''Street Angel'' is a 1928 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

with a Movietone soundtrack, directed by

Frank Borzage Frank Borzage (; April 23, 1894 – June 19, 1962) was an Academy Award-winning American film director and actor, known for directing '' 7th Heaven'' (1927), '' Street Angel'' (1928), '' Bad Girl'' (1931), '' A Farewell to Arms'' (1932), ''Man's ...

, adapted by Harry H. Caldwell (titles), Katherine Hilliker (titles), Philip Klein,

Marion Orth Marion Orth (December 5, 1900 – December 1, 1984) was an American screenwriter of the silent and sound eras of Hollywood. She was a frequent collaborator of director Lois Weber. Biography Orth began her career as a playwright and magazin ...

and Henry Roberts Symonds from the play ''Lady Cristilinda'' by Monckton Hoffe. As one of the early, transitional sound film releases, it did not include recorded dialogue, but used intertitles along with recorded sound effects and musical selections. ''Street Angel'' was one of three movies for which

Janet Gaynor Janet Gaynor (born Laura Augusta Gainor; October 6, 1906 – September 14, 1984) was an American film, stage, and television actress. Gaynor began her career as an extra in shorts and silent films. After signing with Fox Film Corporation (later ...

received the first

Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. ...

in 1929; the others were

F. W. Murnau Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (born Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe; December 28, 1888March 11, 1931) was a German film director, producer and screenwriter. He was greatly influenced by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Shakespeare and Ibsen plays he had seen at t ...

's '' Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans'' and Borzage's '' 7th Heaven''. The movie received two further

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominations in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

, for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography, making it one of two English-language films to receive Oscar nominations in separate years. The other was '' The Quiet One'', nominated in 1949 for Documentary Feature and 1950 for Story and Screenplay.

Plot

A spirited young woman (Gaynor) tries to prostitute herself and, failing in that, to steal money, to pay for her seriously ill mother's medicine. She is caught in the act and convicted but escapes from her guards, only to find her mother dead. Fleeing the pursuing police, she joins a traveling carnival, where she meets a vagabond painter (Farrell). Though they fall in love, her past will not leave her alone.

Cast

as Angela *

Charles Farrell Charles David Farrell (August 9, 1900 – May 6, 1990) was an American film actor of the 1920s silent era and into the 1930s, and later a television actor. Farrell is probably best recalled for his onscreen romances with actress Janet Gaynor ...

as Gino *

Natalie Kingston Natalie Kingston (born Natalia Ringstrom; May 19, 1905 – February 2, 1991) was an American actress. Background Kingston was born as Natalia Ringstrom in Vallejo, California, and raised in San Francisco. She was of Spanish, Hungarian, an ...

as Lisetta *

Henry Armetta Henry Armetta (born Enrico Armetta; July 4, 1888 – October 21, 1945) was an American character actor who appeared in at least 150 American films, beginning in silent movies. His last film was released posthumously in 1946, the year after his d ...

as Mascetto *

Guido Trento Guido Trento (June 21, 1892 – July 31, 1957) was an Italian stage and film actor. Career Trento appeared in over seventy films during his career, mainly in Italy during the silent era. In 1922 he appeared in Fox's Italian-shot historical epic ...

as Neri, Sergeant of Police *

Alberto Rabagliati Alberto Rabagliati (27 June 1906 in Milan – 8 March 1974 in Rome) was an Italian singer. Early career Alberto Rabagliati was born in Milan in 1906 and was the son of piedmontese spouses: his father Leandro Valentino Rabagliati and his mothe ...

as A Policeman * Demetrius Alexis as Museum Waiter (uncredited) * Jennie Bruno as Landlady (uncredited) * Gino Conti as Policeman (uncredited) * Milton Dickinson as Bimbo (uncredited) * Helena Herman as Andrea (uncredited) * Dave Kashner as The Strong Man (uncredited) * Louis Liggett as Beppo (uncredited) *

Hector Sarno Hector V. Sarno (April 24,1880 – December 16, 1953) was an American film actor who began in the silent era. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1912 and 1948. He was born in Naples, Italy and died in Pasadena, California. Partial f ...

as Spaghetti Cook (uncredited)

Home video release

The film was thought lost for years, but it is now part of a 12 film collection by Fox that was released in 2008.

References

External links

* *
''Street Angel''
at Virtual History
Still
at

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the archiv ...

1928 films 1928 drama films American black-and-white films Silent American drama films American silent feature films 1920s English-language films Circus films Films based on works by Monckton Hoffe Films directed by Frank Borzage Films featuring a Best Actress Academy Award-winning performance Films produced by William Fox Films set in Naples Fox Film films 1920s rediscovered films Transitional sound drama films Rediscovered American films 1920s American films {{1920s-US-film-stub