Surviving without it's Vitaphone part sound track, this Polish melodrama from the director of the silent PAN TADEUSZ is heavy going.
In the script, expanded from a Sienkiewicz short story, the poor farm boy longs to be a musician and his attempt to make off with the land owner's violin lands him in juvenile detention. Grown, he partners with street smart (but unfunny) comics, rises to prominence and overcomes the aristo's attempts to use his past against him, winning the girl.
The contrast of the hard but picturesque rural life and the growing city is one of the film's themes.
It wouldn't have been too tough to make this one over for Bobby Breen.
Watching the hero bow in sustained medium shot gets to be pretty tedious despite the ingenious work to re-score those passages for the current version.
In the script, expanded from a Sienkiewicz short story, the poor farm boy longs to be a musician and his attempt to make off with the land owner's violin lands him in juvenile detention. Grown, he partners with street smart (but unfunny) comics, rises to prominence and overcomes the aristo's attempts to use his past against him, winning the girl.
The contrast of the hard but picturesque rural life and the growing city is one of the film's themes.
It wouldn't have been too tough to make this one over for Bobby Breen.
Watching the hero bow in sustained medium shot gets to be pretty tedious despite the ingenious work to re-score those passages for the current version.