The Mortal Storm

If you are a true fan of human drama and don't need high-tech or low-brow eye candy to entertain and move you than this film is a must see. Although it's hard to believe Jimmy Stewart as a German, (he makes no attempt at an accent) the story is utterly compelling. The movie is ell balanced with moments of suspense, romance, tension brutality, and levity. The most refreshing aspect is the lack of gratuitous sex and violence. I love watching a film that conveys violence, love and hatred without excessive or graphic images. It's set in a university town in the German Alps along the Austrian border. It chronicles the rise of the Nazi ethic as seen through the eyes of a Professor, his children and their friends. It gives raw insight into the indoctrination of Nazi youth. It is a great story of love, suffering and cruelty. You will not be disappointed.

This film is nothing short of a masterpiece ! For its time. Although the world situation has changed completely today, and the film may have little or no relevance to the current world situation, at the time in 1940, this was a very very powerful work indeed ! I had always been curious about this film, having read the book when I was young ( in the 1960's ) and was shocked by it ! It's not a war film and it's not the war aspect that frightened me. No, its the way a happily united family can become so disunited because of politics which sent shivers up my spine !! Suddenly, a peaceful and harmonious situation changes dramatically, and you are obliged to take sides, even fighting against your own blood. It really is awesome. Acting is first-rate and image, though in black and white is more than passable for the period ! I can well imagine the film to have been a very powerful piece of anti-Nazi propaganda ! I'm sorry to have to complain about this again but here we have yet another film which should have been out on DVD for several years but ........ there's no sign of it !

Quite honestly, I found this quite unnerving to watch and felt ill at ease observing the gradual breakdown within the family. It certainly isn't a film for the faint hearted and I won't go any further than mention briefly that AWFUL final scene ........!!

Things we take for granted such as freedom to think as we believe and to express those thoughts were snatched away abruptly from the German people in 1933 when Adolph Hitler was "elected" chancellor of Germany. Freedom was replaced by the New Order and as most people know, millions of people were murdered simply because they didn't fit the racial "norms" or accept the dictates of what the government said one should believe,

It's 1933 and Professor Viktor Roth (Frank Morgan) lives with his wife, 2 step sons, daughter and young son in a comfortable home in a university town in the Alps. Although the word is never mentioned, it is clear Professor Roth is Jewish and his life becomes endangered when the Nazis take over. While his 2 stepsons join the party, as does Fritz, his daughter's fiance (played by Robert Young), his daughter and their old family friend Martin (played by Jimmy Stewart) defy the common tide and resist joining the party. And it is Jimmy Stewart who expresses it best - by saying freedom to believe as a person wants to is food and drink to him. And it turns out, it's food and drink to Freya Roth (played by Margaret Sullavan), the young daughter to whom he is attracted. She breaks her engagement to Fritz and escapes -- or tries to -- with Martin. He had already fled to still free Austria while helping a Jewish school teacher escape.

This movie says much about what we take for granted - the sacredness of the right to act, believe, speak and think as a person wishes to, unencumbered by government dictates or threats. These gifts are precious and we have no idea just how precious until they are threatened. If, God forbid, that should ever happen, it is only hoped we have the same courage as young Freya and Martin.

This movie is compelling in a quiet way. There are no shoot 'em ups, no gory prison or execution scenes, no barbarity is shown. But it is there nevertheless and perhaps that is what makes the viewer keep watching. The only drawback is that it was written in 1940 so viewers back then don't really know the ending because the war had another 4 y ears to go and victory was by no means certain in 1940. The U.S. hadn't entered the war yet but word was leaking out as to what was really going on in Germany at the time. It's a shame more people didn't listen and that more people didn't pay attention to the message delivered in such a subtle way in this movie.

This is probably one of the best anti-Nazi films produced in Hollywood before the US entry into WWII. The film does an excellent job in a very melodramatic "MGM" way of showing how an ordinary town and its citizens willingly and some unwillingly were affected by the state policies that National Socialism brought. It's too bad that the studios didn't make more of these films in those days. A fine cast headed by James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan make this an great film to watch. Watch for early performances by actors Robert Young, Robert Stack and Dan Dailey.

There are two things about THE MORTAL STORM that make it unusual. First, it comes from MGM, primarily known as the studio that produced glossy technicolor musicals. Secondly, the entire cast have roles that are unusual for their persona.

Take, for example, all American Robert Young and Robert Stack as dedicated Nazis. Or Frank Morgan as a German professor in a highly dramatic role. Or Bonita Granville in one of her first near-adult dramatic roles. Or Dan Dailey before he became known principally as a musical star. Like several other films of this period (Escape, Nazi Agent, To Be Or Not To Be, The Great Dictator, Berlin Correspondent), it treats the subject of the approaching storm of Nazism with both conviction and emotional power.

Tension builds once it becomes apparent that Margaret Sullavan (as Morgan's daughter) and James Stewart must leave their homeland to escape the Nazi menace that has slowly penetrated their village. The finale with the ski scenes of the two escaping down a mountain slope is played for maximum suspense as they flee to freedom in Austria.

Produced on a handsome scale with realistic looking winter locations and featuring splendid performances from Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Robert Young, Frank Morgan, Robert Stack, Bonita Granville and Maria Ouspenskaya, it is guaranteed to keep you absorbed until the very end.

Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart give their usual earnest performances but it's the superior script and Frank Borzage's expert direction that really counts here. Well worth viewing.