Lonesome (1928)

In this 1928 silent film, unearthed in the 1980s, telephone operator Mary (Barbara Kent) and factory worker Jim (Glenn Tryon) are immediately taken with one another when they meet at the beach. After spending a day together during which the seeds of love are sown, the pair are separated by circumstances. Can they meet again? 

"A buried treasure from Hollywood’s golden age, Lonesome is the creation of a little-known but audacious and one-of-a-kind filmmaker, Paul Fejos (also an explorer, anthropologist, and doctor!). While under contract at Universal, Fejos pulled out all the stops for this lovely, largely silent New York City symphony set in antic Coney Island during the Fourth of July weekend, employing color tinting, superimposition effects, experimental editing, and a roving camera (plus three dialogue scenes, added to satisfy the new craze for talkies)." (Criterion)

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