The Crowd (film)

• Release Date: 1928
• Director(s): King Vidor
• Writer(s): King Vidor ; John V. A. Weaver
• Principal Actors and Roles: Eleanor Boardman (Mary Sims); James Murray (John Sims); Bert Roach (Bert)

The Crowd is a classic silent film that is an unconventional, realistic look at the life of ordinary Americans and tells the story of John Sims, an average man, who struggles to make it in New York City and in his marriage to his wife, Mary.

Director King Vidor had made many successful films in the 1920s for MGM, especially the 1925 film The Big Parade and for this reason Vidor had gained the trust and respect of executives at the film studio, especially Irving Thalberg. Despite doubts that the film would be a financial success for the studio, Thalberg green lighted the project because Vidor had proved himself to be a valuable director. For the lead roles of John and Mary Sims, Vidor chose to cast unknown actors to make their struggles more believable: James Murray, who played the lead role of John, was previously a film extra, and Eleanor Boardman, Mary, was married to Vidor.

Although the film was not a huge success at the box office, it has been critically acclaimed and is considered one of the great lasting silent films.

Plot

The Crowd centers on John Sims, a young American man with dreams of big success. As a child, John was encouraged by his supportive father, but was forced to take his aspirations into his owns hands when his father died early. At age twenty-one, John ventures to New York City hopeful that the big city will see his dreams come to fruition. On the boat ride over, John’s optimism is given heed by a fellow passenger, who warns him that he will have to work hard to rise above the crowd.

John begins work at the Atlas Insurance Company, where he blends into the sea of other office workers who hope to climb the company ladder. He meets Bert, a coworker who encourages John to accompany him to Coney Island for a double date with his girlfriend and her friend, Mary. On the date, John has such a good time and is smitten with Mary, prompting him to propose to her at the end of the first date. Mary accepts John’s proposal and the pair honeymoon at Niagara Falls.

On Christmas Eve, John and Mary’s relationship faces new struggles, when at a dinner with Mary’s mother and two hostile brothers, tensions cause John to leave. He visits Bert to find a party in progress, stays late into the night, and drinks to excess, leaving Mary at home. A few months later, things between John and Mary have gotten worse and Mary threatens to leave, but decides to stay upon finding out that she is pregnant with their first child. Over the next few years, Mary and John have a son and a daughter, but John has barely progressed at work and Mary, who has grown tired of John’s empty promises of a better life, gives John a hard time. John enters an advertising slogan contest and wins the grand prize of $500, and buys gifts for his family to celebrate. Mary and John call their children who are across the street playing, but their daughter is run over by a car while crossing the road and dies.

John is beside himself over the death of his daughter, and finds that he cannot focus at work, and quits without telling Mary. John tries to find new work, but cannot stay employed for very long. Eventually, things get so bad that Mary’s brothers offer John a job, but he turns it down because it insults his pride. Mary has reached the end of her patience and slaps John, who leaves on a walk to clear his head. He considers committing suicide, but changes his mind when his son, who loves him very much, accompanies him on the walk. John and his son return to the house to find Mary about to leave him with her brothers, but she eventually changes her mind and stays.

Significance

The Crowd was released right at the beginning of the Great Depression, a time when audiences attending the cinema wished to see films that would distract them from the harshness of reality. Quite the opposite of these films and most other Hollywood films that made attempts to glamorize and fictionalize the experiences of everyday life, The Crowd was considered experimental for its time and a commentary on society. To add to the film’s authenticity, director King Vidor used hidden cameras to shoot on location scenes around New York City, capturing real moments instead of employing film extras.

One of the heads of MGM, Louis B. Mayer, was especially opposed to the dark, non-formulaic nature of Vidor’s film, and did not like the gloomy storyline, taking particular issue with the fact that the film did not have a traditional happy ending. Mayer reportedly delayed the release of The Crowd for a year, forcing Vidor to shoot seven alternate endings that would give audiences a more optimistic feeling upon leaving the theatre. The studio organized test screenings around the country in various towns to try out the different endings, eventually settling on two. Throughout the process, Vidor maintained that the film’s original ending was correct, and this was the ending that was most often shown in theatres. The studio also provided theatres with an option of a happier ending, which shows the Sims family gathered around a Christmas tree, celebrating John’s new prestigious position at an advertising firm.

Although the film was not a huge financial success, it still grossed more than twice the film’s budget. It was not initially a popular success among moviegoers, but has been consistently heralded for its innovative nature and expert filmmaking. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards when it was released, including a best director nomination for Vidor as well as a nomination for Unique and Artistic Production, but lost out in both categories. The Crowd was one of the first twenty-five films that were selected for preservation in 1989 for the United States National Film Registry. The Library of Congress selected the film, deeming it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Awards and nominations

Nominated

• Academy Award (1927/1928) Best Picture (Unique and Artistic Production)
• Academy Award (1927/1928) Best Director (Dramatic): King Vidor

Bibliography

Fischer, Lucy. American Cinema of the 1920s: Themes and Variations. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 2009. Print.

"The Crowd (1928)." Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Turner Entertainment Networks, 2015. Web. 29 Aug. 2015. <http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/100/The-Crowd/>.

Vidor, King. A Tree Is a Tree. New York: French, 1989. Print.

Vidor, King. King Vidor on Film Making. Philadelphia: McKay, 1972. Print.

Young, Jordan R. King Vidor’s THE CROWD: The Making of a Silent Classic. Orange: Past Times, 2014. Print.