"The Mortal Storm" was just one of a handful of films made in America during the period before the country entered WW2 and it's one of the bravest dealing directly and bleakly with the rise of fascism in Germany. (Hitler not only banned the film but subsequently banned all MGM films). It begins in 1933 and is about how Hitler's 'election' to Chancellor divides a group of lifelong friends with the characters played by James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan standing against fascism whilst Robert Young, Robert Stack and Dan Dailey amongst others join the Nazi Party.
The director was Frank Borzage who was, first and foremost, one of cinema's great romantics and this film remains one of his finest love stories; the way Borzage blends the romantic with the political is often nothing short of miraculous and while the American accents of many of the cast may grate a little the performances throughout are faultless, (even that old ham, Maria Ouspenskaya, is good in this one). Indeed, seen today this looks something like a lost Hollywood masterpiece and it really deserves to be better known.
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