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Romantic drama

The River

Year
1929
Length
55 minEdition Filmmuseum 36 reconstruction Version sources ↓

A young man tending an isolated river property meets a woman bound to an absent lover, and winter turns their encounter into dependence.

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Language
English
RomanticBleak Best saved for later · For patient viewers Romantic drama

Edited by Monocurator

Two hands wrap around a cold hand in a close view.

Image: Monocurator · source · Original Monocurator artwork

What to expect

Borzage uses water, snow, enclosure, and bodily care to give romance an elemental pressure. The film survives incompletely, so its emotional force reaches us through fragments and reconstruction as well as original design.

How to ease in

Accept the surviving presentation as incomplete. Focus on Allen, Rosalee, and the changing river landscape; atmosphere carries connections that missing material can no longer explain. The 84-minute figure records the original release, not the surviving presentation. Edition Filmmuseum 36 lists its reconstruction at 55 minutes, using surviving footage, photographs and text to bridge missing sections.

Heads-up

A quick, non-exhaustive note Survives in incomplete form and may vary by presentation. Includes sexual coercion, violence, isolation, illness, death, and emotional distress.
Momo's Note May contain spoilers Who is Momo? →
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The missing sections make the river feel even less containable: the film reaches us after part of its course has disappeared. I hold on to the gestures of warmth that remain.

— Momo

Momo thinking about this film

Credits & versions

Version map

AFI 84-minute release record Catalogue record · 84 min 84 minutes is attached only to the named AFI 84-minute release record. No unsupported cut, score, territory, frame rate, source element, or restoration detail is inferred. The 84-minute figure records the original release, not the surviving Edition Filmmuseum reconstruction. Source: American Film Institute — The River Checked 2026-08-22
Edition Filmmuseum 36 reconstruction 55 min The publisher lists this reconstruction at 55 minutes. Surviving footage is supplemented by photographs and text for missing sections; it is not a complete original cut. The AFI 84-minute original-release record remains separate. Current stock, shipping and streaming have not been checked. Source: Edition Filmmuseum 36 — The River Runtime reference · Checked 2026-10-25

Sources for the facts

Where to go next

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More classic films under 90 minutes → More from 1929 → More by Frank Borzage →

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