The great German director F. W. Murnau handpicked Gaynor to star in his first Hollywood feature. A masterpiece of silent cinema widely considered among the greatest films ever made, Sunrise tells an elemental tale with virtuosic visual invention. The relatively simple story revolves around a hardworking farmer (George O'Brien) torn between devotion to his virtuous wife (Gaynor) and desire for a seductive vamp from the city (Margaret Livingston). As a naïve, faithful, and nurturing spouse, Gaynor thoroughly embodies the figure of feminine purity and innocence in Murnau's grand archetypal scheme. But her performance is far from one-dimensional, and covers the spectrum from sheer delight to utter despair. Frank Borzage was so impressed by Gaynor's expressive display that he cast her in his next two pictures.