{"id":5797,"date":"2008-07-24T11:34:46","date_gmt":"2008-07-24T18:34:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5797"},"modified":"2020-12-14T16:56:07","modified_gmt":"2020-12-14T23:56:07","slug":"little-man-what-now-1934","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5797","title":{"rendered":"Little Man, What Now? (1934)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;What have we done to life that we should be mistreated?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/Little-Man-What-Now-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/Little-Man-What-Now-Poster-229x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"229\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-46110\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/Little-Man-What-Now-Poster-229x300.jpg 229w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/Little-Man-What-Now-Poster-98x128.jpg 98w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/Little-Man-What-Now-Poster.jpg 443w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 229px) 100vw, 229px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA young couple (Margaret Sullavan and Douglass Montgomery) expecting their first child struggle to survive in the harsh economic climate of 1930s Germany.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Alan Hale Films<\/li>\n<li>Depression Era<\/li>\n<li>Frank Borzage Films<\/li>\n<li>Margaret Sullavan Films<\/li>\n<li>Unemployment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAs Peary notes, this &#8220;fine, very unusual film&#8221; by director Frank Borzage is both &#8220;a strong argument for love&#8221; and &#8220;one of the few films of the era to depict the plight of the indigent lumpen proletariat&#8221;. Although it&#8217;s set in Germany, <em>Little Man<\/em> &#8212; like Borzage&#8217;s later <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=31\"><em>Mortal Storm<\/em> (1940)<\/a> &#8212; is a Hollywood sound-stage film all the way, with stylized sets and all-American actors; as a result, the story is more of a romantic fable than a realist drama, and its themes of love and survival emerge as universal. Despite its decidedly downbeat timbre and some bitingly harsh scenes, the script is surprisingly humorous, and contains several unexpectedly risque sequences &#8212; beginning with an implication at the beginning of the film that Hans and pregnant Lammchen aren&#8217;t actually married yet. Sullavan and Montgomery (a sensitive actor) are well-cast as the young lovers, and Alan Hale is delightful in an unexpectedly nuanced role as Sullavan&#8217;s would-be pursuer (&#8220;I will establish you, young woman&#8230; I will establish you &#8212; <em>firmly<\/em>&#8220;). <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Wide-eyed Margaret Sullavan as &#8216;Lammchen&#8217; (Peary nominates her for an <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/AlternateOscars.html\">Alternate Oscar<\/a> as Best Actress of the Year)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/little-man-sullavan.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/little-man-sullavan.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5799\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Douglass Montgomery as Hans<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/little-man-montgomery.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/little-man-montgomery.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5800\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Alan Hale as Herr Jachman<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/little-man-hale.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/little-man-hale.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5801\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Several refreshingly risque, seemingly &#8220;pre-Code&#8221; scenes<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/little-man-bed.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/little-man-bed.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5802\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The genuinely sweet romance between Hans and Lammchen<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/little-man-romance.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/little-man-romance.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5803\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Effectively stylized sets<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/little-man-stylized.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/little-man-stylized.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5804\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as one of Borzage&#8217;s most affecting films. Click <a href=\"http:\/\/www.slantmagazine.com\/film\/features\/frankborzage.asp\">here<\/a> to read more about Borzage and his work. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0025408\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/little-man-what-now\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;What have we done to life that we should be mistreated?&#8221; Synopsis: A young couple (Margaret Sullavan and Douglass Montgomery) expecting their first child struggle to survive in the harsh economic climate of 1930s Germany. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Alan Hale Films Depression Era Frank Borzage Films Margaret Sullavan Films Unemployment Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: As Peary notes, this &#8220;fine, very unusual film&#8221; by director Frank Borzage is both &#8220;a strong argument for love&#8221; and &#8220;one of the few&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5797\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5797"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57874,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5797\/revisions\/57874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}