ma and some littl'uns, Pa ain't around. She's milking the cow, probably at five in the morning, when the house is getting up. You can tell that life is pretty hard. It's about 2 minutes of cinema that's more precious than a dozen movies. Anyway there's these two men Wrenn and Tim. Wrenn is a lazy good-fer-nuthin who is the foreman of the telegraph gang. Tim is the one he always gets to do the hard work. World War One comes and these guys decide to get a load of the world and pack off to France. Anyway we're shown in no uncertain terms during this episode how Tim is a nice guy and Wrenn, well he ain't. Private Tim ends up in a wheelchair when he gets back, on account of Sergeant Wrenn. Mary is a grown up now, and Tim and Wrenn are vying for her affections. Wrenn has got the head start because he's a blackguard and he's not crippled. So it's a love story. It all seems real simple, but the nuance is what it's all about, the exquisite lighting and camera-work, the great partnership between Gaynor (Mary) and Farrell (Tim), and the heart-rending final scenes. It's simply a charming innocent movie, that there's no way could be made any more. Tim has to undergo a harrowing struggle in order to get the girl. The snow scenes towards the end have to be seen to be believed.