Frank Borzage
Date of birth: 1894-04-23
Place of birth: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Known for: Directing
Also known as: Mr. Borzage, Фрэнк Борзеги
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Frank Borzage (April 23, 1894 – June 19, 1962) was an Academy Award-winning American film director and actor, known for directing 7th Heaven (1927), Street Angel (1928), Bad Girl (1931), A Farewell to Arms (1932), Man's Castle (1933), History Is Made at Night (1937), The Mortal Storm (1940) and Moonrise (1948). In 1912 Borzage found employment as an actor in Hollywood; he continued to work as an actor until 1917. His directorial debut came in 1915 with the film The Pitch o' Chance. He was a successful director throughout the 1920s, but reached his peak in the late silent and early sound era. Absorbing visual influences from the German director F.W. Murnau, who was also resident at Fox at this time, Borzage developed his own style of lushly visual romanticism in a hugely successful series of films starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, including 7th Heaven (1927), for which he won the first Academy Award for Best Director, Street Angel (1928) and Lucky Star (1929). He won a second Oscar for 1931's Bad Girl. He directed 14 films between 1917 and 1919 alone. His greatest success in the silent era was with Humoresque, a box office winner starring Vera Gordon. Borzage's trademark was intense identification with the feelings of young lovers in the face of adversity, with love in his films triumphing over such trials as World War I (7th Heaven and A Farewell to Arms), disability (Lucky Star), the Depression (Man's Castle), a thinly disguised version of the Titanic disaster in History Is Made at Night, and the rise of Nazism, a theme which Borzage had virtually to himself among Hollywood filmmakers from Little Man, What Now? (1933) to Three Comrades (1938) and The Mortal Storm (1940). His work took a spiritual turn in such films as Green Light (1937), Strange Cargo (1940) and The Big Fisherman (1959). Of his later work only the film noir Moonrise (1948) has enjoyed much critical acclaim. After 1948, Borzage's output was sporadic. In 1955 and 1957, he was awarded The George Eastman Award, given by George Eastman House for distinguished contribution to the art of film. Frank Borzage died of cancer in 1962, aged 68.
Movie Credits
A Mormon Maid
1917-04-21
This silent melodrama is set against the 1840s westward migration of the Mormons. Dora, a young woma
In the Sage Brush Country
1914-01-01
In what scenarist C. Gardner Sullivan misleadingly called “The Romantic Adventures of a Woman of the
Loaded Dice
1913-10-03
Loaded Dice is a 1913 short film.
The Panther
1914-12-10
Andrew McLeod, the Factor, is called "The Panther" by the Indians, owing to his cruelty. He wishes t
In the Land of the Otter
1915-01-14
Ben Anderson, factor of the trading station, impatient with his daughter Anne's coquetries, calls al
The Cup of Life
1915-04-26
Sisters Helen and Ruth Fiske work in a department store and live in an East Side tenement. While Rut
The Tavern Keeper's Son
1915-06-09
Juan Capella, the son of a poor Spanish tavern keeper, and his wife, learning of the discovery of go
The Secret of Lost River
1915-06-18
Pierre Vignol, an artist wintering in Arizona, is bitten by a snake. He is taken by his friend, Tom
The Wheel of Life
1914-01-28
The husband and his wife live alone in the mountains, where he is working out a claim. A stranger fr
A Flash in the Dark
1914-02-18
Randall is a rich mine owner whose business affairs cause him to neglect his somewhat frivolous wife
The Mystery of Yellow Aster Mine
1913-08-24
Reed and Rosson are owners of the Yellow Aster mine. They have taken out enough gold to make the fin
The Gratitude of Wanda
1913-08-30
An indian girl brings military relief to the besieged cabin because of her gratitude to the white ma
Retribution
1913-12-10
Dorothy and her father have staked all their hopes on their mine. While they are awaiting the arriva
A Cracksman Santa Claus
1913-12-19
The cracksman is discouraged and cynical. It is Christmas Eve. He takes his revolver and starts out
A Hopi Legend
1913-12-31
An old arrowmaker's daughter, while at the stream, meets a brave from another tribe. They become ena
Love's Western Flight
1914-06-03
For five years Dorothy had put up with her husband although all his refinement, delicacy and love ha
The Wrath of the Gods
1914-06-08
An American sailor falls in love with a fisherman's daughter and convinces her that Jesus is more po
Nugget Jim's Pardner
1916-07-14
Nugget Jim's pardner (Borzage), is an easy-come-easy-go character, an heirling who has worn through
Silent Heroes
1913-09-23
Tom Chatterton is called a coward because he will not enlist in the Home Guard during the Civil War
The Drummer of the 8th
1913-05-28
When the Civil War begins, young Billy runs away from home to enlist in the Northern Army as a drumm
Granddad
1913-07-23
Mildred is staying with her grandfather, Civil War veteran Jabez Burr, when she receives a letter fr
Samson
1914-04-30
Samson, an Israelite whose enormous strength is legendary, falls in love with Zorah, a Philistine, a
The Pilgrim
1916-06-09
A drifter enters town to establish himself. Working as a cowhand, he meets the boss's daughter, who'
The Pitch o' Chance
1915-12-24
One of the earliest surviving short films by Franke Borzage. A simple western about a man who enjoys
The Typhoon
1914-10-10
Tokoramo, a Japanese diplomat on a mission to Paris, begins a love affair with Helene, a chorus girl
Knight of the Trail
1915-08-19
Jim and Molly are set to get married when Molly finds out about her fiancé's criminal past. Bill Car
Murnau, Borzage and Fox
2008-12-09
Documentary focusing on the film careers F.W. Murnau, Frank Borzage and William Fox and their impact
On Secret Service
1912-11-01
Fred Martin is a Southern spy. A northern dispatch bearer is captured, the signature to his messages
In the Switch Tower
1915-03-24
IN THE SWITCH TOWER stars Walter Edwards (who also directed) as Bill Wharton, a middle-aged alcoholi
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
1916-09-04
The story of a poor young woman, separated by prejudice from her husband and baby, is interwoven wit
Jeanne Eagels
1957-08-02
Biographical film based loosely on the life of 1920s stage star Jeanne Eagels.
Fear Not
1917-11-26
Brothers James and Allen Mornington are both addicted to cocaine and both believe that their addicti
Land O' Lizards
1916-09-18
Eastern capitalists hire a stranger to head out to Arizona to investigate property near the Bar C Ra
Wee Lady Betty
1917-08-17
Wee Lady Betty rules the O'Reilly castle with a stern hand and a big heart until she learns that Rog
The Atom
1918-09-15
Jennie is a slavey in a theatrical boarding house. To her the actors are all wonderful, but Montague
A School for Husbands
1917-04-05
Sensible Betty Manners is the wife of the frivolous John Manners. John fritters away his time playin
A Flickering Light
1916-04-14
Jim, a cowboy, comes to town with the boys of the Lazy B, and stops at the Last Chance Saloon. One o
The Courtin' of Calliope Clew
1916-08-11
Dr. Charles Matthews, professor of philosophy in a small New England college, is dismissed, and thou
Immediate Lee
1916-11-13
Immediate Lee, employed on the ranch owned by one Masters, is discharged by the manager through the
In the Toils
1913-09-06
The Clean-Up
1915-12-20
Miriam, daughter of wealthy politician John Barker is engaged to reporter George Prescott. Prescott
Realization
1916-04-22
Driven by her ambition to become an operatic star, Elsa successfully auditions for a small role with
Molly of the Mountains
1915-04-07
The Mill by the Zuyder Zee
1915-03-18
Two Bits
1916-04-07
U.S. Marshal James Hardeman investigates counterfeiters in Red Gulch and meets flower-selling orphan
The Hammer
1915-07-09
Illustrator Donald Barstow living in a run-down studio building develops an interest in the married
The Girl Who Might Have Been
1915-03-12
Dance hall girl, Daisy Wellington, is dismissed after falling ill. A young ranchman takes her to his
A Crook's Sweetheart
1914-11-27
Jim and Flora work together to rob a diamond broker's office, successfully stealing several large, v
The Desperado
1914-11-04
Outlaw Jim Lewis is on the run with his partner "Tom," as his mother tries to protect him from a she
Parson Larkin's Wife
1914-09-23
Chorus girl Jane Woods who vacations in a small town, catches the eye of the local parson, James Lar
The Crimson Stain
1913-07-04
The Curse of Iku
1918-03-01
American sailor Allan Carroll, an American sailor, is shipwrecked of the coast of Japan in the 19th
When Lee Surrenders
1912-11-08
During a fiercely contested battle, a wounded Union officer seeks refuge in a Southern home. He is d
The Days of '49
1913-11-21
A tale of gold discovery, betrayal, and romance set during the California Gold Rush. A dying Indian
The Cactus Blossom
1915-12-31
Prospector Dave Foster and his daughter Beulah live on a worthless claim until Foster befriends an I
Unlucky Luke
1916-04-28
Luke Drummond, popularly known as "Unlucky Luke," and Seth Powers, his friend and chum, have a mock
The Code of Honor
1916-03-21
Captain Frank Marvin and Lieut. Bob Chase are army draftsmen in the Ordnance Department. Marvin is w
Jack
1916-05-26
Jack is just a cowboy on the Gilman cattle ranch. Born and bred of the west, he is broad-mined and e
The Demon of Fear
1916-06-30
James Oliver, has a delicate little wife about to become a mother. Their family doctor advises Olive
That Gal of Burke's
1916-07-28
Tommie Burke is a tomboy, and she can braid a hackamore, rope a steer, ride a broncho, or do any of
Nell Dale's Men Folks
1916-08-25
John Dale runs a small, decent road house on a main trail between distant towns. Nell is his right-h
The Forgotten Prayer
1916-08-31
Mojava Matt realizes that he is slipping away from God, when one Sunday morning he cannot even remem
Matchin' Jim
1916-09-08
Matchin' Jim comes to the "Flying A" ranch and is employed as one of its cowboys. His name is well j
Aloha Oe
1915-11-10
Brilliant but besotted attorney, David Harmon, wins a big case but ends the day in a dingy waterfron