The Silver Screen Oasis

I love this THREE COMRADES, THE MORTAL STORM, and most especially STRANGE CARGO staring Gable & Crawford in a neat morality play, But then again all three films that I have mentioned deal with moral issues.

Have you seen Borzage's 1933 film MAN'S CASTLE? A poignant and provocative romance with Spencer Tracy and Loretta Young. Borzage was quite effective blending tough and tender; this one's truly a gem!

Dewey1960 wrote:Have you seen Borzage's 1933 film MAN'S CASTLE? A poignant and provocative romance with Spencer Tracy and Loretta Young. Borzage was quite effective blending tough and tender; this one's truly a gem!

I have never seen MAN'S CASTLE, thanks again for clueing me in !

Great films. Three Comrades is one of my all time faves. His early Humoresque (1925?) is another awesome work.

I have really been impressed by all of his films I've seen so far, including the Gaynor/Farrell films and all those you mention. Have you seen DESIRE, with Gary Cooper and Marlene Dietrich? Although Lubitsch's print is in evidence, Borzage was an excellent choice of director to complement the master. Of course, my favorite version of A Farewell to Arms was his and I like Mannequin and I Take This Woman, . I've never seen A Man's Castle but I would really love to.

Don't forget the fun "Stage Door Canteen-"with the "once in a lifetime" cast!

Just a reminder, The Mortal Storm (1940) comes on tomorrow. Beautiful looking film. My favorite part is the end when young Robert stack walks through the empty house and hears all the voices of his family and friends before walking out the front door into the snow.

Does anyone know why the legendary Man's Castle (1933) is so rarely shown? Is it because Columbia Pictures seem to have been rather poorly marketed until recently? I realize that prints may reside in MOMA and a few other film archives, but it seems to have an extraordinary reputation and according to some, contains one of Spencer Tracy & Loretta Young's best performances. Of course, it probably didn't hurt that the pair were a couple off screen at the time either.

Moira wrote: "Does anyone know why the legendary Man's Castle (1933) is so rarely shown?"

Columbia (Sony) has at least one perfectly presentable 35mm print of MAN'S CASTLE. I know this because when I was programming a San Francisco art house back in the 90s I booked it twice from them for two seperate Pre-Code Festivals. The film drew a huge crowd each time, eliciting sighs of wonderment and awe. Sony is very slow to release their classic library onto DVD; they tend to stick with the more familiar stars and titles. Which is a shame, as they control the rights to a great many terrific films.

Don't forget "Desire" and "A Farewell to Arms." Both good films.

I think "A Man's Castle" is in public domain, isn't it? I hope so, because i just ordered a copy from somebody on ebay...yikes

Hi TraceyK -
No, I don't think MAN'S CASTLE is in the public domain. I'm fairly certain it's still owned and controlled by Sony (Columbia Pictures). The copy you bought off eBay most likely was taken off cable TV or transfered from a 16mm print and put onto a DVD-R; that happens a lot.

Thanks to a friend I had the opportunity of watching this awsome classic. If you wonder why Borzage is hailed as the "master of romance" you must see this one.

The way in which Borzage handles the actors, the delicate scenes, the very believable dialogue, the truth that bathes the whole film. Such a sensitive film and performances. Maggie Sullavan is magnificent and gives a luminous performance. Douglass Montgomery is great too. I wonder why he did not became a bigger star. Maybe the trend in the 1930s were the tough guys and matinee idols, not Douglass' sensitive, vulnerable type. Four stars out of four.

Masterpiece.

Hi Fernando,
I envy you your enjoyment of Little Man What Now? (1934). This film, along with Margaret Sullavan's first movie, Only Yesterday (1933), and The Moon's Our Home (1936) are films that I've longed to see for their star and for their timeliness, reflecting (probably to a somewhat glossy extent), the Depression era. Since Little Man is said to focus on the problems that plagued post WWI Germany while weaving Borzage's powerful sense of romanticism, and eliciting a fine performance from Sullavan, it would seem to be something I'd like.

I'm not sure exactly why Douglass Montgomery's career stalled, but, I suspect that you're right, his "type"--poetic, sensitive and civilized-- seemed to fall out of fashion with the deepening Depression and were pretty hopelessly passé by the time of the Second World War, when earthier actors came to rule the day...though his career did limp along into the '50s. It probably also didn't help the development of any potential public following for the actor that, after signing a contract with MGM in 1930, he was persuaded to change his name to Kent Douglass by some publicity flack at the studio for a time. When that failed to help his career he returned to his actual name, and he certainly had some very good luck in appearing opposite some strong leading ladies in such early '30s fare as this film, Waterloo Bridge (1931) and Little Women (1933).

From what I read about the travails that accompanied the process of making the original pre-code version of Waterloo Bridge (1931) in James Curtis' book, "James Whale: A New World of Gods and Monsters" about the legendary director, the hapless actor demanded constant coaching and terribly precise direction to evoke the sympathetic character that one sees on screen in that film, nearly driving the high strung Whale to distraction. James Whale was said to have been tempted to fire the young man on several occasions, but, since he wanted to make a success of this film, thus earning himself a possible studio contract, he restrained his impulses. Some sources have suggested that the pretty openly gay Whale may have found the boyish Montgomery appealing, but, from the quotes in Curtis' book from Whale's writings, it appears that the superficial shine wore off pretty quickly as the inexperience of the then fledgling actor became more obvious.

Nevertheless, it just occurred to me that, given our shared admiration for director Frank Borzage, you might enjoy an article that I came across from the scholarly Senses of Cinema about our neglected "forgotten man", Borzage, found here.

It's always a joy to read your very well written & informative posts dear Moira. I'd also love to watch those two films, especially "Only Yesterday" which has the same basic plot than one of my all-time faves, "Letter from an Unknown Woman".

Maggie Sullavan is also one of my favorite actresses. It seem she was also a Borzage favorite, since she starred in four of his films.

moirafinnie wrote:Nevertheless, it just occurred to me that, given our shared admiration for director Frank Borzage, you might enjoy an article that I came across from the scholarly Senses of Cinema about our neglected "forgotten man", Borzage, found here.

And thanks for this!!!