Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Aiden Melton The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

herb-924-148734 This one has the strengths and weaknesses of the late silent films. It is not as good as 'Sunrise,' but it has some wonderful b/w deep field shots, with a distant town down a mountainside and a busy harbor for a background. Also -- some fine Monet-like fogbound portside shots with the characters walking in silhouette toward each other. Some of the scenes are too long and too sentimental -- to show off Janet Gaynor's skill at pathos, and the theme music and whistling is badly overused. But the portrait, which becomes "Madonnaized" as an old master does capture Gaynor's pure character. It is taken from the lovers as her purity is (for the time being) stolen from her, but then in the final scene the image and reality are reunited. In a sense the Madonna blesses the two reunited lovers. That's well done and is reminiscent of the use of portraits in Poe's "Oval Portrait" and Wilde's "Picture of Doran Grey." I wonder how the young artist realized that it was his picture or, if he did, registered no surprise at finding it over the altar of a church. But the use of the picture as a kind of psychic energy was carried through nicely.

MartinHafer There is a lot to like about "Street Angel" but unfortunately the ending is so sentimental and schmaltzy that I definitely consider it a lesser film for Janet Gaynor. Now 1927-1928 was an amazing time for Gaynor--she was the top actress in Hollywood--having received an Oscar for Best Actress. Oddly, in those days you could receive an Oscar for a collection of performances that year. Gaynor was being honored for "Sunrise", "Seventh Heaven" and "Street Angel"--and the least of these, clearly, is "Street Angel". While it also features amazing cinematography that makes Gaynor seem luminous, it just doesn't rise to the same level as the other two films. Worth seeing? Sure...just understand that the end will probably frustrate you.The film, in many ways, is like a reworking of "Les Misérables" and combining it with a romance. The film begins with dirt-poor Gaynor in a dilemma--her mother will die unless she gets her medicine. However, because they have no money, Gaynor must either let the old lady die or somehow earn some money...fast. When she sees prostitutes walking the streets outside their apartment, she decides to give it a try. But, she looks so innocent and non-sexy that no one is interested. Finally, in desperation, she steals a few coins. She is caught and sentenced to a year in jail for prostitution (though there were no takers) and theft. She manages to rather easily escape and establishes a new life with a swell fellow (her perennial co-star Charles Farrell). But, she's afraid to tell this bohemian artist about her arrest, as he envisions her as the essence of purity. For a while, things are great but eventually the law catches up to her and she is imprisoned. Farrell decides she isn't the woman he thought she was and starts up life without her. So far all this is quite moving and exceptional.How all this eventually ends is sweet but very, very heavy-handed and silly. This is odd since the film in some ways is very open in discussing prostitution and is a rather adult film--making it seem very modern. But, at the same time, the ending is so corny and old fashioned it seems like a bizarre blend of the old and the new. Worth seeing, of course, but NOT until you've seen "Sunrise" and "Seventh Heaven".By the way, the version I saw on DVD was not from the Fox box set (which tends to have excellent prints) but from a minor distributor. As a result, the print was occasionally rough and could have used further restoration.

drednm Janet Gaynor stars as the "street angel," a euphemism for prostitute, in this lushly romantic silent film. Of course Gaynor is really not a woman of the streets, but is convicted up this crime and stealing money from a lunch counter, which she does out of desperation to save her sick mother. She escapes the police however and hides out with a traveling circus. She becomes part of the troupe and meets a vagabond artist (Charles Farrell) and falls in love.His love for her inspires him to create a great painting of her. This art gets him a muralist job with the city. On the verge of marriage, the police find her and take her to prison. Farrell doesn't know what's happened to her and his life is destroyed until a chance meeting on the foggy shores of Naples.Janet Gaynor is superb as the street angel, quite able to show passion despite her youth and she looks great. Charles Farrell is OK as the artist. Henry Armetta is one of the circus performers, and Natalie Kingston is the mean prostitute.Director Frank Borzage creates a great city set amidst fog and shadows. This setting is used to great effect in the several chase scenes. The set design and cinematography earned Oscar nominations, and this is one of three films (with Sunrise and Seventh Heaven) for which Gaynor won the very first Oscar as best lead actress (beating out Gloria Swanson and Louise Dresser).Gaynor achieved stardom at the end of the silent era but easily made the transition to sound and had a solid career through the late 30s. She is best remembered as the star of the original A Star Is Born in 1937.

silent-12 This film was a follow up to 1927's "7th Heaven", starring Farrell and Gaynor, and in my opinion, this film is even better. The Farrell-Gaynor chemistry is so potent that at times (especially when they're dining together in his little apartment) you feel as if you're intruding. The last scene, where Charles is chasing Janet through the fog, is moody, atmospheric--Borzage at his best. An exquisite film.