Cheap The Mortal Storm (Video) (Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart) (Frank Borzage) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Mortal Storm

A brutally depressing film about the horrors of Nazi Germany
"The Mortal Storm" is the most depressing but arguably the most powerful movie about what was happening in Germany produced by Hollywood before America entered World War II. University Professor Viktor Roth (Frank Morgan), a non-Aryan, is dismayed when his sons Otto (Robert Stack) and Erich (William T. Orr) become Nazis, following their fanatical friend Fritz Marberg (Robert Young). The professor's daughter Freya (Margaret Sullavan) tries to escape the country with her anti-Nazi friend Martin Breitner (James Stewart), but this is one of those films where nobody gets out alive. When this 1940 film directed by Frank Borzage and based on the novel by Phyllis Bottome was released in Europe, Hitler banned all MGM films from being shown in territories occupied by the Nazis. However, "The Mortal Storm" was a box-office failure in the United States, mainly because by the time it was released it was all too obvious what was happening in Germany. So on the one hand this film is a blistering indictment of Nazi Germany and on the other hand it produced about a year too late to have much of an impact in this country. On balance, I go with the fact that the film is brutally honest at a time when Nazis were being reduced to cartoonish buffoons in films to determine how I would rate this film. For me this is an unforgettable story with a message that could never have been repeated often enough.

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A Powerful Indictment Of Nazism
THE MORTAL STORM is an excellent movie about the early days of Nazi oppression. The film is adapted from a book by Phyllis Bottome.

The story concerns a young couple played by James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan who attempt to flee Germany to Austria on skis after Hitler gains power in 1933. The acting by Stewart and Sullivan is superb. A Strong supporting cast includes Robert Young, Frank Morgan, Robert Stack and Bonita Granville. Frank Borzage is known for directing many other fine movies including A FAREWELL TO ARMS.

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An Important Pre-WWII Film
The VHS version of the 1940 MGM film, "The Mortal Storm" is certainly worth viewing, and makes a strong contribution to any resource library dealing with the history of the Second World War.

This film version of Phyllis Bottome's book is expertly crafted in classic MGM style. Jimmy Stewart, Margaret Sullavan, Robert Young (Father Knows Best), Frank Morgan (The Wizard of Oz); gowns by Adrian, and art direction by Ward B. Rubottom (later to become Art Director at WED Enterprises / Disneyland Inc. for 1955's Main Street USA in Disneyland); all add up to a cast and crew that Hollywood can be proud of.

While the bombs had not yet dropped on Pearl Harbor, some in our nation could foresee the storm that was rising while Hitler seized power throughout Europe. This is the story of that rise, and the consequences for both action and inaction as power is centralized and abuse of that power spins out of control.

An historic and highly recommended story.