The Mortal Storm (1940)
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Mr. Arkadin
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The Mortal Storm (1940)
Comes on tomorrow (I also posted a reminder in the People of Film section). The last of the Margaret Sullavan/James Stewart trilogy (The Shopworn Angel and The Shop Around the Corner were the first two). Catch it if you can!
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bobhopefan1940
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This is a really wonderful and moving fim, one of Jimmy Stewart's best performances IMO. Frank Morgan also really shines in this one.
"How strange when an illusion dies. It's as though you've lost a child." --Judy Garland
"To help a friend in need is easy, but to give him your time is not always opportune." --Charlie Chaplin
"Dumb show is best for screen people, if they must appear in public." --Buster Keaton
"To help a friend in need is easy, but to give him your time is not always opportune." --Charlie Chaplin
"Dumb show is best for screen people, if they must appear in public." --Buster Keaton
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moira finnie
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The Mortal Storm (1940)
Having seen this beautifully done Frank Borzage film several times since childhood, I found myself drawn once again to this on TCM for some of the still powerful, quiet moments of The Mortal Storm's appeal for me. Here are some deftly realized moments:
During the birthday dinner for Frank Morgan, which is interrupted by the tumultuous news that Hindenburg has ceded power to Hitler, the bellicose joy of Robert Young and the male offsprings' talk insists that "this is when Germany will take her rightful place at the head of nations once again". After all the aggressive sabre rattling, James Stewart quietly speaks his mind, stating, sotto voce: "I believe that peace is better than war."
The scene just before their attempt to flee Germany into Austria, in which Margaret Sullavan and Stewart examine the glass wedding cup passed down through the generations in Stewart's family--an apt symbol of the bond of all the couples who've come before them, so fragile and yet so significant since, like love itself, it still exists and somehow endures over time, despite everything. Though I often find James Stewart's stammering boyishness hard to take in his pre-WWII performances, Margaret Sullavan's artistry and chemistry with him brought out something calmer, more grounded in reality, and more adult in him in each of their films together.
The moment in the concentration camp, when, after telling his wife (Irene Rich) to forget him and leave Germany, we see Frank Morgan's noble, vulnerable head enveloped in darkness. Morgan may give his most fully realized dramatic performance on film in this movie, comparable only to one other of his very human character sketches, as the old, alcoholic telegrapher in The Human Comedy (1943).
Finally, there is the beautiful conclusion of the movie with a very young Robert Stack, as Sullavan's brother, finally acknowledging the evil that has destroyed his family, a brief replay of earlier vocal moments within the once happy house, and the camera fading to the exterior of the house while a silent snow falls, and, the narrator, (who sounds alot like actor Sheppard Strudwick), recites the 1908 poem, "The Gate of the Year" by Minnie Louise Haskins. The uncopyrighted poem, which would have been familiar to audiences in 1940 from its recitation by King George VI at the Queen Mother's funeral shortly after the outbreak of WWII in 1939, is reproduced in its entirety at the end of this post.
I do have a couple of quibbles though--several commentators about this film on the web, in books and, I noticed, Ben Mankiewicz many times state that this movie only alludes to Germany as the setting for its story. Germany is mentioned about 4 times throughout the movie as the location of the events depicted here. Hello, have you guys ever watched this film??
My other quibble: why, oh why, isn't this on dvd in North America??
The Gate of the Year
by Minnie Louise Haskins
I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year
"Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown."
And he replied, "Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!"
So I went forth and finding the Hand of God
Trod gladly into the night
He led me towards the hills
And the breaking of day in the lone east.
So heart be still!
What need our human life to know
If God hath comprehension?
In all the dizzy strife of things
Both high and low,
God hideth his intention.
During the birthday dinner for Frank Morgan, which is interrupted by the tumultuous news that Hindenburg has ceded power to Hitler, the bellicose joy of Robert Young and the male offsprings' talk insists that "this is when Germany will take her rightful place at the head of nations once again". After all the aggressive sabre rattling, James Stewart quietly speaks his mind, stating, sotto voce: "I believe that peace is better than war."
The scene just before their attempt to flee Germany into Austria, in which Margaret Sullavan and Stewart examine the glass wedding cup passed down through the generations in Stewart's family--an apt symbol of the bond of all the couples who've come before them, so fragile and yet so significant since, like love itself, it still exists and somehow endures over time, despite everything. Though I often find James Stewart's stammering boyishness hard to take in his pre-WWII performances, Margaret Sullavan's artistry and chemistry with him brought out something calmer, more grounded in reality, and more adult in him in each of their films together.
The moment in the concentration camp, when, after telling his wife (Irene Rich) to forget him and leave Germany, we see Frank Morgan's noble, vulnerable head enveloped in darkness. Morgan may give his most fully realized dramatic performance on film in this movie, comparable only to one other of his very human character sketches, as the old, alcoholic telegrapher in The Human Comedy (1943).
Finally, there is the beautiful conclusion of the movie with a very young Robert Stack, as Sullavan's brother, finally acknowledging the evil that has destroyed his family, a brief replay of earlier vocal moments within the once happy house, and the camera fading to the exterior of the house while a silent snow falls, and, the narrator, (who sounds alot like actor Sheppard Strudwick), recites the 1908 poem, "The Gate of the Year" by Minnie Louise Haskins. The uncopyrighted poem, which would have been familiar to audiences in 1940 from its recitation by King George VI at the Queen Mother's funeral shortly after the outbreak of WWII in 1939, is reproduced in its entirety at the end of this post.
I do have a couple of quibbles though--several commentators about this film on the web, in books and, I noticed, Ben Mankiewicz many times state that this movie only alludes to Germany as the setting for its story. Germany is mentioned about 4 times throughout the movie as the location of the events depicted here. Hello, have you guys ever watched this film??
My other quibble: why, oh why, isn't this on dvd in North America??
The Gate of the Year
by Minnie Louise Haskins
I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year
"Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown."
And he replied, "Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!"
So I went forth and finding the Hand of God
Trod gladly into the night
He led me towards the hills
And the breaking of day in the lone east.
So heart be still!
What need our human life to know
If God hath comprehension?
In all the dizzy strife of things
Both high and low,
God hideth his intention.
Seeing this again made me think about the appropriateness of films of advocacy and even overt propaganda during times of cultural and national challenge, particularly in terms of analogy to the present day. Over the past couple decades we have seen the release of tens, perhaps hundreds, of high profile films that either overtly or by implication attack or undermine the Western and American ways of life and their cultural values. Yet over that same period I cannot think of a single broad audience film that focuses on the jackbooted methods of Islamic extremism as it acts out within its own families and communities. If anything, Western media loses no opportunity to wallow in cultural self-loathing or to praise and abet forces that foster the rot of our cultural foundations.
The contrast between the reaction to authentic threats in the thirties and forties and that of today could not be more striking. Today, if anything, we find ourselves mired in politically-correct apology for the worst of thugs who could not have made their intentions more clear, intentions every bit as horrific as those known to be true of the Nazis in the years prior to and early within WWII. In 1940 stars of the stature of Stewart, Sullavan, Young, and Morgan lent their talent to passionate and artistically-delivered messages in defense of culture and nation. Will we ever see anything similar from the Hollywood of today? If so, just when?
The contrast between the reaction to authentic threats in the thirties and forties and that of today could not be more striking. Today, if anything, we find ourselves mired in politically-correct apology for the worst of thugs who could not have made their intentions more clear, intentions every bit as horrific as those known to be true of the Nazis in the years prior to and early within WWII. In 1940 stars of the stature of Stewart, Sullavan, Young, and Morgan lent their talent to passionate and artistically-delivered messages in defense of culture and nation. Will we ever see anything similar from the Hollywood of today? If so, just when?
IMO the American people have more to fear from a delusional, lying, corrupt National Administration than from some perceived outside force, The " war on terror " has not made America safer, it is destroying families here and abroad. The National Guard is depleted and cannot fight real national emergencies. If American is destroyed it will be from within, and I don't mean from War Protesters, but from a reckless " big brother " government and from the hate which is engulfing America and killing its soul. 
While, as you know Ken, I do not generally agree with the emphases given within your reply, I also do not think you provide an adequate reply to the thrust of my post. I was simply arguing that a modern film that is analogous to “The Mortal Storm” would be morally appropriate and is long overdue.
The West and America of 1940 were far from perfect, but that did not prevent the movie industry from producing films that portrayed in unambiguous terms the horror of fascist ideology and methods. I was suggesting that films that do similar justice to the ideology and methods of Islamic extremism would be every bit as appropriate as the anti-Nazi efforts of 1940, to the degree that the lack of such films constitutes a glaring absence which calls into question the values and ideology of modern Hollywood itself.
The West and America of 1940 were far from perfect, but that did not prevent the movie industry from producing films that portrayed in unambiguous terms the horror of fascist ideology and methods. I was suggesting that films that do similar justice to the ideology and methods of Islamic extremism would be every bit as appropriate as the anti-Nazi efforts of 1940, to the degree that the lack of such films constitutes a glaring absence which calls into question the values and ideology of modern Hollywood itself.
Erebus:
The problem is that before WWII, movies were made to remind the American people that President Roosevelt and Congress stayed out of a war they considered not ours. He tried peace negotiations when half of Europe was occupied by Germany, but finally declared war when American soil was attacked. Movies like The Mortal Storm and Foreign Correspondent were 'notifications' that we had better wake up and smell the coffee. Then during the war, movies were props to keep up the morale of both troops and those left at home. Think of all the movies that end with a patriotic speech, or the notice that war bonds were sold in that theater, before the credits rolled.
Once FDR got into the war, the whole nation was behind him, movies showed guys leaving young families to fight because they had a mission, which was to protect those families and the ground they lived on. That sense of urgency is not present with this war because we know the Iraqis did not start it. In other words, we are not protecting, we are attacking and invading in most respects an innocent enemy.
War has always been good for this country's economy - don't ask me how or why - but it is a proven fact, and that's why this moron chose to make a mountain out of a mole hill. I'm not negating the cost of lives on 911, I'm only saying he should have waited and learned the true culprit before acting, but it was a good excuse for him to raise the economics, because he had dug himself into such a hole, it was his only way out.
That's why there was such a lack of movies about both Vietnam and this war, there is no sense of patriotism to garner, about the war, itself, only the soldiers who are over there fighting it.
Anne
The problem is that before WWII, movies were made to remind the American people that President Roosevelt and Congress stayed out of a war they considered not ours. He tried peace negotiations when half of Europe was occupied by Germany, but finally declared war when American soil was attacked. Movies like The Mortal Storm and Foreign Correspondent were 'notifications' that we had better wake up and smell the coffee. Then during the war, movies were props to keep up the morale of both troops and those left at home. Think of all the movies that end with a patriotic speech, or the notice that war bonds were sold in that theater, before the credits rolled.
Once FDR got into the war, the whole nation was behind him, movies showed guys leaving young families to fight because they had a mission, which was to protect those families and the ground they lived on. That sense of urgency is not present with this war because we know the Iraqis did not start it. In other words, we are not protecting, we are attacking and invading in most respects an innocent enemy.
War has always been good for this country's economy - don't ask me how or why - but it is a proven fact, and that's why this moron chose to make a mountain out of a mole hill. I'm not negating the cost of lives on 911, I'm only saying he should have waited and learned the true culprit before acting, but it was a good excuse for him to raise the economics, because he had dug himself into such a hole, it was his only way out.
That's why there was such a lack of movies about both Vietnam and this war, there is no sense of patriotism to garner, about the war, itself, only the soldiers who are over there fighting it.
Anne
Anne
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Anne, I agree with much of what you say. Maybe there has been little patriotism to garner, but maybe there was instead a patriotic instinct in need of awakening. Regardless of the merits of Bush and the war, it is surely past time to “wake up and smell the coffee” of Islamic extremism. It’s a real issue, and a topic more than worthy of honest, or even propagandistic, treatment by Hollywood. I think that the fact that we haven’t seen a great, compelling movie about this, again, as it plays out in the Islamic families and communities most immediately involved, speaks volumes about the biases of today’s Hollywood crowd. And it’s my working assumption that the primary reason we haven’t seen such films is that they would work to the political advantage of Bush and the Republicans in general.
Just to stick my neck out, I will hazard the guess that if in ‘08 the Dems take control of the White House and retain control of both legislative houses, we will then see films such as I advocate. Suddenly it will be necessary and safe for the Dems, the press, and Hollywood to acknowledge the depth and breadth to which the snake has spread, because it will have become politically expedient for them to accept ownership for responding to the threat. The irony is that when that happens the Repubs will in fact support the Dems toward doing what the Repubs themselves have been trying, against Dem opposition that has been shamelessly politically-motivated, to do all along. The global war on terrorism will gain credibility in Dem eyes only once it becomes a Dem war, whereas the Repubs, for all their faults, have never been so politically provincial when it comes to determining the proper long-term national defense path for America as a whole. America is worth defending, especially when one considers the alternatives that would fill the void left by its decline.
Just to stick my neck out, I will hazard the guess that if in ‘08 the Dems take control of the White House and retain control of both legislative houses, we will then see films such as I advocate. Suddenly it will be necessary and safe for the Dems, the press, and Hollywood to acknowledge the depth and breadth to which the snake has spread, because it will have become politically expedient for them to accept ownership for responding to the threat. The irony is that when that happens the Repubs will in fact support the Dems toward doing what the Repubs themselves have been trying, against Dem opposition that has been shamelessly politically-motivated, to do all along. The global war on terrorism will gain credibility in Dem eyes only once it becomes a Dem war, whereas the Repubs, for all their faults, have never been so politically provincial when it comes to determining the proper long-term national defense path for America as a whole. America is worth defending, especially when one considers the alternatives that would fill the void left by its decline.
Erebus:
You said, "America is worth defending, especially when one considers the alternatives that would fill the void left by its decline."
I couldn't agree with you more on that statement. As I said long ago on the other site, When this war broke out, everyone rallied; flags were flown on every house and car, movies were made about 911, everyone said GWB was finally asserting him self as a determined president - until . . . we found out that all of it was a lie. He lied about WMD's, he lied about who the culprit was, he lied about being advised to go ahead . . . all lies. That's when people started losing faith. It may sound totally stupid, but I pride myself on being one of the first in my associates to realize what a moron he is, was, and always will be.
Listening to his speeches, watching him smirk at certain phrases, his nonchalance about Katrina, everything about him in that first year or two made me take second looks. I never voted for him, but once he was in office, I thought, well, let's give him a chance, but when he was re-elected, I feared for America.
As I said in my last post, any movies made would have to be personal stories about the individual soldiers, there is no patriotic backing to this war. What do we have to be patriotic, or proud of except our young men who are doing their duty? We can't be proud of our leaders, they've turned half of the world against us. We can't be proud when we hear of our troops bombing installations, because those installations are mainly innocent civilians. We're still not absolutely sure if the horror stories of torture are militarily universal, or only a small part. And when we are told something, usually it's taken with a grain of salt because of all the previous lies we've been told, we're not sure what to believe.
Take tonights Flying Tigers as an example. Those guys went over to China to help the people against an aggressor, yes they were paid for each plane they shot down, but their main goal was human consideration for a depressed people. disregarding the one bad apple, it was a story of courage and determination. Our guys don't have that for this war. What can we make movies about? With the low mentality of film makers today, I'm surprised a movie hasn't come out yet about Abu Grav (spelling?). Just like Viet Nam, we're going to have to resort to the draft before this is over. I doubt there are any 15 year olds who are anxious to become 18 so they can get into the war!
So, yes you're correct in what you say about worrying about the Islamic nation taking over, but this war is not the correct path to take. We would be better to get out of there and try the peace tables, and have some sanity prevail.
Anne
You said, "America is worth defending, especially when one considers the alternatives that would fill the void left by its decline."
I couldn't agree with you more on that statement. As I said long ago on the other site, When this war broke out, everyone rallied; flags were flown on every house and car, movies were made about 911, everyone said GWB was finally asserting him self as a determined president - until . . . we found out that all of it was a lie. He lied about WMD's, he lied about who the culprit was, he lied about being advised to go ahead . . . all lies. That's when people started losing faith. It may sound totally stupid, but I pride myself on being one of the first in my associates to realize what a moron he is, was, and always will be.
Listening to his speeches, watching him smirk at certain phrases, his nonchalance about Katrina, everything about him in that first year or two made me take second looks. I never voted for him, but once he was in office, I thought, well, let's give him a chance, but when he was re-elected, I feared for America.
As I said in my last post, any movies made would have to be personal stories about the individual soldiers, there is no patriotic backing to this war. What do we have to be patriotic, or proud of except our young men who are doing their duty? We can't be proud of our leaders, they've turned half of the world against us. We can't be proud when we hear of our troops bombing installations, because those installations are mainly innocent civilians. We're still not absolutely sure if the horror stories of torture are militarily universal, or only a small part. And when we are told something, usually it's taken with a grain of salt because of all the previous lies we've been told, we're not sure what to believe.
Take tonights Flying Tigers as an example. Those guys went over to China to help the people against an aggressor, yes they were paid for each plane they shot down, but their main goal was human consideration for a depressed people. disregarding the one bad apple, it was a story of courage and determination. Our guys don't have that for this war. What can we make movies about? With the low mentality of film makers today, I'm surprised a movie hasn't come out yet about Abu Grav (spelling?). Just like Viet Nam, we're going to have to resort to the draft before this is over. I doubt there are any 15 year olds who are anxious to become 18 so they can get into the war!
So, yes you're correct in what you say about worrying about the Islamic nation taking over, but this war is not the correct path to take. We would be better to get out of there and try the peace tables, and have some sanity prevail.
Anne
Anne
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* * * * * * * * What is past is prologue. * * * * * * * *
]***********************************************************************
***********************************************************************
* * * * * * * * What is past is prologue. * * * * * * * *
]***********************************************************************