This is a typical Frank Borzage film, dealing only with ordinary people but telling a very moving story about a young family with a father out of work, who happen to all kinds of social mishaps in their desperate effort to survive and find a livelihood. It is based on Hans Fallada's most famous novel, which was a bestseller in its day, as too many recognized themselves in the fate of the unemployed father, as it deals with the difficult years of the depression. Like so many of Borzage's films, it all happens in Germany, and the mood is that of the general desperation and unrest after the First World War in the 20s. Douglass Montgomery as the father makes a very touching figure of a helpless father who can't handle money properly and considers it more important to satisfy his wife's irresponsible fancies than to keep a job that inflicts on his pride. Margaret Sullavan as the wife is perfect for the role, irresistibly pretty and charming and at the same time outrageously naïve in her lack of character, while she manages to keep spirits up nevertheless. Alan Mowbray plays a short part accentuating the social tensions and differences of that society, while their final old host (Christian Rub) makes an adorable character. The whole story is actually about a baby, who is expected throughout the film, and the mishaps of the young parents to be keep you anxiously worried all the way about what will happen to this poor family, while Borzage as usual and the baby actually save the show.
Review of Little Man, What Now?
