Janet Gaynor makes hurt plain without making a display of it. We rate her highly, especially in Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, though the innocent women she was asked to play could leave her too little to do.
Fi1m perspective
Janet Gaynor does little to advertise the wife’s hurt in Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927). Beside George O’Brien, who makes the husband seem burdened by his own body, her restraint draws us closer. We were moved by her face because she lets the pain register quietly while he struggles so visibly with his feelings. This is acting we rate highly: she holds our attention without exaggerating what the wife feels.
F. W. Murnau’s instructions help explain both the performance and its limits. Recalling his direction, Gaynor said: “He said that I was to be the spiritual type, but not coldly spiritual. I was to be the kind of woman who is every man’s dream of a good wife.” The husband gets a moral struggle, while Gaynor and Margaret Livingston, as the Woman from the City, are given too little room beyond what they mean to him. We would have liked to know more about what these women want.
Her late-silent work gave that understatement room to develop. Frank Borzage’s 7th Heaven (1927) and Street Angel (1928) let her move from frightened girl towards stronger woman, an important qualification to the idea that she simply played sweetness. Charles Farrell was her partner in twelve films, beginning with 7th Heaven; Lucky Star (1929) offers another example of their quiet emotional work together. These pairings allowed her characters to grow, rather than merely remain agreeable.
The successful transition to sound did not put an end to the wholesome roles. Some contemporary reviewers found her too nice for certain characters, and we would not argue that understatement suits every part. A Star Is Born (1937), in which she plays Esther Blodgett, renewed her career. Start with Sunrise, but keep watching Gaynor when the husband demands our sympathy.
Biography
Janet Gaynor, born Laura Augusta Gainor, was an American actress. She began her career as an extra in short films and signed with Fox Film in 1926.
In 1929 she became the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actress, for her performances in 7th Heaven (1927), Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) and Street Angel (1928). She later appeared in A Star Is Born (1937) as Esther Blodgett. Gaynor worked only sporadically after the late 1930s and died in 1984.
