The Mortal Storm (1940)

so disappointing. I'm a fan of war and spy movies and i was so anxious to see this one. I bought it and after 30 minutes of watching i shook my head and said....what a disaster. The acting is bad and all cast seem to throw out their lines to get get home as quick as possible. James Stewart is bland and margaret sullivan acts like a puppet on a string. the story line could have been interesting but was going all directions we see Granville for 5 minutes.......M organ doesn't come back...YET we see endless close up of fake skiing...and that seems to last for an eternity. Gave it a 2...for Frank Morgan....and beautiful mountains. WHAT a simply poor waste of time.

Frank Morgan (Professor Roth) is a respected German Scientist/Biology Lecturer. The film starts on his 60th birthday in 1933 – the same day that Adolf Hitler assumes the Chancellorship of Germany. Uh-oh…. Maybe things won't be the same.This film entertains as it shows the bullying power (Nazis) that can be very scary – in any walk of life. The satisfaction comes from the fight back, in this film, led by James Stewart (Martin Breitner) and his mother Maria Ouspenskaya (Mrs Breitner).A scene that stands out for me is the mock wedding that is staged by Ouspenskaya as she unites her son, James Stewart, and his wife-to-be Margaret Sullavan (Freya) at her home before the two lovers embark upon their escape. The scene is played with sentimentality at first that may make you feel that you are embarking upon some kind of nonsense…until you realize that this is Ouspenskaya's last moment that she can share in happiness. Very touching.What is interesting is this film as a document of a time gone by with how things were in Nazi times. There will always be suppression in some form across the globe. I felt that the film delivers a standard ending, however, but the tears should be saved for Maria Ouspa and her fate.

Despite Mortal Storm's numerous flaws and its unintentionally laughable opening narration (which came across to me as being almost lunatic), this film still manages to deliver a powerful anti-Nazi message that packs a punch, even when viewed today, 74 years later.Considering that back in 1940 the USA was not yet involved in the war that was raging away in Europe, I'm quite surprised that MGM Studios actually went out on a limb and released a film of this one's nature, which clearly paints a very negative picture of the gloom & doom regarding the rise of The Third Reich in Nazi Germany.Is it any wonder that after the infuriated Adolf Hitler viewed Mortal Storm he promptly ordered his minister of propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, to have all films produced by MGM banned throughout Germany? Set in 1933 (the year Hitler was elected as Chancellor of Germany), Mortal Storm's "swastika-in-your-face" story of escalating emotions, blind intolerance, family betrayal and Nazi loyalty takes place in a small Bavarian university town situated at the base of the Alps.The action of Mortal Storm's story focuses in on the well-respected and well-to-do Roth family whose head of the household is a greatly admired professor at the Bahnhoff University.Once Hitler is placed in supreme power this, in turn, gets the "party-loyalty" juices flowing amongst the young, adult males throughout this once-quiet town. (Never do we ever see any women joining in on this fanatic political movement) Needless to say, all of this turmoil quickly begins to sever the close-knit ties that had previously held the Roth family (as well as many others) together.I think that it's interesting to note that neither the word "Jew" nor "Nazi" were ever spoken in this film.And, finally - When it came to Mortal Storm's cast, I, personally, thought that both James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan were clearly unconvincing and not at all suited for the dramatic demands of their parts.On the other hand, the one performance that I consider to be something of a standout was that of Robert Young as Fritz Marberg, the zealous yet tortured young student who finds himself torn between his loyalty to his friends and his fanatical allegiance to Nazism.All-in-all - Mortal Storm, which was filmed in b&w, was certainly well-worth a view.

This very political look at Pre-World War 2 Europe is a solid multi-faceted drama about a family being torn apart by the Nazis. While the film does not mention Germany by name, it has plenty of swastika's and does feature a ski escape sequence to Austria. Jimmy Stewart leads a fine cast with a great role by Frank Morgan as the ailing father of the family and Margaret O'Brien. Robert Young plays a Nazi officer who is a big departure from Father Knows Best which came much later. Young is convincing in his role.The most powerful and disturbing line to me is when the son quotes what he is being taught in school. The line goes like "We must all sacrifice our personal lives and beliefs in order to further the cause of our government." While I might not have the quote exactly right, the idea behind it is that we are supposed to follow our government like some bunch of blind and mindless robots. This idea reminds me very much of some issues in our government and society today.The reason this is not the perfect movie is it does suffer from the time the movie was made. The ski escape sequence particularly suffers from the crude technology of the times. It is hard to imagine all those actors out in the cold mountains skiing without being dressed warmly. This stuff is very obviously staged in a studio and crudely done.That does not take away from a well written script, a terrific cast and a timeless drama.