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City Girl

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7.4/10 • 98

1930-01-121h 28m

DramaRomance

SEE AND HEAR LIFE IN THE "RAW" WITH THE "CITY GIRL"

A waitress from Chicago falls in love with a man from rural Minnesota and marries him, with the intent of living a better life - but life on the farm has its own challenges.

Directors
F. W. Murnau
Writters
Berthold Viertel, Marion Orth
Editors
Berthold Viertel, Marion Orth, Katherine Hilliker

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Charles Farrell

    Charles Farrell

    Lem Tustine

  2. Mary Duncan

    Mary Duncan

    Kate

  3. David Torrence

    David Torrence

    Lem's Father

  4. Edith Yorke

    Edith Yorke

    Lem's Mother

  5. Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams

    Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams

    Reaper

  6. Anne Shirley

    Anne Shirley

    Marie Tustine

  7. Tom McGuire

    Tom McGuire

    Matey

  8. Richard Alexander

    Richard Alexander

    Mac

  9. Patrick Rooney

    Patrick Rooney

    Butch

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Jun 6, 2022

7/10

This is one of those films that you can just sit back and let wash over you... The plot is simple, as are the characterisations involved - but that's what makes it effective. "Lem" (Charles Farrell) is a young man sent by his overbearing father to Chicago to sell their annual wheat crop. He frequents a diner where he meets the young waitress "Kate" (Mary Duncan) and the pair are soon an item. Meantime, though, the price of wheat is dropping so he must quickly secure a deal before he and his gal return home to rural Minnesota. His father "Tustine" (David Torrence) is less than impressed with both the deal he got for his crop and with his new daughter-in-law, and a period of unpleasantness culminates in some deliberate and selfish actions by the father as the harvesting is going on, that could spell ruin for everyone. The camera simply loves Farrell and Duncan - and the accompanying score helps them to convey their love and frustrations expertly. The ending is maybe just a little twee - but it does offer some redemption that illustrates how difficult it could be for a father to show affection for his son, and also of the somewhat trivial roles accorded to women at the time - many of whom were far more competent than their men folks! It is based on Elliott Lester's play 'The Mud Turtle", which like this film, I suspect, doesn't get out much nowadays - but this flows smoothly and effortlessly and really is quite a joy to watch.

Media

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  • City Girl poster
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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
waitresscountrysidemarriage crisispre-codewheat