The Mortal Storm
Encyclopedia
The Mortal Storm is a drama film
from MGM starring Margaret Sullavan
and James Stewart
, and directed by Frank Borzage
.
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 Bavaria
n town in supporting Nazism. He falls 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 ever did together.
Freya and her father are implied to be Jews but the word "Jew" is never used, and they are only identified as "non-Aryans"; in addition, Freya's half brothers are all members of the Nazi Party. Though it is understood that the film is set in Germany, the name of the country is rarely mentioned except at the very beginning in a short text of introduction. MGM purposely did not mention the name of the country or the religion of Freya's family because of the large German market for its films, but it was to no avail—the movie infuriated the Nazi government and it led to all MGM films being ban
ned in Germany.
The supporting cast includes Robert Young
, Robert Stack
, Frank Morgan
(Professor Marvel and the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz
), Dan Dailey
, Ward Bond
, Maria Ouspenskaya
, William T. Orr
, and Bonita Granville
, who was the first actress to play Nancy Drew
onscreen.
The film is based on the 1938 novel The Mortal Storm by the British writer Phyllis Bottome
. Mountain snow scenes were filmed at Salt Lake City, Utah
and Sun Valley, Idaho
.
Later, trying to flee the Nazi regime, Freya and Martin attempt to ski across the border to safety in Austria. Freya is gunned down by the Nazis (under reluctant orders from her ex-fiance, who has tried to spare her, but has been ordered to track her down by his superiors). Martin, at her request, picks her up and skis into Austria so she can die in a free country.
Frank Morgan is billed fourth (on the film's pictured poster, for example), but this is Morgan's film all the way. He gives the performance of a lifetime as the German university professor whose personal and professional lives are destroyed by the rise of the Nazis.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
from MGM starring Margaret Sullavan
Margaret Sullavan
Margaret Brooke Sullavan was an American stage and film actress. Sullavan started her career on the stage in 1929. In 1933 she caught the attention of movie director John M. Stahl and had her debut on the screen that same year in Only Yesterday...
and James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
, and directed by Frank Borzage
Frank Borzage
Frank Borzage was an American film director and actor.-Biography:Frank Borzage's father, Luigi Borzaga, was born in Ronzone, in 1859. As a stonemason, he sometimes worked in Switzerland; he met his future wife, Maria Ruegg , where she worked in a silk factory...
.
Production background
The Mortal Storm was one of the few directly anti-NaziNazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
Hollywood films released before the American entry into World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in December 1941. The film stars James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
as a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
who refuses to join the rest of his small Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n town in supporting Nazism. He falls in love with Freya Roth (Margaret Sullavan
Margaret Sullavan
Margaret Brooke Sullavan was an American stage and film actress. Sullavan started her career on the stage in 1929. In 1933 she caught the attention of movie director John M. Stahl and had her debut on the screen that same year in Only Yesterday...
), the daughter of a Junker
Junker
A Junker was a member of the landed nobility of Prussia and eastern Germany. These families were mostly part of the German Uradel and carried on the colonization and Christianization of the northeastern European territories during the medieval Ostsiedlung. The abbreviation of Junker is Jkr...
mother and a "non-Aryan" father. The Mortal Storm was the last movie Sullavan and Stewart ever did together.
Freya and her father are implied to be Jews but the word "Jew" is never used, and they are only identified as "non-Aryans"; in addition, Freya's half brothers are all members of the Nazi Party. Though it is understood that the film is set in Germany, the name of the country is rarely mentioned except at the very beginning in a short text of introduction. MGM purposely did not mention the name of the country or the religion of Freya's family because of the large German market for its films, but it was to no avail—the movie infuriated the Nazi government and it led to all MGM films being ban
Ban (law)
A ban is, generally, any decree that prohibits something.Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some see this as a negative act and others see it as maintaining the "status quo"...
ned in Germany.
The supporting cast includes Robert Young
Robert Young (actor)
Robert George Young was an American television, film, and radio actor, best known for his leading roles as Jim Anderson, the father of Father Knows Best and as physician Marcus Welby in Marcus Welby, M.D. .-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Young was the son of an Irish immigrant father...
, Robert Stack
Robert Stack
Robert Stack was an American actor. In addition to acting in more than 40 films, he was the star of the 1959-1963 ABC television series The Untouchables and later served as the host of Unsolved Mysteries.-Early life:...
, Frank Morgan
Frank Morgan
Frank Morgan was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
(Professor Marvel and the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
), Dan Dailey
Dan Dailey
Daniel James Dailey Jr. was an American dancer and actor.-Early life and career:Born in New York City on December 14, 1915, to James J. and Helen Dailey, both born in New York City. He appeared in a minstrel show when very young, and appeared in vaudeville before his Broadway debut in 1937 in...
, Ward Bond
Ward Bond
Wardell Edwin "Ward" Bond was an American film actor whose rugged appearance and easygoing charm were featured in over 200 movies and the television series Wagon Train.-Early life:...
, Maria Ouspenskaya
Maria Ouspenskaya
Maria Alekseyevna Ouspenskaya was a Russian actress and acting teacher. She achieved success as a stage actress as a young woman in Russia, and as an elderly woman in Hollywood films.-Life and career:...
, William T. Orr
William T. Orr
William T. Orr was an American television producer associated with a series of western and detective programs of the 1950s-1970s....
, and Bonita Granville
Bonita Granville
Bonita Granville was an American film actress and television producer.-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Granville was the daughter of stage actors, and made her film debut at the age of nine in Westward Passage...
, who was the first actress to play Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew is a fictional young amateur detective in various mystery series for all ages. She was created by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate book packaging firm. The character first appeared in 1930. The books have been ghostwritten by a number of authors and are published...
onscreen.
The film is based on the 1938 novel The Mortal Storm by the British writer Phyllis Bottome
Phyllis Bottome
Phyllis Forbes Dennis was a British novelist and short story writer who wrote under her birth name, Phyllis Bottome . She was born in Rochester, Kent to an American clergyman, Rev...
. Mountain snow scenes were filmed at Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
and Sun Valley, Idaho
Sun Valley, Idaho
Sun Valley is a resort city in Blaine County in the central part of the U.S. state of Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum, lying within the greater Wood River valley. Tourists from around the world enjoy its skiing, hiking, ice skating, trail riding, tennis, and cycling. The population was 1,427...
.
Plot
In 1933, Freya Roth (Sullavan) is a young German girl engaged to a Nazi party member (Young). When she realizes the true nature of his political views, she breaks the engagement and turns her attention to anti-Nazi Martin Breitner (Stewart).Later, trying to flee the Nazi regime, Freya and Martin attempt to ski across the border to safety in Austria. Freya is gunned down by the Nazis (under reluctant orders from her ex-fiance, who has tried to spare her, but has been ordered to track her down by his superiors). Martin, at her request, picks her up and skis into Austria so she can die in a free country.
Frank Morgan is billed fourth (on the film's pictured poster, for example), but this is Morgan's film all the way. He gives the performance of a lifetime as the German university professor whose personal and professional lives are destroyed by the rise of the Nazis.
Cast
- Margaret SullavanMargaret SullavanMargaret Brooke Sullavan was an American stage and film actress. Sullavan started her career on the stage in 1929. In 1933 she caught the attention of movie director John M. Stahl and had her debut on the screen that same year in Only Yesterday...
as Freya Roth - James StewartJames Stewart (actor)James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
as Martin Breitner - Robert YoungRobert Young (actor)Robert George Young was an American television, film, and radio actor, best known for his leading roles as Jim Anderson, the father of Father Knows Best and as physician Marcus Welby in Marcus Welby, M.D. .-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Young was the son of an Irish immigrant father...
as Fritz Marberg - Frank MorganFrank MorganFrank Morgan was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
as Prof. Viktor Roth - Robert StackRobert StackRobert Stack was an American actor. In addition to acting in more than 40 films, he was the star of the 1959-1963 ABC television series The Untouchables and later served as the host of Unsolved Mysteries.-Early life:...
as Otto von Rohn - Bonita GranvilleBonita GranvilleBonita Granville was an American film actress and television producer.-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Granville was the daughter of stage actors, and made her film debut at the age of nine in Westward Passage...
as Elsa - Irene RichIrene RichIrene Rich was an American actress who worked in both silent films and talkies.-Career:Born Irene Luther in Buffalo, New York, Rich worked for Will Rogers, who used her in eight pictures, including Water Water Everywhere , The Strange Boarder , Jes' Call Me Jim , Boys Will Be Boys and The Ropin'...
as Amelie Roth - William T. OrrWilliam T. OrrWilliam T. Orr was an American television producer associated with a series of western and detective programs of the 1950s-1970s....
as Erich von Rohn - Maria OuspenskayaMaria OuspenskayaMaria Alekseyevna Ouspenskaya was a Russian actress and acting teacher. She achieved success as a stage actress as a young woman in Russia, and as an elderly woman in Hollywood films.-Life and career:...
as Hilda Breitner - Gene ReynoldsGene ReynoldsGene Reynolds is a former American actor turned award-winning television writer, director, and producer.-Early life:He was born Eugene Reynolds Blumenthal on April 4, 1923 to Frank Eugene Blumenthal and Maude Evelyn Blumenthal in Cleveland, Ohio, he was raised in Detroit, Michigan, where his...
as Rudi Roth - Russell Hicks as Rector of University
- William EdmundsWilliam Edmunds (actor)William Edmunds was a stage and screen character actor, typically playing roles with heavy accents . Born as Guillermo Bocconcini in Italy, he immigrated to the United States and was a New York City based actor, receiving his first credited role in the Bob Hope film Going Spanish...
as Lehman, University Doorman - Esther DaleEsther DaleEsther Dale was an American actress, best known perhaps for her role as Aunt Genevieve in the 1935 Shirley Temple vehicle, Curly Top....
as Marta, the Roths' Maid - Dan DaileyDan DaileyDaniel James Dailey Jr. was an American dancer and actor.-Early life and career:Born in New York City on December 14, 1915, to James J. and Helen Dailey, both born in New York City. He appeared in a minstrel show when very young, and appeared in vaudeville before his Broadway debut in 1937 in...
as Holl, Youth Party Leader (billed as Dan Dailey, Jr.) - Granville Bates as Prof. Berg