One of three titles nominated for Best Picture at the very first Academy Awards, 7th Heaven helped to establish Fox Film Corporation as a major studio. Although it lost to Wings (the category was called Outstanding Picture at the time), director Borzage took the top prize for directing, star Janet Gaynor for acting, and screenwriter Benjamin Glazer for adaptation. Set in Paris on the cusp of WWI, 7th Heaven is the story of two ordinary people who become involved by chance, separated by war, and transfigured by love. Beautifully photographed and supremely romantic in the telling, 7th Heaven was the first pairing of Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, who would become the romantic duo of the era.
USA, 1927. Directed by Frank Borzage. With Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell. 110 minutes
Live musical accompaniment by Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra
Restoration by MoMA. Print (DCP) courtesy of 20th Century Fox
Copresented by California Film Institute