The great German director Murnau, known especially for his use of moving camera shots to explore three-dimensional space, arrived in Hollywood as sound films were coming into vogue. His first American film was shot silent but released with a musical track. The melodramatic plot, though based on a German novel, was typical Hollywood fare; but Murnau, along with renowned cameramen Karl Struss and Charles Rosher transformed the material by merging the psychological realism of the domestic drama with a lyrical depiction of both the quiet country village and the bustling city, as the protagonists journey through the different landscapes toward reconciliation.