U.S. scene stills for the film “The Mortal Storm" (1940)
Extent and Medium
.1: Height: 7.500 inches (19.05 cm) | Width: 9.500 inches (24.13 cm)
.2: Height: 10.125 inches (25.718 cm) | Width: 8.000 inches (20.32 cm)
Creator(s)
- Ken Sutak (Compiler)
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (Production Company)
Biographical History
The Cinema Judaica Collection consists of more than 1,200 objects relating to films about World War II and the Holocaust as well as Jewish, Israeli, and biblical subjects, from 1923 to 2000, from the United States, Europe, Israel, Canada, Mexico, and Argentina. The collection was amassed by film memorabilia collector Ken Sutak, to document Holocaust-and Jewish-themed movies of the World War II era and the postwar years. The collection includes posters, lobby and photo cards, scene stills, pressbooks, trade ads, programs, magazines, books, VHS tapes, DVDS, and 78 rpm records. Sutak organized these materials into two groups, “Cinema Judaica: The War Years, 1939–1949” and “Cinema Judaica: The Epic Cycle, 1950–1972” and, in conjunction with the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Museum (now the Dr. Bernard Heller Museum in New York), organized exhibitions on these two themes in 2007 and 2008. Sutak subsequently authored companion books with the same titles.
Archival History
The scene stills were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2018 by Ken Sutak and Sherri Venokur.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Ken Sutak and Sherri Venokur
Scope and Content
Pair of scene stills for the American feature film, “The Mortal Storm,” released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in June 1940. Scene stills are photographs taken on or off the set of a motion picture and are then used as marketing and advertising tools. “The Mortal Storm,” based on a 1938 novel of the same name, was MGM’s first film that openly criticized Nazi Germany. Beginning in 1933, just after Hitler’s appointment as chancellor, it features a Jewish professor of medicine and his daughter, whose fiancé and stepbrothers join the Nazi party. The professor is sent to a concentration camp, while his daughter attempts to cross the Austrian border with a former student of her father’s. The writers of the screenplay were themselves refugees from Nazi Germany. After the movie’s release, German propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels ordered the Berlin office of MGM’s parent company, Lowe’s, to close. He also banned the film (as well as subsequent MGM films) in all German-occupied territories. This object is one of more than 1,200 objects in the Cinema Judaica Collection of materials related to films about World War II and the Holocaust as well as Jewish, Israeli, and biblical themes.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Restrictions on use. Copyright status is unknown.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
.1: Black-and-white, photographic scene still from the movie, “The Mortal Storm.” The photograph depicts an outdoor scene with snowy mountains and trees in the background. A man in a heavy coat, dark knitted cap, white turtleneck sweater, and mittens is holding onto an unconscious woman in a heavy coat. A set of numbers is printed in the bottom left corner. On the back are two paragraphs, typed at a crooked angle, with a square of tape residue on each side and several handwritten ink and pencil inscriptions. The image is creased and scratched in several places, and there is a small loss on the surface in the lower left corner. On the back, there are several ink and fingerprint smudges. Left to right: James Stewart as Martin Breitner, and Margaret Sullavan as Freya Roth .2: Black-and-white, photographic scene still from the movie, “The Mortal Storm.” The photograph depicts a scene inside a lecture amphitheater, which is set up as a scientific laboratory. In the foreground, an older man is wearing a dark suit and standing in right profile facing a young man in a Sturmabteilung (SA) uniform. He stands with his back to the camera and his head turned to the left, looking at the older man. They are standing in front of a lab counter with vials, beakers, and other laboratory equipment. In the background, there are several rows of young men in SA uniforms standing and leaning forward anxiously in the audience section. At the back of the room, men in dark suits and ties are seated underneath a pair of arched windows. On the back of the photograph, two paragraphs are typed at a crooked angle in the center, along with a series of numbers stamped in purple ink in the top right corner. The paragraphs are duplicated on a small, creased sheet of yellowed paper, which is adhered to the back, left corner of the photo and folded up over the bottom edge at an angle. Left to right: Frank Morgan as Professor Viktor Roth, Robert Young as Fritz Marberg, others unidentified
.1 back, top left corner, handwritten, black pencil : 380 / X .1 back, center, inverted, handwritten, pencil : 2 .1 back, center, typed, black ink : STORY IN PICTURES…”The Mortal Storm,” a story of a family / caught in the complications of Nazi Germany, is one of the first / films to come out of Hollywood based on headlines of the moment. / It is a powerful, dramatic story, told without hysteria and based / on actual fact. The film has a strong cast headed by Margaret / Sullavan, James Stewart, Robert Young and Frank Morgan. It was / directed by Frank Borzage at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. / 21. Martin and Freya are at the border when the patrol spies / them. They order the two to halt, but in a wild dash for freedom / the two continue on. Fritz orders his company to fire. Freya, / now on the Asutrian [SIC] side, is fatally wounded. She dies in Martin’s / arms. .1 back, bottom left corner, handwritten, black ink : [1]940 6 [-] 11 [-] 40 / 6-11-40 .2 back, top right corner, stamped, purple ink : 1135-171 .2 back, center, typed, black ink : STORY IN PICTURES…”The Mortal Storm,” a story of a family / caught in the complications of Nazi Germany, is one of the first / films to come out of Hollywood based on headlines of the moment. / It is a powerful, dramatic story, told without hysteria and based / on actual fact. The film has a strong cast headed by Margaret / Sullavan, James Stewart, Robert Young and Frank Morgan. It was / directed by Frank Borzage at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. / 8. In his classroom, Professor Roth incurs [SIC] the wrath of his / Storm Trooper students by proving that there is no difference / between the bloods of the human race. His statement is chal- / lenged by District Leader Holl. When he insists that his find- / ings are the findings of science, not of himself, almost the / entire group leaves the room. Even Fritz refuses to remain. .2 front, yellow paper, typed, black ink : STORY IN PICTURES…”The Mortal Storm,” a story of a family / caught in the complications of Nazi Germany, is one of the first / films to come out of Hollywood based on headlines of the moment. / It is a powerful, dramatic story, told without hysteria and based / on actual fact. The film has a strong cast headed by Margaret / Sullavan, James Stewart, Robert Young and Frank Morgan. It was / directed by Frank Borzage at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. / 8. In his classroom, Professor Roth incurs [SIC] the wrath of his / Storm Trooper students by proving that there is no difference / between the bloods of the human race. His statement is chal- / lenged by District Leader Holl. When he insists that his find- / ings are the findings of science, not of himself, almost the / entire group leaves the room. Even Fritz refuses to remain.
People
- Young, Robert, 1907-1998.
- Stewart, James, 1908-1997.
- Morgan, Frank, 1890-1949.
- Sullavan, Margaret, 1909-1960.
Subjects
- Austria.
- National socialism in motion pictures.
- Armed Forces in motion pictures.
- World War (1939-1945)
- Germany.
- Historical films.
- Nazis in motion pictures.
- Film adaptations.
- Germans in motion pictures.
- Nazis--United States--Drama.
- Soldiers in motion pictures.
- Anti-war films.
- Motion pictures--History--20th century.
Genre
- Object
- Photographs
- Film Stills.