The Wind (1928)
- General info
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- Synopsis:
Innocent, naive Letty Mason (Lillian Gish) moves from her Virginia home to Sweet Water on the western prairies to live on the ranch of her cousin Beverly (Edward Earle), his wife Cora (Dorothy Cumming), and their three children. Letty quickly learns how inhospitable the environment in Sweet Water is, the most obvious item being the incessant wind. But equally inhospitable are the unrefined way the people in Sweet Water live, to which she is unaccustomed, and Cora, who believes Letty has come to steal Beverly from her. As such, Cora orders Letty out of her and Bev's house. With no money, Letty is forced to accept one of the marriage proposals she receives - from Bev and Cora's ranching neighbor Lige Hightower (Lars Hanson), whom she doesn't love. Despite a less-than-harmonious start, partly due to Letty's isolation as the wind too often forces her to stay inside, she starts to feel affection for Lige, who wants to do right by her and promises to send her back to Virginia when he is financially able. But a visitor who takes refuge in their house away from the wind threatens Letty's ultimate happiness. - Actors:
- Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson, Montagu Love, Dorothy Cumming, Edward Earle, William Orlamond, Carmencita Johnson, Leon Janney, Billy Kent Schaefer, Sam Appel, Si Jenks, Cullen Johnson, Seessel Anne Johnson, Gus Leonard, Margaret Mann
- Directors:
- Victor Sjöström
- Producers:
- Kevin Brownlow, David Gill
- Writers:
- Frances Marion, Dorothy Scarborough, John Colton
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama, Romance
- Collections:
- 21 Reasons to Love, 21 Reasons to Love... Ingmar Bergman
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Reviews (1) of The Wind
Silent Melodrama. - The Wind review by Steve
This is sometimes described as a western which I think understates its strangeness. It is a primal psychological drama, which is unconventional and quite complex in the way it describes the impact of environment on the mind, culture and behaviour.
Lillian Gish plays a delicate lady of manners who travels west to live with a near relative in a desert wilderness populated by rednecks. And is driven out of her mind by the ceaseless, unstoppable wind. Manoeuvred into a marriage of convenience, she murders a menacing suitor and hides his body in the desert, which she fears will be uncovered by the maddening, mystical wind at any time. Or may be buried, forever.
This is Gish's most fascinating performance, which develops from a demure archetype into something quite disturbing. Victor Sjöström creates a metaphysical film full of startling images. There was an arduous location shoot in the Mojave desert which brings realism to a film which touches on allegory and expressionist horror.
It is a story about man encroaching into the dominion of nature and the tragic consequences. Which is way ahead of its time. Unfortunately MGM forced a happier ending on the director and star. But it remains a film of brilliant dramatic storytelling. It is an intense emotional experience and one of the very greatest silent films.