One cannot be satisfied with this film in its current form; reduced to 45 minutes, deprived of the beginning of the plot and of its end, it will always be frustrating until a print resurfaces which might take us through the missing footage. And yet... miraculously, the scenes preserved are (probably, one has to be cautious) the highlights of the films, the moments which Frank Borzage has taken special care to shoot, and probably those which really interested him: the conscious, blatant seduction of Allen John by Rosalee, her resorting to her own sex appeal to convince him to sleep with her(Put your hand on my heart, Allen John); the meeting between a brooding Rosalee and a naked, swimming Allen John, foreshadowing the much-commented-upon climax of the present version: Rosalee saves Allen John from freezing to death by offering him her warmth: she covers his naked body with her(silk-gowned) shapes, and revives him instantly. Funnily, this sequence has always been the basis for fantasy on the part of French historians after George Sadoul, who saw it in 1929, reported that Mary Duncan was naked. Contrary to other classics from Borzage's late 20s Fox period, this does not feature Janet Gaynor, but the duet Farrell/Duncan: hence a more frankly sensual relationship, which the short version emphasizes by actually eliminating all the other aspects of the plot. Borzage uses Duncan very effectively, by stressing the contrast between her experienced personality and the more childish, naive enthusiasm of Charles Farrell's Allen John. The moment when Rosalee welcomes him home in a winter night, only to find him taking a board game and proposing "entertainment", and the ensuing gesture of Rosalee, sweeping of the board with her hand clearly expecting Allen John to invite her to more entertaining situations, could have been plain ridiculous; but the frank gaze of the actress, the way she lets herself go on the bed, and the sudden realization by Farrell of the situation he is in(He trembles, mouth open , eyes fixed on the woman in front of him; What can he do? What is she doing? Farrell is brilliant here.), all make for a very memorable scene. As usual with Frank Borzage, once they have been together for a few days, a man and a woman actually discover how attracted to each other they've grown. The sensual, or sexual tension is part of Borzage's treatment of a love affair, one that goes beyond reason. But here, contrary to Seventh Heaven or A Man's Castle, the woman leads, with authority. Duncan was the antithesis of Gaynor in that matter. So, until we discover more from this film, with or without sound(It was issued as a part-talkie. None of the sound scenes survive.), this almost entirely satisfactory sketch of seduction by the man who gave us Seventh Heaven, Lucky Star or The Mortal storm is worth unlimited, repeated viewing.
Review of The River
