Street Angel (1928)
Directed by: Frank Borzage
Starring: Janet Gaynor, Charles Farroll, Guido Trento
Length: 102 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Based on: "Christilinda", a novel by Monckton Hoffe
1927-1298 Best Actress in a Lead Role - Janet Gaynor (for body of work)
Angela (Janet Gaynor) is a poor girl trying to take care of her mother. She goes so far to as attempt to become a prostitute and thief, but she is caught and sent to prison for 1 year. With the help of some circus folk, she escapes. She spend her time with the traveling circus until she falls in love with a painter, Gino (Charles Farroll).
They leave the circus so that Gino can attempt to become a well known painter, but they go to Naples, the city that Angela fled from. She does not tell Gino of her past, even when it catches up to her when a police officer, Neri (Guido Trento) recognizes her and sends her to a workhouse to serve her jail time. Gino is led to believe that Angela simply left him. She did not want him to know about her past.
Another so-so movie. It was really a rehash of a plot I've seen many times already. A typical "dirty secret" romance. Gaynor's performance is really the main reason to see this movie, and she is very convincing in her acting. I have yet to see an actress be able to show sadness or fear (and sometimes, both at the same time) as well as she did in Street Angel and in Sunrise. In fact, I'm having a hard time trying to think of an actress that has been able to act with her eyes as well as she did. Charles Farroll also did a good job in his role, but it's hard to stand out when next to Janet Gaynor.
Thankfully, Gaynor is one of the stars that successfully made the transition from silent to sound. She continued to act through the 30s, starring in several more movies with Charles Farroll.
My Rating: 6/10