Frank Borzage

A nightclub dancer marries into society and has to contend with her jealous sister-in-law.Read More »

John, an American pilot crashes in France and must get to the underground before the Nazis can capture him. He is helped by a naive young nun Sister Clothilde who, despite her calling to the Lord and the fact that John is happily married, falls in love with the stranded pilot. Once they hook up with the underground, she agrees to pose as his “wife” so that he may transport secret documents from the French freedom fighters to London. In the end, Sister Clothilde sacrifices herself to save John and is captured by the Nazis, who plan to ship her off to a German whorehouse for active duty. Rather than see her suffer a fate worse than death, French Mayor Vitrey kills Sister Clothilde.Read More »

Even though its release date in 1933 pre-dated the most rigorous version of Hollywood’s Production Code,Man’s Castle still ran into censorship problems over such material as a man and woman skinny-dipping, and an unmarried pregnancy. Cuts were made to the original print even before the film came out, and still more for a 1938 re-release. Director Frank Borzage was at the height of his career, and Spencer Tracy on the verge of becoming a major star, but the controversy surrounding Man’s Castle seemed to affect its box office appeal, and it faded into obscurity.Read More »

STRANDED is a lightweight but enjoyable romance starring George Brent and Kay Francis.

A world of girders and cable – that’s where Mack Hale works, supervising the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. In its shadow is a world of hopes and fears. That’s where Lynn Palmer works, aiding travelers stranded in an unforgiving city during the depths of the Depression. In this fast-paced romantic drama directed by two-time Academy Award® winner* Frank Borzage, Kay Francis and George Brent portray a young couple threatened by gangsters eager to muscle in on the construction payroll. The plot is crisp but Stranded is equally engaging as a snapshot of time and place as Lynn does her best for an unwed mother, a destitute boy, four giggling mail-order brides and more bewildered folks grateful for her helping hand.Read More »

A brilliant young surgeon takes the blame for a colleague when a botched surgery causes a patient’s death and buries himself at a wilderness research facility.Read More »

This MGM musical lifts the premise of Pride and Prejudice and plunks it down into the early 1900s. S.Z. Sakall is a restaurateur who has decreed that his seven daughters must marry in order of age — the oldest one first. Kathryn Grayson isn’t the oldest, but she has the sweetest singing voice, and it is she who bags the first husband (Van Heflin). For the record, the remaining six sisters are played by Marsha Hunt, Frances Rafferty, Cecilia Parker, Peggy Moran, Dorothy Morris and Frances Raeburn. Seven Sweethearts was produced by Joe Pasternak, who’d been doing much the same material when in charge of Universal’s Deanna Durbin vehicles. ~ Hal EricksonRead More »

Synopsis
A soldier inaccurately reported as dead returns home to his Spanish family’s estate in California, only to find his father deceased and his ancestral land in the hands of strangers.Read More »

Plot:
A love story centered around the lives of three young German soldiers in the years following World War I. Their close friendship is strengthened by their shared love for the same woman who is dying of tuberculosis…Read More »

A late entry from Frank Borzage and hs first “prestige” picture in years, after being cut loose from the Majors during his personal heyday of the 1920s and 30s.

This was Republic’s first Technicolor feature (and Borzage’s second). The color palette Republic concocted for the film is bizarre to say the least – dominant are pinks, purples, wedgewood blues, mauve, taupe, lilac, with highlights of orange aqua and apricot. The general tone of hyperreality is enhanced further with set design that extends to underfurnished rooms, and cavernous spaces and headroom, like the concert hall wiith virtually surreal intrusions of doric columns and poritcos as decorative objects.Read More »