City Girl

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

1930 1h 28m EN

🙌

7.5

BANGER

★7.5TMDB · 106

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

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

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Charles Farrell
Lem Tustine
Mary Duncan
Kate
David Torrence
Lem's Father
Edith Yorke
Lem's Mother
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams
Reaper
Anne Shirley
Marie Tustine
Tom McGuire
Matey
Richard Alexander
Mac

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: F. W. Murnau
Writers: Marion Orth, Berthold Viertel
Languages: English
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 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

88 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

96 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by F. W. Murnau, shot by Ernest Palmer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Arthur Kay. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Charles Farrell and Mary Duncan and David Torrence carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "SEE AND HEAR LIFE IN THE "RAW" WITH THE "CITY GIRL"".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0020768 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

F. W. Murnau directs. Ernest Palmer behind the camera. Arthur Kay scores. H.H. Caldwell cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

188 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
296 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by F. W. Murnau, shot by Ernest Palmer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Arthur Kay. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor H.H. Caldwell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Charles Farrell and Mary Duncan and David Torrence carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "SEE AND HEAR LIFE IN THE "RAW" WITH THE "CITY GIRL"".
8IMDB entry: tt0020768 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Ernest Palmer
Original score: Arthur Kay
Editing: H.H. Caldwell
Costume design: Sophie Wachner
Runtime: 88 min · 1h 28m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: City Girl (1930)

Also by

F. W. Murnau

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-06
★ 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.

Production companies