A moment for Frank Borzage
The artful and emotional films of director Frank Borzage stand the test of time
Let’s talk a bit about Frank Borzage. . .
After rewatching Three Comrades (1938) over the weekend, I've been reflecting on the work of director Frank Borzage. He seems under represented in the popular classic film discourse these days, but as a director whose career spanned from 1913 into the 1950s, he crafted some incredibly beautiful and artful films. Borzage’s work is deeply emotional, and his focus on strong characters and character development creates an intimacy with the audience that sets his films apart from many of his contemporaries.
His late silent era classics Seventh Heaven (1927), Street Angel (1928), and Lucky Star (1929)—all produced for Fox Film Corporation and starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell—exemplify the major themes prevalent in most of Borzage’s work: resilience in adversity, a spiritual or mystical connection between lovers, and an overwhelming sense of hope and optimism even in the midst of tragedy.
Farrell and Gaynor owe much of their screen popularity to Borzage, who initiated their pairing in Seventh Heaven and directed their first three film collaborations. For the movie-going public, Gaynor and Farrell embodied innocence, purity, resilience, and romantic idealism. Their on-screen chemistry and recurring roles in Borzage's films created an iconic pairing that became emblematic of Borzage’s romantic and emotionally driven storytelling.
The two would go on to make a total of twelve films together. Sadly, like Borzage, both Gaynor and Farrell—once the most popular film duo in America—have also fallen out of the popular consciousness.
Throughout Borzage’s filmography, you can see him wrestling with the same themes and ideas, often centered around human emotions, relationships, and the transformative power of love. For Borzage, love is nature’s most powerful force, so powerful that it can overcome obstacles like war, poverty, and oppression. It transcends adversity and transforms the seemingly irredeemable.
In Street Angel it is the love between a starving artist and a desperate young woman on the run from the police, in History Is Made at Night it is the love of a woman(Jean Arthur) trapped in a loveless and oppressive marriage for her mysterious and elegant kidnapper (Charles Boyer), and in Moonrise (1948) it is the love the bullied man (Dane Clark), who only knows fear and aggression, finds in the kindness and understanding of a gentle school teacher (Gail Russell).
Poverty and class issues were also recurring themes in Borzage’s work. Films like Bad Girl (1931) and Man’s Castle (1933) highlighted the devastating effects of poverty and the Great Depression on the working class. In Bad Girl, the film that brought Borzage his second Best Director Academy Award, a young couple, Eddie (James Dunne) and Dot (Sally Eilers) begin a tumultuous relationship, marked by misunderstandings and financial struggles, including Eddie's postponed dream of owning a radio shop to support his growing family. Miscommunication and external pressures strain their marriage as they try to navigate the drama of young love, hurt feelings and economic hardships.
Man's Castle (1933) follows the story of Bill (Spencer Tracy) and Trina (Loretta Young). Bill, a charismatic but destitute man living in a shantytown, encounters Trina, a hungry and homeless young woman, in a park. Moved by compassion, he invites her to share his meager shack in a hobo village, and their relationship blossoms as they struggle to survive.
Borzage’s characters often find themselves navigating a hostile world amidst the chaos of not only economic hardship, but war and political upheaval with love working as an almost mystical force able to lift them, if not physically then at least spiritually, above their circumstances.
His exploration of human emotions and relationships against the backdrop of socio-political turmoil in inter-war Germany is at the heart of three of his four films with actress Margaret Sullavan (Little Man, What Now?, Three Comrades, and The Mortal Storm).
In Little Man, What Now?(1943), Borzage depicts the fragile stability of the Weimar Republic and the looming threat of economic collapse, which deeply impacts the lives of his characters. Similarly, Three Comrades (1938) delves into the disillusionment and political unrest of the period, setting the stage for the rise of fascism. The Mortal Storm (1940) goes further, examining the insidious impact of Nazism on personal and familial relationships, showcasing the destructive power of totalitarianism on love and human decency.
If Janet Gaynor was Frank Borzage's muse during the silent era, embodying innocence and purity in their collaborations. In the sound era, it was Margaret Sullavan. Sullavan possessed a subtle, natural, and deeply nuanced acting style. Along with her voice, with its unique, rich timbre and gentle cadence, she brought a mesmerizing quality and emotional depth to the characters she portrayed which complemented and also gave a credibility to Borzage’s romantic idealism.
In the 1940s, Frank Borzage's style clashed with the emerging post-war focus on realism, leading to a decline in his popularity. His later films, such as I Will Always Love You and Moonrise, were viewed as old-fashioned. However, today, these films, especially Moonrise, have undergone a critical reappraisal and are considered classics
You can watch some of Frank Borzage’s films at the links below:
and finally. . .
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Borzage is not often thought of as an auteur, even though he actually was. As you show, there are many common themes lurking through the films he directed.