Moonrise (1948) by Frank Borzage
Sunday, June 12, 1988, 7:30 pm
Hollywood’s Great Romantic: 2 by Borzage
Frank Borzage is now considered a major director of Hollywood’s Golden Age, but his films are still rarely shown. Throughout his career, ranging from his silent films (Street Angel, Seventh Heaven) to his work of the ’30s and ’40s, Borzage was a master of romantic melodrama, creating images seemingly lit from within and characters whose love and faith transcend adversity. Moonrise (1948), one of his last and most powerful films, is particularly notable for its exquisite blending of techniques (lyrical moving camera, expressionistic montage) to tell the story of a man trapped by his past who finds renewal through human contact. A Man’s Castle (1934) is the depression era story of two lovers’ (Spencer Tracy and Loretta Young) struggle to survive in a shanty town. Programmed by Peter Herwitz.