The Wind (1928).

Review #1327: The Wind.

Cast: 
Lillian Gish (Letty Mason), Lars Hanson (Lige Hightower), Montagu Love (Wirt Roddy), Dorothy Cumming (Cora), Edward Earle (Beverly), and William Orlamond (Sourdough) Directed by Victor Sjöström.

Review: 
For the year of 1928, change was imminent for film. Lights of New York, the first all-talking full length feature was released in July of that year (released through Warner Bros with the Vitaphone system, improving from their previous efforts). Sprinkled within the top grossing film list were mixes of silent and sound (or at least part-sound) films, such as The Singing Fool (the follow-up part-talkie musical by Warner Bros with Al Jolson) or The Circus (one of numerous Charlie Chaplin films that highlighted the decade) and so forth. The actors of yesteryear would either transition into the burgeoning era of voice or would find themselves doing other avenues of work besides film. Lillian Gish was a key pioneer as an actress for the silent era, who had transitioned from stage acting in the early 20th century to appearing films by 1912, with her highlights primarily being her work from D. W. Griffith, which I've noted before with Way Down East (1920). The rise of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1924 led to Gish signing and starring in films with them, with this being the last of the three made with the studio. This was the last of the three films she made for MGM (along with her last silent role), which was not a huge success upon release, having been delayed a year before release. This was the penultimate American film directed by Victor Sjöström, who was noted for work in his native country of Sweden in the decade with films such as The Phantom Carriage (1921) before moving on to sign with Louis B. Mayer to direct in 1924 with Name the Man, and he and Gish had collaborated on The Scarlet Letter two years earlier. Gish went back to theater acting in the following decade, although she would appear in films from time to time until her death at 99 in 1993, while Sjöström directed four more films (his last being in 1937) and returned to acting in the theater and in film, with his last performance before his death in 1960 being Ingmar Bergman's Wild Strawberries (1957).

This film was an adaptation of the 1925 novel of the same name by Dorothy Scarborough, which depicted a lonely small town Texan life in the 1880s, ending with the main character being driven mad by the corpse of the man she killed (after being raped) being uncovered by the wind that leads her to wander into a windstorm. The ending for the film was notably different from the book in that it was a happy one - although it has been said that it was imposed onto the film over a filmed "sad" ending, this does not seem the case. Gish and Sjöström were not fans of doing this ending, but the sensibilities of a public wanting something happy to close their viewing experience in the 1920s wins out, I suppose. It doesn't harm the film as a complete whole, mostly because it is compels attention for 78 minutes without hesitation, a drama of suffering in the elements that resonates without needless extravagance or maudlin sentiment. The film was primarily made in the Mojave Desert (with over 90 degree temperatures), with eight airplanes being used to help simulate wind (no points for wondering how bad conditions must've been for crew having to deal with all that air and sand). Gish is at her finest form here, displaying fragility and depth with a steely soul that urges to persist on and confront her fate like poetry with grace, whether when having to handle the harsh conditions of a small windy town (which can seem quite literal at times) or some of the people that come from it. Hanson (a Swedish actor who had his career turn to Hollywood with a few successes) does fine with Gish, having a reasonable screen presence when needed. The rest of the cast do well with their parts when needed, whether villainous with Love or comedy relief with Orlamond. The film is an engaging one, wracked with chills that make for quite a moody piece to view for the curious at heart. It is one with plenty of entertainment through its direction, acting, and effects that make it a welcome gem for the silent era and film viewers.

Next Time: 1928 strikes again with In Old Arizona.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.