(Frank Borzage, US 1927, 120 min.)

Based on the phenomenally successful Broadway play by Austin Strong, Borzage’s magnum opus features Charles Farrell as Chico, a stoic Paris sewer worker desiring to be elevated to the position of street cleaner. Janet Gaynor plays vulnerable gamine Diane, who, when victimized by her unscrupulous sister, is saved by Chico. Soon their delicate love is interrupted by the call to arms. Gaynor won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance-a prize that also recognized her work in Borzage’s Street Angel and Murnau’s Sunrise.