Janet Gaynor
The Wife
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Synopsis
A farmer's affair with a visitor from the city endangers his marriage and family. The possibility of escape becomes a darker temptation, while his wife remembers the tenderness they once shared. A journey away from home forces the couple to confront what remains between them.
Cast
DirectorsF. W. Murnau
Inspirations
Hermann Sudermann's The Excursion to Tilsit provided the story for F. W. Murnau's American debut. The film combines silent visual storytelling with a synchronised soundtrack, placing it at the transition between two cinematic eras.
Sources and availability
The synopsis and editorial text were written for this collection. The references below were cross-checked to identify the film and its copy; each editorial section identifies its reference.
Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.
The reference concerns the original work. Restorations, colorization, translations and other territories may have different conditions. This site uses the player enabled by the channel.
Availability checked on September 10, 2026.
Photograph credit
Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.
- Janet Gaynor — Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences · Public domain
- George O'Brien — Witzel · Public domain
- Margaret Livingston — produced by Universal pictures and supplied to Cinelandia magazine · Public domain
- Bodil Rosing — Melbourne Spurr · Public domain
