Little Man, What Now? [Blu-ray]

Director: Frank Borzage Frank Borzage

Overview

Set in Germany shortly before the collapse of the Weimar Republic, this romantic drama chronicles the travails of an impoverished newlywed couple who leave their home village and move in with the groom's stepmother in bustling Berlin to find success. The husband gets a small job in a department store and things are okay until they discover that the stepmother is really a notorious madame and runs an exclusive brothel. This leads the groom to quit his job and take his pregnant bride on the road in search of opportunity. The plot is based on a novel by Hans Fallada.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/09/2022
UPC:	0738329259617
Original Release:	1934
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Language:	English
Time:	1:38:00

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Margaret Sullavan	Lammchen Pinneberg
Douglass Montgomery	Hans Pinneberg
Muriel Kirkland	Marie Kleinholz
Catharine Doucet	Mia Pinneberg,Mia Pinneberg
Fred Kohler	Communist
Mae Marsh	His Wife
DeWitt Jennings	Emil Kleinholz
Alan Mowbray	Franz Schluter, the Actor
Hedda Hopper	Nurse
Sarah Padden	Widow Scharrenhofer
Earle Foxe	Frenchman,Frenchman
George Meeker	Shultz
Bodil Rosing	Frau Kleinholz
Donald Haines	Kleinholz Jr.
Monroe Owsley	Kessler
G.P. Huntley Jr.	Heilbut
Paul Fix	Lauderback
Frank Reicher	Lehman
Christian Rub	Puttbreese
Etienne Girardot	Spannfuss
Max Asher	Chauffeur
Carlos de Valdez	Dr. Sesam
Tom Ricketts	Mr. Sesam
Alan Hale Jr.	Jachman
G.P. Huntley	Heilbut

Technical Credits

William McGuire

Frank Borzage	Director
Carl Laemmle	Producer
Carl Laemmle Jr.	Producer
William McGuire	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Many of the films of director Frank Borzage embarrass some modern viewers with their unabashed romanticism and sentimentality, so those who fall into this category may want to avoid Little Man, What Now? However, despite the fact that its title is almost unbearably sappy, Man will delight fans of Borzage's work. This is one director who never met a weepie he didn't like, and with good reason: he had a special affinity for melancholy, semi-tragic romances. In Borzage's hands, the banal can become magical, and even the most manipulative story is capable of grabbing the sympathetic viewer. This is definitely the case with Man, which is thoroughly enmeshed in Borzage's worldview of love as the most important thing -- indeed, the ONLY thing -- in the world. At times florid but never gushy (a difficult combination to pull off), Man tugs at the heartstrings, producing both joy and tears, and leaving most viewers quite content. Certainly there's nothing to complain about in the silvery performance of Margaret Sullavan, weaving her special web of wistful wonderment with a delicate hand that is totally captivating. Opposite her, Douglass Montgomery is just the slightest bit wan, but he also manages to bring a fine, raw quality to his work that is valuable in several scenes. The supporting cast, including Alan Hale and DeWitt Jennings, is quite fine.