The Crowd

"A Motion Picture with a stirring message on Marriage! A Powerful Film, full of truths of life and love!"

1928 1h 38m EN

🙌

7.6

BANGER

🔥

96%

CERTIFIED FRESH

⭐

8.1

IMDB

★7.6TMDB · 204🍅96%Rotten Tomatoes★8.1IMDB · 9,436

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

John, an ambitious but undisciplined New York City office worker, meets and marries Mary. They start a family, struggle to cope with marital stress, financial setbacks, and tragedy, all while lost amid the anonymous, pitiless throngs of the big city.

“A Motion Picture with a stirring message on Marriage! A Powerful Film, full of truths of life and love!”

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Cast

Eleanor Boardman
Mary Sims
James Murray
John 'Johnny' Sims
Bert Roach
Bert
Estelle Clark
Jane
Daniel G. Tomlinson
Jim
Dell Henderson
Dick
Lucy Beaumont
Mary's Mother
Freddie Burke Frederick
John 'Junior' Sims

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: King Vidor
Writers: King Vidor, John V.A. Weaver
Languages: No Language
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

98 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

CRAFT

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by King Vidor, shot by Henry Sharp. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Hugh Wynn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Eleanor Boardman and James Murray and Bert Roach carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A Motion Picture with a stirring message on Marriage! A Powerful Film, full of truths of life and love!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0018806 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

King Vidor directs. Henry Sharp behind the camera. Hugh Wynn cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in No Language.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

198 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
3Directed by King Vidor, shot by Henry Sharp. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor Hugh Wynn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Eleanor Boardman and James Murray and Bert Roach carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "A Motion Picture with a stirring message on Marriage! A Powerful Film, full of truths of life and love!".
7IMDB entry: tt0018806 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Henry Sharp
Editing: Hugh Wynn
Runtime: 98 min · 1h 38m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Crowd (1928)
Rotten Tomatoes: 96% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 8.1/10 · 9,436 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

Nominated for 2 Oscars. 4 wins & 2 nominations total

Also by

King Vidor

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-03-24
★ 7/10
Ha! Talk about "Stop the world I want to get off". Well that's how "John" (James Murray) feels for a fair chunk of this intimate observational drama about his relationship with his wife "Mary" (Eleanor Boardman). They meet, fall in love, start a family - all is going great guns until a tragedy strikes the pair. "Mary" proves a little more robust following this fairly gut-wrenching event; he really struggles. He quits his job with an insurance company and spends the next few months in and out of work. It's not that he is lazy, or incapable - it's that he feels useless, worthless and a bit of a burden. He considers that he has failed in one of his fundamental duties and no amount of consoling or family rallying round seems to be able to shake him from this malaise. It's only a walk with their young son (Freddie Burke Frederick) where he considers putting an end to it all that makes him see life a little through the young and adoring boy's eyes. Is it too late to reverse this trend into depression? It might be about the "American" dream, but actually this story could fit for any family starting with little more than a great deal of love and determination, anywhere in the world. It delicately exposes us all to the vagaries of human existence and the stresses and strains we must endure in a world that, most of the time, couldn't care less about any individual. As we frequently see here - there are plenty of others just as needy, determined and willing. Both Murray and Boardman use their expressive faces to convey their feelings of joy and sadness well, and there are a few really quite engaging scenes - especially towards the end - from the youngster. It's not always the cheeriest of films to watch, but it has a striking humanity to it that makes it well worth an hour and an half.

Production companies