The Mortal Storm (1940)

100% of critics liked it
(7 reviews)
85% of users liked it
(925 ratings)

The Nazi Party's rise to power has disastrous consequences for a German family in this drama. Victor Roth (Frank Morgan) is a college professor teaching in Germany in 1933 who leads a peaceful and contented life with his wife Emelie (Irene Rich), son Rudi (Gene Reynolds), daughter Freya (Margaret… More The Nazi Party's rise to power has disastrous consequences for a German family in this drama. Victor Roth (Frank Morgan) is a college professor teaching in Germany in 1933 who leads a peaceful and contented life with his wife Emelie (Irene Rich), son Rudi (Gene Reynolds), daughter Freya (Margaret Sullavan), and stepsons Otto (Robert Stack) and Erich (William T. Orr). However, Adolph Hitler's emergence as Germany's ruler has an unexpected impact on their lives. Fritz (Robert Young) and Martin (James Stewart) both vie for Freya's hand in marriage, but anti-Nazi activist Martin is forced to flee to Austria, while Freya is disturbed by Fritz's membership in a pro-fascist group. Victor repudiates Hitler's theories about Aryan superiority in class, and he not only loses his teaching position, but he is sentenced to a concentration camp. And while Emelie and Rudi join Freya as she tries to escape to Martin's new home in Austria, they find themselves hunted by Otto and Erich, now members of the Hitler Youth. The Mortal Storm was perhaps the most explicitly anti-Nazi film made in Hollywood prior to America's entry into WWII, and it resulted in all of MGM's product being banned in Germany. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 43 min.
Directed By: Frank Borzage
Written By: Claudine West, Anderson Ellis, George Froeschel
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1940 Wide
On DVD: Jul 20, 1994

Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
This was the first Hollywood film to so openly and boldly cast aspersions on the Nazi oppression.
Jaime N. Christley, Slant Magazine
Romance becomes the irritant and, effectively, Borzage positions his romanticism as a contribution to Hollywood's anti-fascist crusade.

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Featured Audience Ratings

First L

TV description of this movie is as follows: An austrian farmer and a professor's daughter flee nazi Germany on skis. While I suppose this description is fair, it fails to get to the heart of the film and what it's really going for. Made in 1940 (although srt in 1933),… More
TV description of this movie is as follows: An austrian farmer and a professor's daughter flee nazi Germany on skis. While I suppose this description is fair, it fails to get to the heart of the film and what it's really going for. Made in 1940 (although srt in 1933), before America entered into WWII, The Mortal Storm tells the story of Prof. Viktor Roth, a professor at the local college who, as the film begins, is celebrating his 60th birthday. The community seems unified in it's outpouring of love for this respected teacher, as do his children and step-children. That night, as they are eating the birthday cakte, it's announced that Adolf Hitler has come into power. Some, like his two stepsons (Robert Stack, William Orr) and his daughter's fiance (Robert Young), are over-joyed. Others, like student and family friend Martin Breitner (James Stewart) and the professor himself are not. Those who are pro-Hitler are very excited to see their once great and proud Germany restored to it's former glory, while the others worry this new Germany might not have any room for dissenting opinions. Of course the dissenters have a great deal to worry about, like the old man who's beaten up in the streets by five nazi thugs for not singing along to their murderous, warmongering anthem. When the family patriarch is arrested for teaching that there is no physiological difference between aryan and non-aryan blood, the free thinking citizens of the town look to flee the country. Yes there are skis involved, but this film is more about the subjugation of the individual to mob hysteria. It says on IMDB (my favorite movie source) that Hitler so hated this film he banned all MGM movies from the country. That should be a more powerful endorsement of this film than anything I could write.
Stella D

they'll never make a nazi out of jimmy stewart!

Cast

            Margaret Sullavan as Freya Roth

            James Stewart as Martin Breitner

            Robert Young as Fritz Marberg

            Frank Morgan as Professor Victor Roth

            Robert Stack as Otto von Rohn

            Bonita Granville as Elsa

            Irene Rich as Mrs. Victor Roth

            Maria Ouspenskaya as Mrs. Breitner

            William Orr as Erich von Rohn

            Gene Reynolds as Rudi

            Russell Hicks as Rector

            William Edmunds as Lehman

            Esther Dale as Marta

            Dan Dailey as Holl

            Granville Bates as Prof. Berg

            Thomas W. Ross as Professor Werner

            Ward Bond as Franz

            Sue Moore as Theresa

            Harry Depp as 2nd Colleague

            Gus Glassmire as Colleague

            Max Davidson as Old Man

            Robert O. Davis as Hartman

            Dick Elliott as Passport Official

            William Irving as Waiter

            Howard Lang as Man

            Fritz Leiber as Oppenheim

            Ted Oliver as Guard

            Lucien Prival as Passport Official

            Dick Rich as Guard

            Bert Roach as Fat Man in Cafe

            Bob Stevenson as Gestapo Guard

            Julius Tannen as 3rd Colleague

            Henry Victor as Gestapo Official

            John Stark as Gestapo Official

            Tom Drake
            
See full cast