The Mortal Storm

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Mortal Storm
The Mortal Storm- 1940- Poster.png
Directed byFrank Borzage
Screenplay byClaudine West
Hans Rameau
George Froeschel
Based onThe Mortal Storm
by Phyllis Bottome
Produced byFrank Borzage
Victor Saville
StarringMargaret Sullavan
James Stewart
Robert Young
Frank Morgan
Robert Stack
Narrated byShepperd Strudwick
CinematographyWilliam H. Daniels
Lloyd Knechtel
Leonard Smith
Edited byElmo Veron
Music byBronislau Kaper
Eugene Zador
Edward Kane
Production
company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • June 14, 1940 (1940-06-14)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Frame from movie trailer
Margaret Sullavan in The Mortal Storm trailer
Dan Dailey and James Stewart in the trailer
Margaret Sullavan in the trailer
PLAY digital copy of full original trailer; runtime 00:02:45.

The Mortal Storm is a 1940 drama film from MGM[1][2] directed by Frank Borzage and starring Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart. The picture shows the impact on Germany's people in general and on one family in particular, the Roths, after Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany (on January 30, 1933) and he and his fascist followers gain unlimited power. The supporting cast features Robert Young, Robert Stack, Frank Morgan, Dan Dailey, Ward Bond and Maria Ouspenskaya.

Plot[]

Germany, in the mountains near the Austrian border, January 30, 1933–the 60th birthday of Professor Viktor Roth (Frank Morgan). He is adored by his family—his wife, Amelie; his daughter Freya, (Margaret Sullavan); his son, Rudi; and his stepsons, Erich (William T. Orr) and Otto (Robert Stack) von Rohn—and by his students. His class welcomes him with thunderous applause and a trophy presented by Martin Breitner (James Stewart) and Fritz Marberg (Robert Young). Roth is deeply moved “that you have understood what I have tried to impart and that into your young hands will be given the torch of science…” All sing “Gaudeamus igitur.” Cut to the family birthday dinner, attended by Martin, a friend of the Roths since childhood, and Fritz, who proposes to Freya. The professor is proud of this family, its “tolerance and sense of humor.”

Suddenly, everything changes. The maid brings wonderful news: Adolf Hitler is Chancellor of Germany. They listen to the radio. Amelie is worried about her husband—what will happen to free thinkers, non-Aryans?[3] The young men—except for Martin—are ecstatic. They leave for a section meeting.

Weeks later, Freya appears at Martin's mountain farm to bring him to the Inn to see their friends. He has stayed away to avoid quarrels. (He also loves her.)

At the Inn, Freya declares, “No politics” and toasts friendship. The youth party leader calls for a song, and almost everyone in the Inn joins in gladly, saluting and singing. “Close up the ranks… “

At the line, “We are by birth, the rulers of the world,” Hal attacks Professor Werner for not singing. Martin steps in, and the bullies allow Werner to leave. Fritz gives Martin an ultimatum: Join the party or be wiped out with other “pacifist vermin” Outside, Holl and his men are beating Werner. Martin gives Fritz his answer—“No”—and goes out to help. Freya follows.

On the train home, Fritz lectures Freya on her unsuitable behavior especially for one whose father is “non-Aryan.”

Professor Roth's refusal to teach the doctrine of racial purity leads to a boycott of his classes. Students—all in uniform, now—rally to burn banned books. Freya finally understands “the Germany that persecutes my people” and breaks her engagement.

When Martin brings Freya home, the gang assaults him. Mrs. Roth intervened, admonishing her sons, who decide to leave the house. Martin helps Professor Werner to escape into Austria.

Professor Roth is arrested. Freya begs Fritz to find out where he is. Fritz reluctantly arranges a meeting with Amelie, at a concentration camp. Roth urges her to take Freya and Rudi out of the country.

Otto arrives with the news that the professor has died from a heart attack. “These maniacs you believe in killed my father” Freya tells Otto.

At the Austrian border, Freya is detained for carrying her father's manuscript. When she is released, she receives a letter from Hilda Breitner.

Martin is waiting at the farm to take her to Austria, on skiis. They drink from the bride cup, with Hilda's blessing. At the inn, the Nazis beat Elsa until she reveals the secret pass. A Gestapo officer makes leading the patrol a test of Fritz's loyalty. They race down the slope, Fritz orders the men to fire. Freya, fatally wounded, dies in Martin's arms, in Austria.

In the Roth's house, Fritz tells Erich and Otto of their sister's death and leaves, crying “It was my duty!” Erich is furious that Martin in free… free to fight everything they stand for. “Yes, thank God for that,” Otto replies. Erich slaps his face and marches out. The camera moves over the house as Otto hears voices from that happy birthday. We hear him running, the door shuts, and the camera pans down to his footprints at the gate, filling up with snow. Over celestial music, a man speaks: “I said to a man who stood at a gate, give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown. And he replied, go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than a light, and safer than a known way.”

Cast[]

Production background[]

The film is based on the 1937 novel The Mortal Storm[4] by the British writer Phyllis Bottome. Bottome moved to Austria in 1924 when her husband, Alban Ernan Forbes Dennis, was posted there. Dennis was a British diplomat and (secretly) MI6 Head of Station with responsibility for Austria, Hungary and Yugoslavia. In 1930, she moved to Munich. She was a witness to the rise of fascism, the rise to power of the Nazi party, and the transformation of Nazi Germany. A Woman Out of Time, a 2007 article by Andrea Crawford, available on Tablet, provides an intriguing glimpse into her life and the creation of the book.

On Bottome’s reaction to the film, Crawford wrote: “Bottome believed that the film ‘brilliantly retained’ the ‘core and spirit’ of her novel. Nevertheless, its storyline was a considerable departure... Bottome’s only disappointment with the film was this: ‘What it is to be a Nazi has been shown with unequivocal sincerity and life-likeness, but in the scene between the Jewish professor and his son, Rudi, there was a watering down of courage. Those familiar with the father’s definition of a good Jew will miss its full significance in the film because the central idea has been overlaid by insignificant words,’ she wrote in an article when the film came out.”[5]

The Mortal Storm was one of the few directly anti-Nazi Hollywood films released before the American entry into World War II in December 1941. The film stars James Stewart as a German who refuses to join the rest of his small Bavarian town in supporting Nazism. He is in love with Freya Roth (Margaret Sullavan), the daughter of a Junker mother and a "non-Aryan" father. The Mortal Storm was the last movie Sullavan and Stewart made together.

It is implied that Freya, her father and Rudi are Jews, but the word "Jew" is never actually used, and they are identified as "non-Aryans". Erich and Otto von Rohn are children of Amelie's previous marriage. They are not “non-Aryan”, but they must fear guilt by association. The movie infuriated the Nazi government, leading to all MGM films being subsequently banned in Germany.

The supporting cast features Robert Young (a major romantic lead in many Hollywood films and later Jim Anderson on television's Father Knows Best, and the title role in Marcus Welby, MD), Robert Stack (The Untouchables, 1959–63), Frank Morgan (Professor Marvel and the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz the previous year), Dan Dailey, Ward Bond (John Wayne's co-star in 23 films, one of director John Ford's favorite ensemble actors, and later the lead in the television series Wagon Train), Maria Ouspenskaya, William T. Orr, and Bonita Granville, who was the first actress to play Nancy Drew onscreen.

Mountain snow scenes were filmed at Salt Lake City, Utah, and Sun Valley, Idaho.[6]

The score by award-winning composer Bronislau Kaper and by Eugene Zador was not credited to them, but rather to a pseudonym, "Edward Kane".

The film concludes with an excerpt from a poem, The Gate of the Year, which King George VI made famous when he quoted it in his Christmas 1939 radio broadcast.

Reception[]

Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called it "magnificently directed and acted ... a passionate drama, struck out of the deepest tragedy, which is comforting at this time only in its exposition of heroic stoicism."[7] Howard Barnes' review in the New York Herald Tribune pointed out the chief difficulty with the film: By the time it was released, all Europe was at war. "...Less than a year ago, it would have had far more dramatic and emotional impact than it has at this time....It is not MGM's fault, but the timing on the making of The Mortal Storm has been extremely bad."[8]

A review in Variety stated: "It is not the first of the anti-Nazi pictures, but it is the most effective film exposé to date of the totalitarian idea, a slugging indictment of the political and social theories advanced by Hitler. ... Performances are excellent."[1] Harrison's Reports wrote: "This is the most powerful anti-Nazi picture yet produced. It excels in every department - that of acting, direction, production and photography."[2] Film Daily wrote: "Because of its virulent exposition of Nazi methods, this film must be seen by every American ... Magnificently directed by Frank Borzage, pulsating with dramatic power, and played up to the hilt by a transcendingly skillful cast, it will electrify audiences wherever it is shown."[9] John Mosher of The New Yorker praised the film's story for being presented "without any theatrical nonsense" and added, "What is outstanding about Frank Borzage's direction is its restraint. The cruel story is told without any of the highlights of horror. We feel that what lies behind is worse than what we are shown."[10]

The Mortal Storm ranked tenth on Film Daily's year-end nationwide poll of 546 critics naming the best films of 1940.[11]

The film holds a 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 11 reviews.[12]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "The Mortal Storm". Variety. New York: Variety, Inc. June 12, 1940. p. 14.
  2. ^ a b Harrison's Reports film review; June 22, 1940, page 98.
  3. ^ The term “non-Aryan” is used through the film as a euphemism for “Jewish”.
  4. ^ The Mortal Storm
  5. ^ "A Woman Out of Time". Tablet Magazine. 2007-07-31. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  6. ^ "The Mortal Storm (1940) - Notes - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  7. ^ Crowther, Bosley (June 21, 1940). "Movie Review - The Mortal Storm". The New York Times. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  8. ^ "The Mortal Storm (1940) - Articles - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  9. ^ "Reviews of New Films". Film Daily. New York: Wid's Films and Film Folk, Inc.: 6 June 11, 1940.
  10. ^ Mosher, John (June 22, 1940). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker. New York: F-R Publishing Corp. p. 62.
  11. ^ "'Rebecca' Wins Critics' Poll". Film Daily. New York: Wid's Films and Film Folk, Inc.: 1 January 14, 1941.
  12. ^ The Mortal Storm - Movie Reviews, retrieved 2021-12-19

External links[]

Retrieved from ""