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The Mortal Storm

1940 1h 40m Drama List
100% Tomatometer 14 Reviews 86% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Professor Victor Roth (Frank Morgan) enjoys a tranquil life with his family in Germany. His daughter Freya (Margaret Sullavan) is courted both by Martin (James Stewart) and Fritz (Robert Young). However, when the Nazis take control of the country, all their lives are shaken. Martin must flee to Austria because of his political stance. Victor loses his job and is sent to a concentration camp when he speaks out against Hitler. Meanwhile, Fritz joins the Nazis and is obliged to hunt down Freya.

Critics Reviews

View All (14) Critics Reviews
Fred Camper Chicago Reader A far subtler director than most, Borzage nevertheless uses spatial separation to express moral opposition: good versus evil, us versus them. Jun 23, 2022 Full Review Nell Minow Movie Mom Rated: 4/5 Jul 30, 2004 Full Review Jaime N. Christley Slant Magazine Romance becomes the irritant and, effectively, Borzage positions his romanticism as a contribution to Hollywood's anti-fascist crusade. Rated: 4/4 Nov 14, 2003 Full Review Zita Short InSession Film As a pair, they can make the audience invest in the relationship between their characters as well as bringing even the most jaded moviegoer to tears, and it’s utterly magical. Feb 9, 2023 Full Review Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies A gutsy film with a much stronger message than people were accustomed to hearing. And even today the film stands strong as a testament to the persuasive power of the movies. Rated: 4/5 Aug 24, 2022 Full Review Danielle Solzman Solzy at the Movies The Mortal Storm shows the first-hand impact of the Nazi atrocities before things get really bad... May 30, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Maximus T Awesome in every way, a must see. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/07/24 Full Review Aldo G Its message is as pertinent now as it was in 1940. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/17/24 Full Review Steve D Important but not really good. Stewart is wasted. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/13/24 Full Review Audience Member This movie is incredible, the acting, the story, the heart, all great. This is movie ages incredibly well and I down to earth think everybody should watch this movie, it teaches a great lesson of how innocent people can get corrupted over dictatorship and just corrupted leaders in general. Even if you're not a fan of old movies you should watch it, because one of these days we might have another Hitler (or at least something like him). Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review William L There are plenty of times where The Mortal Storm shows its age - in technical proficiency (some skiing scenes were very much not on location) and in filmmaking conventions, for instance (among this supposedly all-German character sheet, there are a confusing mix of accents, from heavily Teutonic to good ol' American Boy Scout). But the film compensates in its political stance, as an unabashedly anti-Nazi film released well before the United States became firmly involved in World War II, when the US was still ambiguous in its geopolitical leaning and, just a year before, the German American Bund had hung swastikas alongside portraits of George Washington before an audience of 20,000 at Madison Square Garden, promoting their fascism as "pro-Americanism". West's screenplay (ably adapted from Bottome's novel), focuses on the disintegration of a family based around the tenants of a rabid political mania, as young men eager to 'restore Germany to glory' quickly adopt party dogma as their own, enforcing unquestioning obedience, anti-intellectualism, and racial discrimination ("non-Aryan" is namedropped a few times, though it's not an overt focus) even to the extent of imparting mortal consequences upon those they once loved. There are depictions or implications of social control, book burnings, the removal of "offensive material" (regardless of its factuality), ethnic purity, the focus on a political 'other' as the root cause of all problems, and many other trends that have reemerged among far-right movements in the United States and abroad, only sharpening viewings of this film today. Performances are solid, but none are really standouts, though Sullavan in her primary focus (and as the result of multiple tragedies) feels empathetic. Shocking in 1940 for its willingness to depict ugliness in ideologies that some thought acceptable, and sadly relevant today for the same reason. (4/5) Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/16/21 Full Review david l With arresting cinematography, an epic, very cinematic third act and a terrific, deceptively happy beginning that fools you into thinking that this is going to be a joyous movie, The Mortal Storm quickly pulls the rug beneath you and becomes a frustrating, difficult and eventually heartbreaking story of the atrocious movement that was happening in Germany just as this film was being filmed, and thus it becomes a very powerful, tragic time capsule. Margaret Sullavan is excellent in such a great role whereas James Stewart is expectedly terrific as a heroic moral center. As a result, although rarely thought of as such by many, The Mortal Storm is in my opinion one of the greatest WWII films of all time. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Mortal Storm

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Movie Info

Synopsis Professor Victor Roth (Frank Morgan) enjoys a tranquil life with his family in Germany. His daughter Freya (Margaret Sullavan) is courted both by Martin (James Stewart) and Fritz (Robert Young). However, when the Nazis take control of the country, all their lives are shaken. Martin must flee to Austria because of his political stance. Victor loses his job and is sent to a concentration camp when he speaks out against Hitler. Meanwhile, Fritz joins the Nazis and is obliged to hunt down Freya.
Director
Frank Borzage
Production Co
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
May 7, 2021
Runtime
1h 40m