Best Pictures #5: 1927-28 (1st) Academy Awards Outstanding Picture Nominee, 7th Heaven (1927)

by A.J.

1927-28 (1^st) Academy Awards Outstanding Picture Nominee

7^th Heaven (1927)

7^th Heaven received a total of 5 Academy Award Nominations, the most of any film at the 1^st Academy Awards. It had 3 wins for Best Actress-Janet Gaynor (her award was given for her performance in this and 2 other movies that year), Best Writing Adaptation-Benjamin Glazer, and for Best Director, Dramatic Picture-Frank Borzage. Borzage brings style and skill to the production of 7^th Heaven making this film worthy of its nominations. There may not be as much artistic use of the camera and memorable shots as in the Unique and Artistic Picture nominees, but there are still some visually impressive moments and a good story.  

In this silent film, Charles Farrell plays Chico, a sewer cleaner in Paris. He dreams of climbing the “Ladder of Courage” from the sewer to the stars. He sees himself as remarkable, full of courage, and destined to rise up out of the sewer. Janet Gaynor plays Diane, who flees her abusive, alcoholic sister and ends up on the streets where she is found by Chico. She tries to kill herself with Chico’s knife and though he says she’d be better off dead, he stops her. Diane’s sister is arrested and tries to get Diane arrested too, but Chico tells the police officer that Diane is his wife and that prevents her from being arrested, but now they have to pretend to be married until a police inspector follows up with them. Chico takes her to his apartment which is on the 7^th floor of the building. In an impressive shot, as Chico and Diane ascend up the stairs, the camera pans up each floor of the building. To create this shot a seven-story set was built and the camera placed on an elevator along the side to rise as the actors climbed the stairs. Chico tells Diane, “I work in the sewer—but I live near the stars!” and we see a pretty shot of city rooftops and the starry night sky. For this humble pair, this modest apartment filled with dreams is the titular 7^th Heaven.

The tone of 7^th Heaven is optimistic and sentimental, despite the obstacles the characters face. Chico and Diane at first just pretend to be married, but then actually do fall in love and his courage rubs off on her. She has the courage to stand up to her sister and to reach for happiness. Chico, an unrepentant atheist, begins to regain his faith slowly as his love for Diane grows and his fortunes take a turn for the better. He is awarded a job as a street washer by a bishop (who can do that apparently). It is a rise not only in occupation, but also in the social class. His neighbor Gobin can now be friends with him since he is also a street washer. Chico and Diane decide they want to get married for real, but then, seemingly out of nowhere, World War I breaks out and their plans for a happy future are suddenly threatened.

You have little doubt that things will turn out all right for Chico and Diane, but you still worry about them and wish the best for them. 7^th Heaven is a film full of hope and meant to uplift its audience. The characters are fully fleshed out, sympathetic people. Chico is arrogant, but likably so; he is a good natured, good hearted person. Diane is meek and timid, but also kind and loving. The themes and content in this film are not as challenging as The Crowd or Sunrise, but 7^th Heaven is no less effective or moving.

7^th Heaven is an adaptation of a play and it does what all good adaptations of stage plays should do: it gives us a version of the story that we could not experience by attending a stage performance. In the stage play when Chico first takes Diane to his apartment the curtain lowers and rises again on Chico’s 7^th floor apartment. In the scene after Chico stops Diane from killing herself we see Diane sitting head in hand utterly defeated in the foreground. In the background we see Chico from the waist down as he walks away from her, then turns back, then away again, then back to her again. The scenes of WWI, the Battle of the Marne specifically, are very impressive. The battalions of marching troops are real people and seeing that many extras assembled for a scene in a movie is quite a sight. The battle sequence uses miniatures, process shots, and matte paintings mixed with real actors to create the kind of grand spectacle you could only experience at the movies. The miniatures are the only special effect that has not aged well. Everything else about the battle sequence holds up well, even better when you remember that the visual effects were made almost 90 years ago.

7th Heaven has gone out of print on DVD, but, as of the time of this writing, is available to watch in its entirety on Youtube.com. I have not seen very many silent films, but I imagine that 7^th Heaven is what good but typical Hollywood melodrama was like. I do not mean to belittle the qualities of this movie, but merely note that 7^th Heaven was more likely to give audiences what they wanted to see -- characters bettering themselves and each other and overcoming obstacles with romance, some laughs, and a happy ending – rather than challenging their expectations. There is of course nothing wrong with that at all, as long as it is done well, and in 7^th Heaven it is done very well.

Nominee: Fox

Producer(s): William Fox, Sal M. Wurtzel

Director: Frank Borzage

Screenplay: Benjamin Glazer, based on a play by Austin Strong

Cast: Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrel, Ben Bard

Release Date: May 6^th, 1927

Total Nominations: 5, including Outstanding Picture

Wins: Actress-Janet Gaynor, Director-Frank Borzage, Writing, Adaptation-Benjamin Glazer

Other Nominations: Art Direction-Harry Cliver