7th Heaven (1927 film)
 | This article needs a plot summary. (November 2016) |
| 7th Heaven | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Frank Borzage |
| Written by |
|
| Screenplay by | Benjamin Glazer |
| Based on | Seventh Heaven by Austin Strong |
| Produced by | William Fox |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | |
| Edited by | Barney Wolf |
| Distributed by | Fox Film Corporation |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 110 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
| Budget | $1.3 million[1] |
| Box office | $2.5 million[2] |
7th Heaven (also known as Seventh Heaven) is a 1927 American silent romantic drama directed by Frank Borzage, and starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell. The film is based upon the 1922 play Seventh Heaven, by Austin Strong and was adapted for the screen by Benjamin Glazer.[3] 7th Heaven was initially released as a standard silent film in May 1927. On September 10, 1927, Fox Film Corporation re-released the film with a synchronized Movietone soundtrack with a musical score and sound effects.
Upon its release, 7th Heaven was a critical and commercial success and helped to establish Fox Film Corporation as a major studio. It was one of the first of three films to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture (then called "Outstanding Picture") at the 1st Academy Awards held on May 16, 1929. Janet Gaynor won the first Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film (she also won for her performances in 1927's Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans and 1928's Street Angel).[4] Director Frank Borzage also won the first Academy Award for Best Director while screenwriter Benjamin Glazer won the first Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay).
In 1995, 7th Heaven was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[5][6]
Cast
- Janet Gaynor as Diane
- Charles Farrell as Chico
- Ben Bard as Col. Brissac
- Albert Gran as Boul
- David Butler as Gobin
- Marie Mosquini as Madame Gobin
- Gladys Brockwell as Nana
- Emile Chautard as Father Chevillon
- Jessie Haslett as Aunt Valentine
- Brandon Hurst as Uncle George
- George E. Stone as Sewer Rat
- Lillian West as Arlette
Production notes
The Broadway play upon which the film is based starred George Gaul and Helen Menken and ran at the Booth Theatre for 704 performances.[7]
When the play was adapted for the screen, Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell were cast in the lead roles. The pairing proved to be so popular, the two went on to star in 11 more films together and were dubbed "America's Favorite Lovebirds".[8][9]
7th Heaven features the song "Diane" by Ernö Rapée and Lew Pollack, who wrote the song specifically for the film. The song is included on the re-released version of the film.[10]
Reception
7th Heaven initially premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles replacing another Fox melodrama What Price Glory?, which had been playing since November 1926.[1] A second opening was held at the Sam H. Harris Theatre in New York City on May 25.[11] Both openings earned a total of $14,500.[12] A series of Movietone shorts featuring Ben Bernie and his Orchestra, Gertrude Lawrence, Raquel Meller, and Charles "Chic" Sale preceded the film.[13]
Upon its release, 7th Heaven was a critical and commercial success.[14] The New York Times critic stated that the film "grips your interest from the very beginning and even though the end is melodramatic you are glad that the sympathetic but self-satisfied Chico is brought back to his heart-broken Diane." The critic also praised Borzage's direction, stating that the director "has given it all that he could put through the medium of the camera."[11] The film went on to play for 19 weeks in New York City and for 22 weeks in Los Angeles.[13]
Due to the film's success and the success of other Fox films featuring sound elements (Sunrise, What Price Glory?), the studio re-released 7th Heaven with a synchronized Movietone soundtrack, including a musical score arranged by Ernö Rapée and sound effects. The re-release version premiered at New York City's Roxy Theatre on September 10, 1927.[10]
By 1932, 7th Heaven had become the 13th-highest-grossing American silent, earning more than $2.5 million at the box office.[2]
Awards and honors
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | Academy Awards | Best Actress | Janet Gaynor | Won |
| 1927 | Academy Awards | Best Art Direction | Harry Oliver | Nominated |
| 1927 | Academy Awards | Best Director | Frank Borzage | Won |
| 1927 | Academy Awards | Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) | Benjamin Glazer | Won |
| 1927 | Academy Awards | Outstanding Picture | Fox Film | Nominated |
| 1928 | Kinema Junpo Awards | Best Foreign Film | Frank Borzage | Won |
| 1927 | Photoplay Awards | Medal of Honor | William Fox | Won |
Remakes and adaptations
A comparatively unknown 1937 remake of the film was produced as a sound feature starring Simone Simon, James Stewart, Jean Hersholt, and Gregory Ratoff, with Henry King directing. Unlike the 1927 version, the sound remake was not as financially successful.[15]
7th Heaven was adapted for the Lux Radio Theatre four times: October 14, 1934, with Miriam Hopkins and John Boles; October 17, 1938, with Jean Arthur and Don Ameche; October 18, 1944, with Jennifer Jones and Van Johnson; and finally on March 31, 1951, with Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, recreating their original roles.
A television adaptation was aired on October 26, 1953, on the anthology series Broadway Television Theatre. The episode stars Hurd Hatfield and Geraldine Brooks and was directed by Robert St. Aubrey.[16]
On May 26, 1955, a stage musical version of the film opened at the ANTA Theatre starring Gloria DeHaven and Ricardo Montalbán. It closed on July 2, 1955, after 44 performances.[17]
Home media
On December 9, 2008, 7th Heaven was included in the Murnau, Borzage and Fox DVD box set released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.[18]
In popular culture
Chinese writer-director Yuan Muzhi's 1937 film Street Angel has been cited as being influenced by elements of 7th Heaven and another Frank Borzage film Street Angel (1928).[19]
The theatrical poster for 7th Heaven is displayed on the wall of the student Watanabe's lodgings in the oldest surviving film by the Japanese director Yasujirō Ozu, Days of Youth: A Student Romance (Gakusei Romansu: Wakaki Hi, 1929).[20]
Filmmaker Damien Chazelle has said the ending of his 2016 musical La La Land was inspired by the ending of 7th Heaven.[21]
Footnotes
- ^ a b (Eyman 1997, p. 114)
- ^ a b "Biggest Money Pictures". Variety. June 21, 1932. p. 1.
- ^ (Goble 1999, p. 447)
- ^ Bird, David (September 15, 1984). "Janet Gaynor Is Dead At 77; First 'Best Actress' Winner". nytimes.com. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- ^ American Society of Cinematographers (February 1996). "Films Chosen for Library of Congress National Film Registry". American Cinematographer. 77 (22). ASC Holding Corp.: 114. ISSN 0002-7928.
- ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing | Film Registry | National Film Preservation Board | Programs at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
- ^ Seventh Heaven at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ (Hischak 2008, p. 238)
- ^ (Bradley 2004, p. 125)
- ^ a b (Melnick 2014, p. 293)
- ^ a b (Holston 2012, p. 56)
- ^ (Crafton 1999, p. 528)
- ^ a b (Eyman 1997, p. 113)
- ^ (Soloman 2011, p. 114)
- ^ (Dyer MacCann 1996, p. 106)
- ^ (Dumont 2006, p. 396)
- ^ (Dietz 2014, p. 121)
- ^ "20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 2008 DVD edition". silentera.com. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
- ^ (Clark 2013, p. 741)
- ^ (Morefield & Olson 2015, pp. 4–5)
- ^ Vineyard, Jennifer (January 5, 2017). "Damien Chazelle Reveals the Movie That Influenced La La Land's Ending". vulture.com. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
References
- Bradley, Edwin M. (2004). The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 through 1932. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-2029-2.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Clark, Peter, ed. (2013). The Oxford Handbook of Cities in World History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-958953-1.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Crafton, Donald (1999). The Talkies: American Cinema's Transition to Sound, 1926–1931. New York: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-22128-4.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Dietz, Dan (2014). The Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefiel. ISBN 978-1-4422-3505-2.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Dumont, Hervé (2006). Frank Borzage: The Life and Films of a Hollywood Romantic. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-2187-9.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Dyer MacCann, Richard, ed. (1996). Films of the 1920s. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-3256-5.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Eyman, Scott (1997). The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution 1926–1930. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4391-0428-6.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Goble, Alan (1999). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-095194-3.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Hischak, Thomas S. (2008). The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-533533-0.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Holston, Kim R. (2012). Movie Roadshows: A History and Filmography of Reserved-Seat Limited Showings, 1911–1973. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-9261-9.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Melnick, Ross (2014). American Showman: Samuel "Roxy" Rothafel and the Birth of the Entertainment Industry, 1908–1935. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-15905-0.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Morefield, Kenneth R.; Olson, Nicholas S., eds. (2015). Faith and Spirituality in Masters of World Cinema, Volume III. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4438-7498-4.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Soloman, Aubrey (2011). The Fox Film Corporation, 1915–1935: A History and Filmography. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-8610-6.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help)
External links
- 7th Heaven essay by Aubrey Solomon at National Film Registry [1]
- 7th Heaven essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 ISBN 0826429777, pages 128-130 [2]
- 7th Heaven at IMDb
- ‹The template AllMovie title is being considered for deletion.› Synopsis at AllMovie
- 7th Heaven at Rotten Tomatoes
- 7th Heaven at Virtual History
- dvd of Seventh Heaven
- 1927 films
- 1920s romantic drama films
- American films
- American romantic drama films
- American silent feature films
- American black-and-white films
- Fox Film films
- American films based on plays
- Films directed by Frank Borzage
- Films featuring a Best Actress Academy Award-winning performance
- Films produced by William Fox
- Films set in Paris
- Films set in the 1910s
- Films whose director won the Best Directing Academy Award
- Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award
- Films with screenplays by Benjamin Glazer
- Films with screenplays by Bernard Vorhaus
- Surviving American silent films
- Transitional sound films
- United States National Film Registry films
- Films set on the French home front during World War I
- 1927 drama films
- Photoplay Awards film of the year winners