Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau: CITY GIRL

A film, a volume – the 'Film|Lektüren' take their time and space. Volume 5 is dedicated to Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's 'City Girl' (1930), perhaps one of the lesser-known films by the director – yet there are many reasons to rediscover this clear, unembellished, and beautiful film for a broader audience. After a convoluted production history, Murnau's third and final Hollywood production – filmed as a silent film shortly after the introduction of sound – was quickly shelved. As a result, contemporary audiences could not grasp the film's striking modernity. However, 'City Girl' addresses numerous social currents and moods that circulated in the USA at the end of the 1920s and the beginning of the 1930s. These include themes such as debt and impending poverty shortly after the stock market crash in October 1929 and the onset of the Great Depression, the loss of status for farmers, the conflict between urban and rural populations, and the emancipation of women. Against this backdrop, a portrait of the director emerges that adds another facet to the common understanding of Murnau as a melancholic and romantic figure.