7th Heaven (1927)

Friday July 14, 8:00pm The Castro, San Francisco

" The trouble with you is you won't fight. You're afraid! Me! I'm not afraid of anything! That's why I'm a very remarkable fellow!"

His gift for transforming the mundane, commonplace world into something beautiful and dreamlike made the films of Frank Borzage extraordinary. 7th Heaven, and the heartbreaking performance of its star Janet Gaynor, virtually defined not only the Borzage style, but also Gaynor’s screen image and to an even greater extent, romantic love in Hollywood. The story of a Paris waif, saved by a sewer worker who pities her, was so wildly successful Fox spent years trying to equal it. Nothing ever did. The pairing of Gaynor with handsome leading man Charles Farrell presented a couple so attractive, likable and with such genuine chemistry, the two would go on to appear in eight films together, including two more with Borzage.

A pitiful young girl from the Paris streets, Diane (Gaynor) is saved from death at the hand of her degenerate and violent sister Nana (Gladys Brockwell) by Chico (Charles Farrell), a sewer worker, who then tells police Diane is his wife to keep her out of prison. There is a sense that Nana’s corruption is a moral burden imposed on the girl, who remains virtuous in her heart.

Borzage’s use of beautiful set design: the girls’ decrepit home, the ancient cobblestone streets, Chico’s rooftop garret and even the sewer, evoke an atmosphere that is both unreal and timeless. The ravishing sets created by Harry Oliver, whom Borzage used many times, add to the rich fairy-tale mood of a rather simple story, giving the characters an iconic quality.

To avoid being caught in the lie, Diane timidly offers a suggestion. " Couldn’t I stay at your place until the police come? Then I’d go away." Thoughtful and good-natured but very self-centered, Chico grows accustomed to the girl while Diane falls deeply in love with him. In a touching scene, she wraps herself in the arms of his coat she’s been mending, and dreams. The moment when Chico and Diane finally profess their love is tender and genuine. She comes from the sky like an angel in her wedding dress and Chico is overcome with emotion. It is the rapturous and poetic fulfillment of young love.

Released both silent and later with an overwrought (but effective) Western Electric Movietone sound-to-film musical score, 7th Heaven maintains its emotional impact regardless of the musical accompaniment. The surviving print is a 12 reel "road show" version screened in previews, the originally released nine reel theatrical version, cut by some 35 minutes, having been lost. 7th Heaven is rife with obvious and improbable circumstances: the sudden onset of war without any previous hint or allusion. Diane’s near murder virtually at Chico’s feet, and several others later on. They seem insignificant in this story of tragic romance, which emphasizes what Andrew Sarris described as "Borzage’s commitment to love over probability."

7th Heaven is the first of eight feature films screening at this year’s 11th annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival, July 14, 15 & 16. Home of the SFSFF, the beautiful Castro Theater, a Spanish Renaissance creation of architect Timothy Pfluegar built in 1922, still uses it’s original center-orchestra organ elevator for it’s Wurlitzer 4/21 (our own Seattle Paramount scrapped it’s left-orchestra elevator in 1994) for silent film accompaniment and entre act music. In a city known for it’s beautiful movie theaters, and their wholesale destruction (the glorious Fox has been gone since 1963), the Castro remains a well loved and cared for landmark.

(My own Great-Grandmother began taking my Mother to shows at the Castro when she was about seven years old, around 1931, and she has many happy memories of this lovely place.)

Live musical accompaniment for 7th Heaven will be performed by Clark Wilson at the Castro’s Wurlitzer.