The Mortal Storm

The Mortal Storm

1940. USA. Directed by Frank Borzage. With James Stewart, Margaret Sullavan, Robert Young, Frank Morgan, Robert Stack. The films Borzage made at Fox immediately following F. W. Murnau’s production of Sunrise at the studio provided graphic evidence of Murnau’s influence. More than a decade later, this portrayal of the uprooting of German families due to the rise of National Socialism showed Borzage to be still under Murnau’s sway. The film was sufficiently offensive to the Nazis that they banned MGM films from Germany. Print courtesy of UCLA Film & Television Archive. 100 min.