Renowned for his use of moving camera shots to explore three-dimensional space, Murnau arrived in Hollywood as sound films were coming into vogue.  His first American film, shot silent but released with a musical track, was based on a melodramatic German novel.  Murnau, along with acclaimed 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— connected by the protagonists' celebrated streetcar journey through the different visual landscapes.