Editing King Vidor (section)

=== ''The Crowd'' (1928) and cinematic populism ===
In the late 1920s European films, especially from German directors, exerted a strong influence on filmmakers internationally. Vidor's ''[[The Crowd (1928 film)|The Crowd]] '' resonates with these populist films, a "pitiless study" of a young working man's descent into isolation and loss of morale who is ultimately crushed by the urban "assembly line", while his wife struggles to maintain some order in their relationship. Though the most uncharacteristic of Vidor's pictures, it was his personal favorite: the picture, he said "came out of my guts."

Employing relatively unknown actors, the film had modest box office success, but was widely praised by critics. In 1928, Vidor received an Oscar nomination, and his first for Best Director. M-G-M executives, who had been content to allow Vidor an "experimental" film found that bleak social outlook of ''The Crowd'' troubling – reflected in their one-year delay in releasing the film. ''The Crowd'' has since been recognized as one of the "masterpieces" of the late silent era.<ref>Berlinale, 2020. "Guts" quote.<br />Silver 2010: "one of the crown jewels of the [late Silent Era]."<br />Baxter 1972 p. 151<br />Thomson, 2007<br />Baxter 1976 pp. 30, 33</ref><ref>Holliman, year: "The Crowd proved to be so uncompromising and unsentimental in its approach that MGM mogul Irving Thalberg held up its release for a year. Although it was eventually released to international critical acclaim..."<br />Hodsdon, 2013: The Crowd was influenced by "an international wave of populist films in the '20s and '30s including the German populism" and "generally well-received critically and its reputation has continued to grow. The oft-repeated statement that it was a failure with the public seems inaccurate. While it was not a smash hit, ''The Crowd'' grossed more than double its considerable production costs and returned a small profit to the studio. And "It now stands as one of the great silent films"  and inspired Italian director Vittorio De Sica's 1948 film ''Ladri di {{not a typo|biciclette}}'' ([[Bicycle Thieves]]).<br />Durgnat and Simmons, 1988 Also pp. 78–79: "The Crowd belongs to an internationalist wave of populist films..." dealing with working class issues.<br />Baxter 1976 p. 30: "German filmmakers enjoyed an American vogue [due to their] artistic success" And: "his most unusual and uncharacteristic film of the [nineteen-]twenties. And p. 31: Wage earners are "reduced to numbers in a characterless office."</ref>