The Crowd (1928)

Synopsis: MGM was initially reluctant to finance this film, one of the director's most cherished projects, but relented after the success of THE BIG PARADE. An account of the life of an ordinary man, THE CROWD stars James Murray as John Sims. Born on the Fourth of July, he takes to heart his father's belief... MGM was initially reluctant to finance this film, one of the director's most cherished projects, but relented after the success of THE BIG PARADE. An account of the life of an ordinary man, THE CROWD stars James Murray as John Sims. Born on the Fourth of July, he takes to heart his father's belief that a great destiny awaits him, although his father dies when John is still a boy. John arrives in New York as a young man, eager to fulfill the augury, but soon finds himself an anonymous clerk in a vast office. Yet he's not unhappy, and his spirits improve after meeting Mary (Eleanor Boardman) on a blind date. The couple soon marries and is happy for a time. But as the years pass and children arrive, their tiny apartment seems even smaller, and John begins to realize that a grand destiny is becoming more elusive; bitterness sets in, leading to marital bickering and horrible tragedy. One of the great films of the silent period--and likely the director's finest work--THE CROWD avoids both melodrama and sentimentality in its evocation of the epiphanies that illuminate even the most ordinary of lives. [More]