You can access the Obscure Classics podcast mentioned by the poster above here. Nice site, guys!

Al Lowe,
You commented that “It is quite a touching love story. It makes me wonder about Borzage’s personal life. Any affairs with actresses?”

There is a playful sexuality seamlessly blended with the spiritual aspects of Borzage‘s characters whose presence is “in the world, [and the flesh], but not entirely of the world.” Based on Hervé Dumont‘s well researched book on Frank Borzage‘s life and films and other sources, I’ve learned that like many romantic idealists, life could often disappoint the director, though we, of course, cannot know the other party’s side of things or the entire story. During a troubled first marriage, he was said to have had discreet affairs with Lupe Velez, Mary Pickford, Marion Davies, Joan Crawford and Hedy Lamarr. The quiet, down to earth Borzage, who seems to have inspired affection in almost all who knew him, was renowned for bringing peace and diplomacy to the often rancorous, high pressure atmosphere of film sets. Unfortunately, his union with his first wife, who was an educated woman who was a social butterfly with considerable business interests and a talent for entertaining, seems to have been an odd match for such a man.

His first wife was silent actress Rena (Lorena) Rogers Borzage, whom he married in 1916 just as he was making the transition from actor to director. According to his family and friends, the generous hearted Borzage lavished his wife with every possible Hollywood luxury. Doting on her, she became rather notorious for her extravagance, and her reported bisexual affairs, and an abortion that she is said to have had without his knowledge. The director overlooked as much as he could since he loved her deeply and was often too busy working and pursuing his own hobbies, such as golf, polo and flying to confront their problems, (something that would have been uncharacteristic for Borzage). As Borzage’s family members said: “The thing he loved most in his early life was Rena, he idolized her. Look at Janet Gaynor and Helen Hayes: they had the same body as Rena, it’s not a coincidence!” Others have also noted that Margaret Sullavan was close to the ideal Borzage woman: small, ethereal and gamine, with hidden strengths. The real life Rena, who claimed to respect but not love him, is said to have felt obliged to fling her preference for another lover in his face publicly at their twentieth wedding anniversary party with many of their family and friends present.

This state of affairs finally led to a divorce, and matters came to a head just as Borzage made what may have been one of his most somber and deeply felt movies, The Mortal Storm, (1940). Borzage, who sought treatment for alcoholism at several intervals during his Hollywood career (he finally quit drinking in the ’50s), was deeply wounded by his marriage’s failure.

The director later married Edna Stillwell Skelton, (ex-wife of Red Skelton, though she continued to be the comedian’s business representative even after the divorce and her re-marriage) in 1946, which only lasted until 1948. He married Juanita (“Nita” ) Scott in 1953, a young woman who worked as an accountant when they met. Their marriage, which is described as very happy, lasted until his death in 1962.

Borzage, who was deeply disappointed to never have had children, doted on his many nieces and nephews, financing many of their educations, and helping his entire extended family share in his good fortune.

I apologize for being so tardy in replying to your kind remarks.

We did a podcast on Man’s Castle over at Obscure Classics, if anyone’s interested in listening.

I’d been disappointed when I caught up with other early Tracy films – Dante’s Inferno, Me and My Gal, The Power and the Glory. I knew his famous later films really well; I watched them every time they aired on TV and now own the videos.

Loretta Young was right about her performance. She showed she could act.

Yes, the sexist attitude of the protagonist is hard to take. But times haven’t really changed. Some men still act that way and SOME women still take it.

It is easy to see that Tracy and Young were intimate from their rapport. It is the same with Woman of the Year, with Tracy and Hepburn seeming like they were more than just co-stars.

Loretta plays a strong woman character. And Tracy is outstanding playing a man who is an unpredictable mass of contradictions.

It is quite a touching love story. It makes me wonder about Borzage’s personal life. Any affairs with actresses?

I think that Loretta Young’s success in films is usually underrated. She is unique in having co-starred with virtually all of the top leading men of the era – Gary Cooper, Alan Ladd, Gable, Tracy, Robert Taylor, Van Johnson, Tyrone Power, Orson Welles, Charles Boyer, Jeff Chandler, James Cagney, Cary Grant, David Niven, Joel McCrea, Ray Milland, Frederic March, Joseph Cotten, William Holden, Robert Mitchum, John Forsythe. It looks like the only ones she missed were Errol Flynn, Bogart, Brando, Tony Curtis, Montgomery Clift and Paul Muni.
And, of course, she had a very successful TV career.

I am Spencer Tracy’s Number 1 fan and I agree with your assessment of his talents. In his early 30s films he seems at times inspired and at times lost. A friend sent me a tape of his Raoul Walsh-directed film Me and My Gal. The Tracy of those years did not seem as focused and as intent on getting the best of the scene as he was at MGM.

The off-screen liason between Young and Tracy seems as bizarre as Kate Hepburn having an affair with Howard Hughes.

And, although I am a devoted movie buff, I am ignorant about most of the films made by Frank Borzage.
I do know Stage Door Canteen is a winner, not so much for its quality but for recording an entertainment era.

Thanks for your article.

“The Mortal Storm” works it’s magic as it had my 17 year old in tears. What more can a creator ask for?