[ALERT FOR POSSIBLE SPOILERS]

I have read that depression-era audiences found this film too bleak, and ignored it in favour of more escapist and happy ones. However, i found it very uplifting. Johnny Sims’ acceptance of the rat race and his position in it is a very positive message, relevant even today. A very inspiring movie about the dignity of the everyman.

Note: the movie is also inspiring from a cinematographic perspective; the very famous scene that floats up to Sims’ floor in the skyscraper where he works, finally zooming in on him from the window amidst a mass of fellow accountants spells out his anonymity in a way words can’t really describe!

Another major plus in the movie is the acting. Both James Murray [an actor with a tragic story] and the female lead Eleanor Boardman bring the characters to life without sentimentality, while still making the characters’ emotions seem real. Of course, there is a bit of theatricality in both performances, but that works well for a silent film, and they never go overboard with it anyway.

Bottomline: a classic well worth watching.