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The Crowd

189 statements
36 feature instances
15 referencing feature instances

The Crowd	type	TVTItem
The Crowd	label	The Crowd
The Crowd	page	TheCrowd
The Crowd	comment	Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })One of the most daring, groundbreaking films to be made in The Silent Age of Hollywood—or ever, possibly.Directed and co-written by one of the greatest filmmakers of the era, King Vidor, The Crowd (1928) stars James Murray as John Sims, an ordinary young man who is blissfully confident that he'll be a great success when he comes to the big city. The only problem is that John is a dreamer who believes he can win that success through shortcuts, like thinking up corny advertising slogans or hitting on some big idea, rather than by actually working hard or applying himself. Eleanor Boardman plays John's loving, supportive wife Mary.A horrible tragedy destroys John and sends him into a downward spiral. As his life slides out of control, he sees how "the crowd laughs with you always... but it will cry with you for only a day."Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_2'); })The Crowd was recognized as brilliant at the time, earning nominations at the first Academy Award ceremony for Best Director and Unique and Artistic Production (the latter being an alternate Best Picture award that was never given again). The years have not lessened its critical standing. In 1989 it was one of the first 25 films selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Film Registry.In 1934 Vidor made a sequel, Our Daily Bread, with different actors playing John and Mary Sims.
The Crowd	fetched	2022-06-15T16:43:02Z
The Crowd	parsed	2022-06-15T16:43:02Z
The Crowd	processingComment	Dropped link to CallBack: Not a Feature - ITEM
The Crowd	isPartOf	DBTropes
The Crowd / int_18d15922	type	Title Drop
The Crowd / int_18d15922	comment	Title Drop: Multiple references to "the crowd" throughout.
The Crowd / int_18d15922	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_18d15922	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_18d15922
The Crowd / int_237404cc	type	Ironic Echo
The Crowd / int_237404cc	comment	Ironic Echo: "All I need is an opportunity." While on his first date with Mary, John spies a man juggling balls while dressed as a clown and wearing a sandwich-board advertisement. Laughing and pointing, he says: "The poor sap! And I bet his father thought he would be President!" (In the opening scene, John's father told the doctor attending his birth, "There's a little man the world is going to hear from all right.") Doubly ironic, in that John winds up taking the very same juggling job toward the end of the film.
The Crowd / int_237404cc	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_237404cc	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_237404cc
The Crowd / int_237a1777	type	Exploding Calendar
The Crowd / int_237a1777	comment	Exploding Calendar: A rather clever variation on this trope, as the passage of time from 1900 to 1912 is illustrated by a line of dominoes with the years on them toppling over.
The Crowd / int_237a1777	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_237a1777	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_237a1777
The Crowd / int_23f1384a	type	Babies Make Everything Better
The Crowd / int_23f1384a	comment	Babies Make Everything Better: Initially played straight, as a marriage that had descended into angry sniping finds new life after Mary tells John she's pregnant. Later subverted.
The Crowd / int_23f1384a	featureApplicability	-0.3
The Crowd / int_23f1384a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_23f1384a
The Crowd / int_269e82c1	type	Death of a Child
The Crowd / int_269e82c1	comment	Death of a Child: The death of John and Mary's little daughter, run down in the street by a truck, is the catalyst for the second half of the plot. Their lives and marriage unravel as John is unable to deal with his grief.
The Crowd / int_269e82c1	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_269e82c1	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_269e82c1
The Crowd / int_28cd01ca	type	Disappeared Dad
The Crowd / int_28cd01ca	comment	Disappeared Dad: John's father dies unexpectedly four minutes into the film.
The Crowd / int_28cd01ca	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_28cd01ca	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_28cd01ca
The Crowd / int_2edf787f	type	Significant Birth Date
The Crowd / int_2edf787f	comment	Significant Birth Date: Johnny Sims, American everyman, was born on July 4, 1900.
The Crowd / int_2edf787f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_2edf787f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_2edf787f
The Crowd / int_355007c3	type	Brilliant, but Lazy
The Crowd / int_355007c3	comment	Brilliant, but Lazy: John could do so much if he'd just apply himself.
The Crowd / int_355007c3	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_355007c3	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_355007c3
The Crowd / int_372bc105	type	Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism
The Crowd / int_372bc105	comment	Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: If this isn't the most cynical film made in Hollywood in the 1920s, it's a contender.
The Crowd / int_372bc105	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_372bc105	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_372bc105
The Crowd / int_40cc0c7e	type	Bittersweet Ending
The Crowd / int_40cc0c7e	comment	Bittersweet Ending: A Happy Ending at first glance, as John gets a job, reconciles with Mary, and gets a little money when one of his advertising slogans wins a contest. But the bone-chilling final shot reminds us that he is still a nobody among countless other nobodies.
The Crowd / int_40cc0c7e	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_40cc0c7e	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_40cc0c7e
The Crowd / int_43a831db	type	Epic Tracking Shot
The Crowd / int_43a831db	comment	Epic Tracking Shot/The Oner: The famous shot where Vidor's camera swoops up a skyscraper and through a window (this actually a dissolve from a model) to find John at one of a sea of desks.
The Crowd / int_43a831db	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_43a831db	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_43a831db
The Crowd / int_47541a7f	type	Skirts and Ladders
The Crowd / int_47541a7f	comment	Skirts and Ladders: While boarding a double-decker bus, John and Bert let Mary and her friend board first and then sneak a peek as they're ascending the steps to the top.
The Crowd / int_47541a7f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_47541a7f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_47541a7f
The Crowd / int_4a6e9fd9	type	Obnoxious In-Laws
The Crowd / int_4a6e9fd9	comment	Obnoxious In-Laws: Subverted. Mary's mother and brothers can't stand John—but by the end of the film we see that there's a reason for that.
The Crowd / int_4a6e9fd9	featureApplicability	-0.3
The Crowd / int_4a6e9fd9	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_4a6e9fd9
The Crowd / int_4bbe1059	type	The World Mocks Your Loss
The Crowd / int_4bbe1059	comment	The World Mocks Your Loss: When a desperate John tries to get people outside to quiet down as his daughter is dying, the traffic cop at the corner tells him the world can't stop because his kid's sick. Later, a title card says that "The crowd laughs with you always...but it will cry with you for only a day." Following scenes show how the uncaring world moves on as John plunges into despair.
The Crowd / int_4bbe1059	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_4bbe1059	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_4bbe1059
The Crowd / int_68cf9795	type	Ironic Nickname
The Crowd / int_68cf9795	comment	Ironic Nickname: The one black child in young John's circle of friends is nicknamed "Whitey."
The Crowd / int_68cf9795	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_68cf9795	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_68cf9795
The Crowd / int_6bda9a30	type	Meaningful Name
The Crowd / int_6bda9a30	comment	Meaningful Name: The lead characters are named John and Mary, emphasizing their ordinariness.
The Crowd / int_6bda9a30	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_6bda9a30	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_6bda9a30
The Crowd / int_6de438eb	type	The Everyman
The Crowd / int_6de438eb	comment	The Everyman: The hero has the generic name of "John", has the generic birthday of July 4, 1900, and is portrayed throughout as unexceptional in every way.
The Crowd / int_6de438eb	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_6de438eb	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_6de438eb
The Crowd / int_7280652a	type	Panicky Expectant Father
The Crowd / int_7280652a	comment	Panicky Expectant Father: John's father is obviously nervous when he's born at the start. John himself is panicky at the birth of his first child.
The Crowd / int_7280652a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_7280652a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_7280652a
The Crowd / int_7319a7de	type	Potty Dance
The Crowd / int_7319a7de	comment	Potty Dance: John has to take his son behind a wooden post to relieve himself.
The Crowd / int_7319a7de	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_7319a7de	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_7319a7de
The Crowd / int_7426582d	type	Token Minority
The Crowd / int_7426582d	comment	Token Minority: Amongst John's Childhood Friends is one black boy.
The Crowd / int_7426582d	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_7426582d	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_7426582d
The Crowd / int_76dc3807	type	Alone in a Crowd
The Crowd / int_76dc3807	comment	Alone in a Crowd: A recurring motif—the film's central theme, in fact.
The Crowd / int_76dc3807	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_76dc3807	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_76dc3807
The Crowd / int_7bd657f	type	White Collar Worker
The Crowd / int_7bd657f	comment	White Collar Worker: John's rather vague job has him at one desk in a huge room full of desks, scribbling numbers in a ledger.
The Crowd / int_7bd657f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_7bd657f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_7bd657f
The Crowd / int_834e36d6	type	Tunnel of Love
The Crowd / int_834e36d6	comment	Tunnel of Love: John and Mary go through a Tunnel of Love ride at Coney Island. The gag is that at the end, a curtain labeled "Do They Neck?" is pulled back, to show onlookers outside who is and isn't kissing at the end of the ride.
The Crowd / int_834e36d6	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_834e36d6	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_834e36d6
The Crowd / int_8a986cc7	type	The Great Depression
The Crowd / int_8a986cc7	comment	The Great Depression: NOT an example, actually, since this film was made the year before the stock market crash, but the scenes with hordes of desperate men looking for work are eerily prophetic.
The Crowd / int_8a986cc7	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_8a986cc7	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_8a986cc7
The Crowd / int_94332264	type	Busman's Holiday
The Crowd / int_94332264	comment	Busman's Holiday: When the family goes to the beach at Coney Island, Mary winds up cooking a picnic lunch with an inconvenient portable stove. She complains that it's the same thing she does every day.
The Crowd / int_94332264	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_94332264	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_94332264
The Crowd / int_9d12bbc1	type	Foreshadowing
The Crowd / int_9d12bbc1	comment	Foreshadowing: While John and Mary are riding on top of a double-decker bus, they pass a man on the sidewalk in a clown suit, juggling balls and wearing a sandwich board advertisement. John mocks the man's job and appearance, unaware that he'll be applying for that same job in desperation towards the end of the film.
The Crowd / int_9d12bbc1	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_9d12bbc1	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_9d12bbc1
The Crowd / int_a1257d6	type	Fat Best Friend
The Crowd / int_a1257d6	comment	Fat Best Friend: Played with. Fat, jolly Bert seems like the prototypical sidekick to handsome protagonist John, but Bert actually works hard at his job and winds up far more successful in life than John does, to the point of becoming one of John's bosses.
The Crowd / int_a1257d6	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_a1257d6	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_a1257d6
The Crowd / int_a849183f	type	Toilet Seat Divorce
The Crowd / int_a849183f	comment	Toilet Seat Divorce: At one point John and Mary seem to be headed in this direction, complete with bickering about the broken toilet. (This is in fact the first known appearance of a toilet in an American film. With the imposition of The Hays Code in the 1930s, toilets would disappear from American movies again, not to reappear until 1960 with Psycho).
The Crowd / int_a849183f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_a849183f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_a849183f
The Crowd / int_acecb17d	type	Chekhov's Skill
The Crowd / int_acecb17d	comment	Chekhov's Skill: John's ability to juggle as shown in an early scene gets him a job towards the end.
The Crowd / int_acecb17d	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_acecb17d	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_acecb17d
The Crowd / int_beb932ca	type	Big Applesauce
The Crowd / int_beb932ca	comment	Big Applesauce: Inculudes a memorable montage sequence when John first arrives in the city, which highlights the film's theme of urban alienation.
The Crowd / int_beb932ca	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_beb932ca	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_beb932ca
The Crowd / int_ca87e3ec	type	No Name Given
The Crowd / int_ca87e3ec	comment	No Name Given: Mary and John's daughter is unnamed despite being a pivotal character. Their son narrowly avoids fhis by being called "Junior" (thus it can be assumed he's named after his father).
The Crowd / int_ca87e3ec	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_ca87e3ec	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_ca87e3ec
The Crowd / int_cb83d23b	type	I Just Want to Be Special
The Crowd / int_cb83d23b	comment	I Just Want to Be Special: But he isn't. Or at least not enough to avoid ever actually applying himself enough to achieve the success he craves. One of the tragedies of John's life is that he probably could be a big deal were he not focused on getting there through short cuts.
The Crowd / int_cb83d23b	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_cb83d23b	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_cb83d23b
The Crowd / int_d058677e	type	Amusement Park
The Crowd / int_d058677e	comment	Amusement Park: The Sims family goes to Coney Island, like everybody else in New York City during those years did.
The Crowd / int_d058677e	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_d058677e	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_d058677e
The Crowd / int_d9587b39	type	Happily Failed Suicide
The Crowd / int_d9587b39	comment	Happily Failed Suicide: At the end of his tether, John attempts to end it all by leaping from a railroad bridge in front of a moving train, but is unable to go through with it.
The Crowd / int_d9587b39	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_d9587b39	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_d9587b39
The Crowd / int_fd9763d3	type	Non-Ironic Clown
The Crowd / int_fd9763d3	comment	Non-Ironic Clown: Not at first. Becomes ironic later, when John has to take that same job as a sidewalk clown.
The Crowd / int_fd9763d3	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_fd9763d3	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_fd9763d3
The Crowd / int_name	type	ItemName
The Crowd / int_name	comment
The Crowd / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
The Crowd / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
The Crowd	hasFeature	The Crowd / int_name
The Crowd / int_name	itemName	The Crowd

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

The Crowd	hasFeature	A Hero Is Born / int_9dca4836
The Crowd	hasFeature	Alone in a Crowd / int_9dca4836
The Crowd	hasFeature	Amusement Park / int_9dca4836
The Crowd	hasFeature	Babies Make Everything Better / int_9dca4836
The Crowd	hasFeature	Definite Article Title / int_9dca4836
The Crowd	hasFeature	Fat Best Friend / int_9dca4836
The Crowd	hasFeature	Free-Range Children / int_9dca4836
The Crowd	hasFeature	Grief-Induced Split / int_9dca4836
The Crowd	hasFeature	I Just Want to Be Special / int_9dca4836
The Crowd	hasFeature	Married Too Young / int_9dca4836
The Crowd	hasFeature	New York Is Only Manhattan / int_9dca4836
The Crowd	hasFeature	The World Mocks Your Loss / int_9dca4836
The Crowd	hasFeature	TIME — All-Time 100 Movies / int_9dca4836
The Crowd	hasFeature	Tunnel of Love / int_9dca4836
The Crowd	hasFeature	White Collar Worker / int_9dca4836

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