I saw this movie several years ago at the Harvard Film Archives. Apparently, the beginning and end of the movie are extinct, and all that remains is a long romantic sequence involving Farrell & Duncan. We couldn't tell how the romance started, or how it was supposed to end. It was nevertheless quite interesting, with an erotic charge similar to that in Borzage's "Man's Castle".
11 Reviews
"The river, like love, cleanses all things"
ackstasis9 December 2010
I should clarify that 'The River (1929)' today exists only in an incomplete form, with about forty minutes of footage considered lost, including the opening and final acts. Nevertheless, a 2006 reconstruction runs for 55 minutes and fills in narrative gaps with intertitles and promotional stills. Importantly, the surviving footage pretty much depicts in its entirety the romance of Allen John (Charles Farrell) and Rosalee (Mary Duncan), which is the backbone of the story.
I originally heard 'The River' described as the most erotic film of the silent era, so I naturally said to myself, "that piece of information has absolutely no bearing on my interest in this film." In fact, it isn't as described (something like 'Erotikon (1929)' would probably be closer to the mark), though leading actress Mary Duncan certainly does sultry very well. Farrell's traditional co-star was Janet Gaynor, but I can see why the switch was made here. Gaynor was always the epitome of feminine innocence and fragility; this role requires an actress with a hard crust, someone along the lines of Marlene Dietrich.
Most of 'The River' unfolds in an isolated valley, where the construction of a dam has been temporarily postponed. All the workers leave for the winter, except for Rosalee, whose boyfriend has been arrested for murder, and Allen John, who misses the last train because he keeps getting distracted by the womanly presence. The small cast, and confined surroundings, thus breed an element of intimacy (though I can't recall so much as a kiss between the two lovers). Nobody did melodrama like Borzage, and this here is beautifully-shot melodrama.
I originally heard 'The River' described as the most erotic film of the silent era, so I naturally said to myself, "that piece of information has absolutely no bearing on my interest in this film." In fact, it isn't as described (something like 'Erotikon (1929)' would probably be closer to the mark), though leading actress Mary Duncan certainly does sultry very well. Farrell's traditional co-star was Janet Gaynor, but I can see why the switch was made here. Gaynor was always the epitome of feminine innocence and fragility; this role requires an actress with a hard crust, someone along the lines of Marlene Dietrich.
Most of 'The River' unfolds in an isolated valley, where the construction of a dam has been temporarily postponed. All the workers leave for the winter, except for Rosalee, whose boyfriend has been arrested for murder, and Allen John, who misses the last train because he keeps getting distracted by the womanly presence. The small cast, and confined surroundings, thus breed an element of intimacy (though I can't recall so much as a kiss between the two lovers). Nobody did melodrama like Borzage, and this here is beautifully-shot melodrama.
Unusual, Sexually Charged Borzage Film
CitizenCaine9 May 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Frank Borzage was known for directing romantic, sentimental films throughout his career. The River is an usual testosterone-filled romance with boyish Charles Farrell trying to romance woman of the world Mary Duncan. Duncan initially rejects Farrell, but grows more fond of him as time goes by (unwilling to admit it to herself until it's almost too late, literally). In the way of romance is an ex-con named Marsdon. The film has been reconstructed using the script along with stills in key spots where actual footage is lost; will the footage ever be found? Who can say? Farrell plays it rugged and Duncan plays the unusual (for the time) role of leading the romance ahead. Director Borzage uses the motif of firewood to stir the embers of romance. Without the missing scenes, the film possibly becomes more erotic than intended. The regretful Mary Duncan in one scene lies on top of Farrell to transfer her much needed body warmth to him. It's a certain indication that this is a Pre-Hays Code film. **1/2 of 4 stars.
Borzage's lost silent masterpiece(possible spoiler)
Kalaman10 May 2002
Warning: Spoilers
This late silent masterpiece by the romantic director extraordinaire Frank Borzage is regrettably incomplete and lost. All that remains are about 55 minutes of restored footage. Nonetheless, it contains some of most sublime and ineffable images in the history of cinema. The final sequence where Mary Duncan revives Charles Farrel from death is among the pinnacles of silent cinema. It is surreal and perfect. "The River" deserves to be known and appreciated, if only for this incredible sequence. You have to see it to believe it.
Gone forever!
JohnHowardReid8 December 2017
Warning: Spoilers
In addition to "7th Heaven" (1927), Frank Borzage also directed Charles Farrell in the 1929 part-talkie, "The River".
Alas, none of the talking sequences survive. The opening and end reels are also missing, so what we have today is an erotic love story between Farrell and the super-sensuous Mary Duncan (star of "City Girl") in which the noirish elements always threaten to take center stage.
The characters – naïve, weird, self-indulgent, traitorous – are all assembled, the background in all its super-extensive man-made squalor and stark, natural beauty is expertly drawn; but the original idyllic introduction and the power of the climax can now only be assumed.
(The surviving footage is available on a 6/10 Fox DVD as a bonus with "7th Heaven". It's a nice bonus, but it also makes us sad that the rest of the movie is gone forever).
Alas, none of the talking sequences survive. The opening and end reels are also missing, so what we have today is an erotic love story between Farrell and the super-sensuous Mary Duncan (star of "City Girl") in which the noirish elements always threaten to take center stage.
The characters – naïve, weird, self-indulgent, traitorous – are all assembled, the background in all its super-extensive man-made squalor and stark, natural beauty is expertly drawn; but the original idyllic introduction and the power of the climax can now only be assumed.
(The surviving footage is available on a 6/10 Fox DVD as a bonus with "7th Heaven". It's a nice bonus, but it also makes us sad that the rest of the movie is gone forever).
Diary of a seduction
francois-massarelli12 February 2006
Warning: Spoilers
One cannot be satisfied with this film in its current form; reduced to 45 minutes, deprived of the beginning of the plot and of its end, it will always be frustrating until a print resurfaces which might take us through the missing footage. And yet... miraculously, the scenes preserved are (probably, one has to be cautious) the highlights of the films, the moments which Frank Borzage has taken special care to shoot, and probably those which really interested him: the conscious, blatant seduction of Allen John by Rosalee, her resorting to her own sex appeal to convince him to sleep with her(Put your hand on my heart, Allen John); the meeting between a brooding Rosalee and a naked, swimming Allen John, foreshadowing the much-commented-upon climax of the present version: Rosalee saves Allen John from freezing to death by offering him her warmth: she covers his naked body with her(silk-gowned) shapes, and revives him instantly. Funnily, this sequence has always been the basis for fantasy on the part of French historians after George Sadoul, who saw it in 1929, reported that Mary Duncan was naked. Contrary to other classics from Borzage's late 20s Fox period, this does not feature Janet Gaynor, but the duet Farrell/Duncan: hence a more frankly sensual relationship, which the short version emphasizes by actually eliminating all the other aspects of the plot. Borzage uses Duncan very effectively, by stressing the contrast between her experienced personality and the more childish, naive enthusiasm of Charles Farrell's Allen John. The moment when Rosalee welcomes him home in a winter night, only to find him taking a board game and proposing "entertainment", and the ensuing gesture of Rosalee, sweeping of the board with her hand clearly expecting Allen John to invite her to more entertaining situations, could have been plain ridiculous; but the frank gaze of the actress, the way she lets herself go on the bed, and the sudden realization by Farrell of the situation he is in(He trembles, mouth open , eyes fixed on the woman in front of him; What can he do? What is she doing? Farrell is brilliant here.), all make for a very memorable scene. As usual with Frank Borzage, once they have been together for a few days, a man and a woman actually discover how attracted to each other they've grown. The sensual, or sexual tension is part of Borzage's treatment of a love affair, one that goes beyond reason. But here, contrary to Seventh Heaven or A Man's Castle, the woman leads, with authority. Duncan was the antithesis of Gaynor in that matter. So, until we discover more from this film, with or without sound(It was issued as a part-talkie. None of the sound scenes survive.), this almost entirely satisfactory sketch of seduction by the man who gave us Seventh Heaven, Lucky Star or The Mortal storm is worth unlimited, repeated viewing.
Borzage's silent era Romance is unusually seductive, despite the common theories of true love.
SAMTHEBESTEST13 May 2022
The River (1928) :
Brief Review -
Borzage's silent era Romance is unusually seductive, despite the common theories of true love. Aside from all of Borzage's known talkie films, the three silent films I remember or call my favourites are "7th Heaven" (1927), "Street Angel" (1928), and "Lucky Star" (1929), all of which starred the legendary Janet Gaynor. So this is the first silent film by Frank Borzage I saw that didn't have Gaynor. Well, it doesn't matter if I'm looking at a filmography from the director's perspective, but I would have loved to see Janet Gaynor portraying Rosalee in "The River". Wait, would it be too much to ask of Janet? I mean, she would have agreed to do those sexually appealing scenes? No, I guess. So it's better that Mary Duncan did it, someone whom I loved seeing in FW Murnau's "City Girl" (1930). The River is a typical romantic drama. By typical, I mean for its time, not today, but it's a very unusual film for its time. One of the major reasons is the seductive features of the lead pair. Their expressions (no dialogues, of course) make it more appealing because you feel the hype and intensity there. The River is about a young man working at a logging camp beside a turbulent river. When it closes for the winter, he opts to stay for the experience. He meets a woman who was the girlfriend of the boss of the outfit, recently locked up for murder. This worldly lady and the innocent boy find a powerful attraction, but is it that simple for them? You are free to find out the answers in this predictable drama, or you can predict them even before they appear on screen. Nevertheless, it still makes for a good watch. Charles Farrell and Mary Duncan's seductive chemistry makes that sure, while Borzage goes on telling common theories without any big blunders. Overall, there's nothing much to say, but it's a real good watch if you really care about the sex appeal of the early cinema.
RATING - 7/10*
By - #samthebestest.
Borzage's silent era Romance is unusually seductive, despite the common theories of true love. Aside from all of Borzage's known talkie films, the three silent films I remember or call my favourites are "7th Heaven" (1927), "Street Angel" (1928), and "Lucky Star" (1929), all of which starred the legendary Janet Gaynor. So this is the first silent film by Frank Borzage I saw that didn't have Gaynor. Well, it doesn't matter if I'm looking at a filmography from the director's perspective, but I would have loved to see Janet Gaynor portraying Rosalee in "The River". Wait, would it be too much to ask of Janet? I mean, she would have agreed to do those sexually appealing scenes? No, I guess. So it's better that Mary Duncan did it, someone whom I loved seeing in FW Murnau's "City Girl" (1930). The River is a typical romantic drama. By typical, I mean for its time, not today, but it's a very unusual film for its time. One of the major reasons is the seductive features of the lead pair. Their expressions (no dialogues, of course) make it more appealing because you feel the hype and intensity there. The River is about a young man working at a logging camp beside a turbulent river. When it closes for the winter, he opts to stay for the experience. He meets a woman who was the girlfriend of the boss of the outfit, recently locked up for murder. This worldly lady and the innocent boy find a powerful attraction, but is it that simple for them? You are free to find out the answers in this predictable drama, or you can predict them even before they appear on screen. Nevertheless, it still makes for a good watch. Charles Farrell and Mary Duncan's seductive chemistry makes that sure, while Borzage goes on telling common theories without any big blunders. Overall, there's nothing much to say, but it's a real good watch if you really care about the sex appeal of the early cinema.
RATING - 7/10*
By - #samthebestest.
One of many lost silent masterpieces, but at lest you can see it was a masterpiece.
clanciai3 January 2017
This film was a revelation to me of Frank Borzage's true capacities of a very different and more original kind than the later professional films of his that made him world famous, especially the ones with Janet Gaynor. This is a wildly romantic epic of the wilderness in spectacular settings, which in part could have been Frank Borzage's own background and origin. The scenery is fantastic around the river in the mountains with its primitive community, and the story is perfect for that almost surrealistic environment. Charles Farrell is still young here, he hasn't met Janet Gaynor yet, and is the helpless prey of Mary Duncan as an experienced lady with a brutal past without enough sex. Charles fights her temptations, on one occasion he cuts down four trees in succession with just an axe to vent his boiled-up energy and frustration, while she amusedly looks on only the more certain of having him hooked.
It's an amazing film in spite of being mutilated, the beginning and finale are missing, but from the added stills you still get the whole story, which ought to have been a wonder of cinematic art if not among Borzage's very best - who knows, but at least you can hope for that it will turn up somewhere - 80% percent of all American silents were lost, while only a fifth have come down to us - so far.
But what really lifts the film to impressing heights is the tremendous music, pushing on all the way in sustained tension and perfectly matched to the loaded drama, and it was the music that caught my interest in even this mutilated film of poor technical quality. The music is as fascinating as the drama and the film and its romantic settings, and these different elements add to each other to enhance the vitality and volcanic life of the film. Yes, there is some Rimsky-Korsakov in it, but there is nothing wrong with Rimsky-Korsakov, and the mood of his brief interplay is perfectly suited to that particular moment of intimate intriguing intensity, like all the highly dramatic music to all the rest of the film. This would have been a tenner if it had been complete.
It's an amazing film in spite of being mutilated, the beginning and finale are missing, but from the added stills you still get the whole story, which ought to have been a wonder of cinematic art if not among Borzage's very best - who knows, but at least you can hope for that it will turn up somewhere - 80% percent of all American silents were lost, while only a fifth have come down to us - so far.
But what really lifts the film to impressing heights is the tremendous music, pushing on all the way in sustained tension and perfectly matched to the loaded drama, and it was the music that caught my interest in even this mutilated film of poor technical quality. The music is as fascinating as the drama and the film and its romantic settings, and these different elements add to each other to enhance the vitality and volcanic life of the film. Yes, there is some Rimsky-Korsakov in it, but there is nothing wrong with Rimsky-Korsakov, and the mood of his brief interplay is perfectly suited to that particular moment of intimate intriguing intensity, like all the highly dramatic music to all the rest of the film. This would have been a tenner if it had been complete.
Being grateful for what we've got.
mark.waltz18 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Over half an hour of the original is gone, but what restoration experts have come up with and hoe they've filled in the blanks is exceptional work. This visually exciting romantic adventure set in the Rocky Mountains is wonderful in every way, reminding movie lovers that if it hadn't been for the silent era, so many creative ideas would possibly never have been thought of. It also features one of the most alluring screen couples ever on film, gorgeous Mary Duncan, and hunky Charles Farrell whom based on his silent films alone deserves to be named one of the greatest movie heartthrobs of all time.
The camera loves these two, pining over each other among the pines, surrounded by majestic hills, very high train tressles and lots of great logging scenes. They're very playful together which brings some humor to the potentially tragic love story. When they're alone, it's as if no one else exists, and they're the only one the other needs, that is outside Farrell's pet crow. The film has many great moments, and those that don't survive are represented by stills. The direction by Frank Borzage is top notch and this alone should add him to the lists of all time greats. The special effects of the flooding river are sensational. With all the films of this era we'll never get the chance to see, this is one I'll accept as is, because even incomplete, it's a masterpiece.
The camera loves these two, pining over each other among the pines, surrounded by majestic hills, very high train tressles and lots of great logging scenes. They're very playful together which brings some humor to the potentially tragic love story. When they're alone, it's as if no one else exists, and they're the only one the other needs, that is outside Farrell's pet crow. The film has many great moments, and those that don't survive are represented by stills. The direction by Frank Borzage is top notch and this alone should add him to the lists of all time greats. The special effects of the flooding river are sensational. With all the films of this era we'll never get the chance to see, this is one I'll accept as is, because even incomplete, it's a masterpiece.
a few added tidbits
claudecat3 August 2006
The other reviewers have pretty well covered this film, but I would like to add that the Cinémethèque Suisse, along with some other film preservationists, has created a version that reconstructs the plot using the script deposited at UCLA, and still images. Thanks to their hard work, it is now easy to understand the story (though the music they added left something to be desired--"Flight of the Bumblebees" is not appropriate for a seduction scene).
If you've always wanted to see Charles Farrell without his shirt on (and who hasn't?), this is the movie for you. I agree with the other reviewers that the film contains a strong erotic charge. The stunning camera-work and lighting, the world-weary, Dietrichesque beauty of Mary Duncan (intriguingly out of place in the hardscrabble setting), and the always-gorgeous Farrell combine to fashion a moody, seductive world. But most of my fellow audience members were unable to give themselves over to the melodrama, and could only laugh at the plot and complain afterward, which was very annoying to us romantics in the audience.
In addition to Charles and Mary, the remaining footage contains pieces of Ivan Linow's sympathetic portrayal of "a deaf-mute giant". You will also see a trained pet crow with a lot of personality, and a dead bear whose presence is unwittingly tragic.
If you've always wanted to see Charles Farrell without his shirt on (and who hasn't?), this is the movie for you. I agree with the other reviewers that the film contains a strong erotic charge. The stunning camera-work and lighting, the world-weary, Dietrichesque beauty of Mary Duncan (intriguingly out of place in the hardscrabble setting), and the always-gorgeous Farrell combine to fashion a moody, seductive world. But most of my fellow audience members were unable to give themselves over to the melodrama, and could only laugh at the plot and complain afterward, which was very annoying to us romantics in the audience.
In addition to Charles and Mary, the remaining footage contains pieces of Ivan Linow's sympathetic portrayal of "a deaf-mute giant". You will also see a trained pet crow with a lot of personality, and a dead bear whose presence is unwittingly tragic.
Nile Desperandum
writers_reign21 July 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Frank Borzage is widely revered as a master of romantic film-making in a career that ranged from the Silents through the early days of the Talkies. It's difficult - and would be unfair to do so - to judge this film which is incomplete but what appears to be the central love story involving Charles Farrell and Mary Duncan - in lieu of his regular co-star Janet Gaynor - is more or less intact and with the exception of a completely ludicrous piece of background music - Rimsky Korakhov's The Flight Of The Bumblebee laid over a sequence both sensual and sensuous - it tests high on the authenticity scale. If suitable allowances are made for the period and the incomplete footage this is well worth a look.
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