The Bride of Glomdal

Beautiful restored 2002 print of one of Dreyer's least-seen silent films, which was made in Norway because of the parlous state of the Danish film industry at the time. Unfortunately the print under review lacked English intertitles, but there was no problem following the storyline, a folksy romantic melodrama (from two stories by Jacob B Bull) about young lovers separated by the boy's poor social standing (he's from the wrong side of the river). The bucolic setting isn't spoiled by any machinery - even in 1926 this must have been a period piece - nor does Dreyer seem inclined to take the inevitable tribulations too seriously: the tone is mostly light until it lurches into adventure film mode for a climax in which the bridegroom is swept through the rapids. Minor, but very pleasant all the same.