The Mortal Storm (1940)

Director:

Frank Borzage

Writers:

Claudine West (screenplay) &
Hans Rameau (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

14 June 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The Roth family lead a quiet life in a small village in the German Alps during the early 1930's. When the Nazi's come to power...

Plot Keywords:

Austria Hungary | Hitler | Chase | Concentration Camp | Escape

Cast

Margaret Sullavan	...	Freya Roth
James Stewart	...	Martin Breitner
Robert Young	...	Fritz Marberg
Frank Morgan	...	Prof. Viktor Roth
Robert Stack	...	Otto von Rohn
Bonita Granville	...	Elsa
Irene Rich	...	Amelie Roth
William T. Orr	...	Erich von Rohn
Maria Ouspenskaya	...	Hilda Breitner
Gene Reynolds	...	Rudi Roth
Russell Hicks	...	Rector of University
William Edmunds	...	Lehman, University Doorman
Esther Dale	...	Marta, Roth's Maid
Dan Dailey	...	Holl, Youth Party Leader (as Dan Dailey Jr.)
Granville Bates	...	Prof. Berg

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #6230) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

Reports claimed that uncredited co-producer Victor Saville actually directed large portions of the film.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[white clouds appear; they quickly turn to storm clouds]
Narrator: When man was new upon the earth, he was frightened by the dangers of the elements. He cried out, "The gods of the lightning are angry, and I must kill my fellow man to appease them!" As man grew bolder, he created shelters against the wind and the rain and made harmless the force of the lightning...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Funny About Love (1990)

Soundtrack:

Academic Festival Overture

A storm of emotion

I first saw The Mortal Storm when I was twelve or so and it made a huge impression on me. I've wanted to re-watch ever since and today, twenty-years later, I caught it again.

Produced in 1940, Frank Morgan, James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan head a terrific cast. This is a film which makes you think and makes you angry. Yes, it's melodramatic, but so what? It's melodrama in the best sense of the word. This is emotion serving the cause of reason, casting a shining light on darkness. This is a film which still has the power to make you sweat.

I'd like to address some of the specific criticisms made in the other comments.

Firstly, the film is set in 1933. It opens with the rise to power of Hitler, and visual references to the year 1933 appear in the film (The professor's paperwork in the prison, for instance, is dated August 29, 1933). How much time passes during the film is unclear, it is certainly less than a year, so escaping to Austria WAS still an option.

Secondly, the reason the "sons" could be Nazis, despite the Professor being "Non Aryan" was that they were his step-sons, the children of his wife's first marriage. I'm fairly certain that the daughter and younger son DID belong to the Professor, although this is not made clear.