Street Angel

source: Street Angel

In 1928 Fox tried the impossible, they wanted to make a film that echoed the prestige of "Sunrise" with the commercial success of "Seventh Heaven" and they almost pulled it off with "Street Angel". The film reunited Janet Gaynor with her "Seventh Heaven" co-star Charles Farrell and it was a huge success. Fox, more than any other studio, embraced the expressionism of the German UFA studios and for the first 15 minutes of "Street Angel" there was a concentration of ten years of the best German techniques - fantastic sets, symbolic and geometric grouping of people, a mobile camera and amazing lighting. It was almost impossible to maintain that high artistic level but it did return for the closing reel. In between the story was rambling but it was saved by the freshness and enthusiasm of it's two stars. With the constant musical love theme, "Angela Mia", played continuously throughout the movie, the story is set in Naples, as Angela (sweet Janet Gaynor), desperate for money for medicine for her ailing mother, tries her hand at soliciting - she has seen how easy it is for other girls but men just don't seem interested in her. In desperation she steals, for which she is bought before a magistrate and sent to the local workhouse for a year. She escapes and a chase through almost surrealistic streets sees her helped by a traveling carnival. One day she meets handsome Gino (Charles Farrell), he is a painter and his funny antics are drawing the crowds away from the circus!!! It is love at first sight - for Gino!! Angela hates men and says she will never love - silly Angela!! Being in a circus is a nice change of pace for Janet who gets to wear lots of spangley tutus and to show off her fetching figure, but all too soon the light hearted days are over. Angela falls off a pair of stilts, breaks her ankle and Gino takes her to Naples to seek medical assistance. They settle down to a blissful yet poor existense, always one step ahead of being evicted but a local gendarme observes Angela and tries to remember.... The last part of the movie returns to the moody and atmospheric seediness of the film's beginning. Angela is taken back to the workhouse but is happy because she is convinced Gino will do great things. Oddly enough, she doesn't tell Gino where she is going, only requesting the policeman to let her have an hour with Gino who is celebrating his Mural commission!!! But Gino is not doing well, he is suffering depression, has lost his job and is drifting into the life of a barfly. The last ten minutes or so are magnificently stylized as Gino wanders along the waterfront looking for a girl to paint - one with the face of an angel whose soul he can show as being as black as night. Of course he finds his Angela and within a few moments all his dark thoughts are dispersed as they embrace at a church altar. Even though the story bordered on pretentious Frank Borzage showed why he was the master of romance in Hollywood.

This one has the strengths and weaknesses of the late silent films. It is not as good as 'Sunrise,' but it has some wonderful b/w deep field shots, with a distant town down a mountainside and a busy harbor for a background. Also -- some fine Monet-like fogbound portside shots with the characters walking in silhouette toward each other. Some of the scenes are too long and too sentimental -- to show off Janet Gaynor's skill at pathos, and the theme music and whistling is badly overused. But the portrait, which becomes "Madonnaized" as an old master does capture Gaynor's pure character. It is taken from the lovers as her purity is (for the time being) stolen from her, but then in the final scene the image and reality are reunited. In a sense the Madonna blesses the two reunited lovers. That's well done and is reminiscent of the use of portraits in Poe's "Oval Portrait" and Wilde's "Picture of Doran Grey." I wonder how the young artist realized that it was his picture or, if he did, registered no surprise at finding it over the altar of a church. But the use of the picture as a kind of psychic energy was carried through nicely.

Street Angel (1928) What a great surprise! Just as sound was all the talk and all the necessity of Hollywood, and just as Fox Studios has released a quasi-sound masterpiece in the fall of 1927 called "Sunrise," a few months later comes "Street Angel" continuing in a silent mode from Fox's great director Frank Borzage. And it's lively, fast, well acted, and frankly terrific. Janet Gaynor above all, like Lilian Gish in her films, lifts this story through sheer acting and screen presence. She's a live wire and a tender victim, a fun and emotional and interesting person. This comes across without the supposed exaggerations of silent cinema, and is enough to make you forget the silence completely. Her partner in all this, Charles Farrell, is also good, though a bit stiff and pretty like Gary Cooper would be a decade later. Equally terrific is the filming--the photography and editing, and the necessary set design and atmospheric effects (night, fog, great heights, tiny rooms). Photographer Ernest Palmer had already made a slew of films at Fox and was at the top of his game, and he had just worked with Borzage (and Gaynor and Farrell) in the equally well made "7th Heaven" the year before. It's beautiful, glowing, subtle stuff. The plot? More interesting that you'd expect at first, and more complex, though with a strand of inevitable sweetness, too. The title refers to a prostitute, and streetwalking girls are a recurring part of the film, from the fringes. The place is Italy in the 1920s, and Gaynor plays Angela who turns to the street to try to get enough money to save her mother's life. Things quickly spin out of control from there, with jail and a small time circus and a life of impoverishment in Naples for our two leads. Temporarily. Farrell plays a painter with some talent but imperfect ambition and no business sense, so promise turns to heartache. And then things shift again. If there is anything constant in this movie it is the good inner souls of the main characters, and so you suspect they will at least have a chance of surviving the hardship that seems to never quite be their own fault. I'm sure most of the audience identified with that then, just as I could now. The scenes are really dramatic, the interactions between the actors completely fresh and honest, and the photography fluid and modern. Yes, it's a sentimental "old" movie, still, of course, but with so much going on so well, you'll be glad.

It's a moody and often expressionistic film like Gaynor's "Sunrise" (1927)...which I consider far superior in technique and story. Two things I find VERY DISTURBING about "Street Angel" --(1) She asks the cop for 'one little hour' with her fiancé' before going to jail, but she went to jail right after her mom died without burying her or explaining to the cops or the judge. (2) She does not explain to her fiancé' why she's going away and, after she gets out, does not try and explain either. For this reason, I do not find Gaynor's character very appealing or sympathetic at all. She's definitely no "angel" in this movie. I feel sorry for the painter guy. The film's only redeeming qualities are the scenes inside their apartment which are tenderly and exquisite.

Another pairing of Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell that could have been right out of Puccini. Farrell is not as his best as an improbably naive itinerant painter. Gaynor comes off somewhat better as a circus performer with an illicit past, who initially rejects all men and love, but then predictably falls in love with the painter's idealism and optimism. The sets are wonderful, also operatic in atmosphere, especially in the street scenes. There is an excruciatingly long goodbye scene where, unbeknownst to Farrell, Gaynor must leave him to pay her debt to society. Yet the movie could have been saved if it ended with the melodramatic scene with Farrell, finally learning the truth, choking Gaynor in a side altar of a church, under the picture of her he had painted previously. The Madonna symbolism is pretty obvious. Unfortunately, in literally the last five minutes, a happy ending destroys the entire spirit of the movie.

There is a lot to like about "Street Angel" but unfortunately the ending is so sentimental and schmaltzy that I definitely consider it a lesser film for Janet Gaynor. Now 1927-1928 was an amazing time for Gaynor--she was the top actress in Hollywood--having received an Oscar for Best Actress. Oddly, in those days you could receive an Oscar for a collection of performances that year. Gaynor was being honored for "Sunrise", "Seventh Heaven" and "Street Angel"--and the least of these, clearly, is "Street Angel". While it also features amazing cinematography that makes Gaynor seem luminous, it just doesn't rise to the same level as the other two films. Worth seeing? Sure...just understand that the end will probably frustrate you. The film, in many ways, is like a reworking of "Les Misérables" and combining it with a romance. The film begins with dirt-poor Gaynor in a dilemma--her mother will die unless she gets her medicine. However, because they have no money, Gaynor must either let the old lady die or somehow earn some money...fast. When she sees prostitutes walking the streets outside their apartment, she decides to give it a try. But, she looks so innocent and non-sexy that no one is interested. Finally, in desperation, she steals a few coins. She is caught and sentenced to a year in jail for prostitution (though there were no takers) and theft. She manages to rather easily escape and establishes a new life with a swell fellow (her perennial co-star Charles Farrell). But, she's afraid to tell this bohemian artist about her arrest, as he envisions her as the essence of purity. For a while, things are great but eventually the law catches up to her and she is imprisoned. Farrell decides she isn't the woman he thought she was and starts up life without her. So far all this is quite moving and exceptional. How all this eventually ends is sweet but very, very heavy-handed and silly. This is odd since the film in some ways is very open in discussing prostitution and is a rather adult film--making it seem very modern. But, at the same time, the ending is so corny and old fashioned it seems like a bizarre blend of the old and the new. Worth seeing, of course, but NOT until you've seen "Sunrise" and "Seventh Heaven". By the way, the version I saw on DVD was not from the Fox box set (which tends to have excellent prints) but from a minor distributor. As a result, the print was occasionally rough and could have used further restoration.

In Naples, the young Angela (Janet Gaynor) needs 20 Lira to buy medicine for her terminal mother. She sees the prostitutes on the street and she decides to sell her body to earn the money. She does not succeed and tries to steal money from a customer of a street vendor. Angela is arrested and sentenced to one year in prison but she escapes and finds her mother dead. While chased by the policemen, she is hidden by Mascetto (Henry Armetta), who owns a traveling circus, and she works with his team. Angela meets the painter Gino (Charles Farrell) and they fall in love with each other. When Angela breaks her ankle in a fall, she returns to Naples with Gino that grows as painter and is hired to paint a mural in the church. Gino proposes to marry Angela but a policeman recognizes Angela and gives one hour to her to say goodbye to Gino. Angela does not tell him about her past and vanishes from his life. One year later, Angela is released and she immediately goes to see the mural painted by her beloved Gino. However she sees the name of Roberti instead and she learns that Gino had been fired. Now the starving Angela wanders on the harbor. Meanwhile a prostitute tells to Gino that his love is a "street angel" and he decides to paint again, not the face, but the soul of prostitutes and seeks a model on the harbor. When they stumble on each other, Gino sees her soul through her eyes and they stay together. "Street Angel" is silent movie with a wonderful melodramatic romance and magnificent performance of Janet Gaynor, the first winner of an Oscar in the Best Actress in a Leading Role category for her work in "7th Heaven", "Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans" and "Street Angel". The camera work is amazing for a 1928 movie and the introduction is impressive with a long 360 degrees shot. The cinematography is also stunning and this movie deserved to be restored. My vote is nine. Title (Brazil): "Anjo da Rua" ("Street Angel")

Monday January 29, 7pm, The Paramount, Seattle "Love is like the measles. When it comes, you cannot stop it." A Neapolitan orphan girl joins the circus to escape prison and falls in love with a vagabond painter. Always fearful of discovery, Angela (Janet Gaynor) hides her secret from Gino (Charles Farrell) until it is too late. The second of eight features starring Gaynor and Farrell, Street Angel (1928) had the impossible task of repeating their success in 7th Heaven (1927). Despite this insurmountable expectation, Street Angel reveals the considerable influence of F. W. Murnau on Fox Film Corporation and director Frank Borzage. Nominated for the first Academy Awards in art direction (Harry Oliver) and cinematography (Ernest Palmer), Street Angel won best actress, combined with Gaynor's performances in Sunrise (1927) and 7th Heaven. Released with an overwrought Movietone musical score, as with 7th Heaven, Street Angel relies on similar themes of poverty and romance but succeeds most capably in the first three reels with a lovely portrayal of circus life.

As much as I love silent cinema and can usually enter into the spirit of the emotions and story telling techniques of the 20's, this film left me sorely disappointed. SEVERAL SPOILERS The first half hour was rather grim and quite promising, as the waif like character played by Gaynor tried everything she could to save her mother, including a half hearted attempt at soliciting and a little thievery. All to no avail, and worse still she get's caught and arrested. These scenes are handled in an atmospheric and brooding way, with excellent photography and a good synchronised score. She escapes from prison, and goes to the circus where for a short time she's successful. She meets and falls for Charles Farrell, a performer in a rival troupe and all is well until one day the prefect of police and the man who arrested her happen to pass by as she is performing her trapeze act. In fright she falls and is too badly hurt to continue performing. Unable to continue in the circus she and Farrell sail across the river and set up a platonic home in town, where she must fear that arrest could come suddenly. She keeps the secret of her criminal past from Farrell for fear that he will dessert her. Up to the point they leave the circus I really enjoyed this film, Gaynor and Farrell were appealing and the sequence where he rows her across the river to safety is beautiful done, but once they set up home the film degenerated into an unbearably slow and mawkish romance, and Janet's child like (or in this case just childish) persona began to grate badly. For one thing, these two relatively adult looking people were living together in a situation so chaste it was laughable. Why they couldn't just make up their minds to be a couple was beyond me, although this undoubtedly points to the standards of the time. I can see the film is aiming for a fairy tale feel - and presumably for audiences in '28 it achieved it, but for me the result was quite different. But more importantly the sense of drama that drove the first half hour is completely dissipated by these over-long and meandering scenes. Another thing that really wore me down was the repeated motif of the film where the two would whistle sweetly to each other. The first time it was cute but after about the eighth time I wanted to strangle them. After what seemed like an eternity of this bland pair's simplistic billing and cooing I was actually pleased when the law caught up with her and she was hurled back in jail. At least they wouldn't whistle that damned tune again. But oh no, now they do it in a split screen effect. aaaargh I'm tearing my hair out!!! The last 10 minutes or so actually improved as there was a very real possibility that now Farrell knew her sinful past, he might well kill her. However by this time, the film had killed my interest and I really didn't care anymore. Maybe some day I'll see it again and feel differently, who knows. If I do you can be sure I'll review it here.