"Sunrise" released in 1927, stars a young and upcoming Janet Gaynor and George O'Brien. Oddly, we never know their character's names: just the man and the woman. The plot isn't overwhelming: married rural farm couple with a young son. The man is tempted by a big-city vixen (Margaret Livingston) into affair. The vixen tries to convince the man to kill his wife so the two of them can be together. The wife figures it out, he loses his nerve, and the rest of the film is a pure delight. He begs forgiveness, and she is emotionally crushed, but the two slowly build their love again by spending a wonderful day in the city, acting like a newlywed couple. I won't give away the bittersweet ending, but these two stars never have to say a word to one another (yes, it is a silent film). The emotion they convey towards one another in almost every scene is beautiful. Gaynor is a wonder, and I confess I had never heard of O'Brien. Why this guy never had a major career is a puzzler: with his good looks and great acting, who knows? Maybe the end of silent films ended his career. The scene in the church where he is sobbing while he and his wife are witnessing a wedding is something to behold. Janet Gaynor would win the first Best Actress Oscar for this film (and two others, when you could be nominated for more than one film). With stunning black and white cinematography and a wonderful score, this film is rightly a classic. This was silent movie-making at its apex. They had finally gotten it right, then along came sound, and it would change the game. But thank God for silent films, and thank God for the wonderful Turner Classic movies for bringing them to us.
