Sunrise (1927)
Grade: 44
"Sunrise" is about a farmer and his young wife, and their relationship. He has been neglecting the farm as of late, instead cheating on his sweet, childlife with an evil, chain-smoking seductress, who not only tells him to kill his wife, but has worked out the plan. He is to take her rowing on the lake, then, when no one is around, push her out. (Montgomery Clift must have seen this movie, for he would later pull the same stunt in "A Place In The Sun".)
While the farmer loves his wicked girlfriend, he is racked with guilt about what he is doing to his trusting wife. Standing over her menacingly in the boat, she is terrified and pleas for her life. He can't go through with it. Upon reaching shore (they are across the lake, in the big city) she runs from him. There are several scenes of him caressing and reassuring her. One wonders what the Mystery Science team would be wise-cracking.
They attend a wedding, and as he hears them taking the vows, he acts so guilty and contrite that she forgives him. They have a romantic kiss in the middle of the street, their tender moment not appreciated by the 1920s street traffic. Since the movie isn't particularly good, it is fun to check out Hollywood's depiction of 1920s transportation. There are trains, trolleys, a double-decker bus, and horse-drawn carriages. Surprisingly, the roller coaster looks much like it does today.
The farmer is getting a shave, just like in the old western movies. The wife admires from a distant seat, when some rascal sits next to her and shows great disrespect. When the farmer's shave is finished (he has his priorities) he rescues his wife and pulls a knife on the cad, demonstrating that is okay to threaten someone's life as long as you are only just giving them a good scare.
Our couple has their photo taken, and we can admire the enormous vintage camera. While in the studio, the two act goofy and break a ceramic statue behind the photographer's back. The head has been knocked off, so the farmer replaces it with a golf ball decorated with a smiley face.
Next, they go to the carnival. The farmer proves expert at a carny game of throwing balls. This somehow results in a baby pig running loose into the dance hall, then into the kitchen, much to the surprise of a waiter sneaking a drink. He drops the bottle, apparently never having seen a small pig before. The pig reluctantly drinks the spilt liquor, apparently the best take the director can come up with.
The couple go dancing. Since this is a movie, as soon as they begin, all the other couples stop and applaud, as if they had never seen anything so amazing. But the bill must still be paid.
The reconciled couple row the boat home. Bad luck has it that a wicked storm arises, eventually capsizing the boat. They are separated. The husband makes it to shore (now back in the hinterlands) and calls for his wife, rallying the countryside. Dozens of men in boats with candles suddenly show up, looking for the wife who was last seen clinging to a bundle of reeds. Some random reeds are shown floating, and the poor farmer is devastated.
Meanwhile, the evil brunette has been waiting all this time for her sap to return without the wife. She meets him, and he throttles her, much to the cheers of the audience. Lucky for her, he is called away from his act of assault and battery by cries that they have found his wife, who is safe after all.
http://members.tripod.com/~Brian_Koller/movies.html
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