Instrumentation
1(=picc).1(=ca).3(II=asax.III=Ebcl+bcl).1 -3.3.1.btrbn.1 - timp(= susp.cym/tamb) - Perc(1): cyms/susp.cym/BD/SD/xyl/vib/glsp/t.bells/tam-t/2 tgl/tamb -jazz drum kit - gtr(=banjo+(ukelele)) - pno(=cel) - harp - strings (min 8.6.4.4.2)
Availability
Full score and parts for hire
Programme Notes
Starring: James Murray, Eleanor Boardman
Director: King Vidor
Production company: MGM USA. 1928
Film Print: 35mm B&W print available from Photoplay Productions (Film Speed: 20-22 frames per second)
Recorded for video
Made just before the Depression, The Crowd might have been made in the thick of it, so poignant is its depiction of unemployment and deprivation. King Vidor wanted to show an ordinary American's journey through life, and his standing at MGM was so high that he managed to convince his paymasters thai a picture which broke with Hollywood tradition was worth making. A man in pursuit of the American Dream is convinced that he will succeed and stand out from the crowd, but he has neither the luck nor the determination to make this come true. Eventually his life begins a relentless downward spiral -mirrored in the real life tragedy of the lead actor James Murray who ended up a destitute alcoholic. Carl Davis's jazz-inspired music poignantly evokes the film's 1920s urban setting.