''Man's Castle'' is a 1933

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

American film directed by

Frank Borzage Frank Borzage ( né Borzaga; April 23, 1894 – June 19, 1962) was an American film director and actor. He was the first person to win the Academy Awards, Academy Award for Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director for his film ''7th Heaven ...

and starring

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the ...

and

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Michaela Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1989. She received numerous honors including an Academy Awards ...

Plot

Well-dressed Bill takes pity on Trina, a hungry young woman he meets in a city park and treats her to a dinner in a fancy restaurant. After she is finished, he informs the manager he has no money. He then raises such a ruckus that the manager is all too willing to let them go. When Bill learns that Trina is also homeless, he lets her stay at his ramshackle home in a

shanty town A shanty town, squatter area, squatter settlement, or squatter camp is a settlement of improvised buildings known as shanties or shacks, typically made of materials such as mud and wood, or from cheap building materials such as corrugated iron s ...

. Among their neighbors and friends are widowed former preacher Ira and Flossie, an alcoholic older woman Ira is trying to reform. Bill is a wandering sort, unwilling to live in the same place too long. Trina falls in love with him, but wisely makes no demands that will make him feel trapped in their developing relationship. When she longs for a new stove, he raises the down payment by serving a summons on Fay La Rue, the star of a show. Far from resenting it, Fay wants him for a playmate. He is tempted, but turns her down. Just as Bill's restless nature starts becoming too much for him, Trina tells him she is pregnant. Ira presides at Bill and Trina's wedding. Before hitting the road by himself, Bill decides to get enough money to support his wife and future child. He agrees to help slimy neighbor Bragg rob the payroll from a toy factory where Bragg used to work. Ira, the night watchman, shoots Bill before recognizing him, but it is only a flesh wound. Wanting Trina for himself, Bragg turns on the burglar alarm, but Bill gets away with Ira's help. Back home, Trina dresses the wound. Flossie suggests that Bill take Trina away with him, solving Bill's dilemma. After they leave, Bragg threatens to set the police on their track, but Flossie silences him with Ira's gun.

Cast

as Bill *

as Trina * Marjorie Rambeau as Flossie * Glenda Farrell as Fay La Rue * Walter Connolly as Ira * Arthur Hohl as Bragg * Dickie Moore as Joie

Production

Censored 1938 reissue and subsequent restoration

Columbia re-released the film in 1938, to take advantage of Tracy's much greater popularity. However, with the Production Code in full force, the Hays Office mandated twelve minutes of cuts in order to win a seal of approval. This resulted in a number of blatantly obvious jump cuts where racy dialogue has been removed, as well as the deletion of a shot of a nude Young (or more likely a stunt double) diving into the river. Additionally, the wedding scene was moved from the seventh reel to the first reel, in order to make it appear that the characters were already married when they shacked up together; this caused continuity problems. In 2023 the film was restored in 4K by Sony Pictures Entertainment at Cineric laboratory, using the original 1933 35mm nitrate negative, a 1938 nitrate dupe negative, and a 35mm nitrate print loaned by the BFI National Archive. The audio restoration was performed by Deluxe Audio Services using the original mono track negative, a composite dupe negative, and a nitrate print. Color grading was completed at Roundabout Entertainment laboratory by Christian Lamie. The restoration was supervised by Rita Belda. The running time of the restored version is 78 minutes. The restored version was released on Blu-ray by Sony Pictures Entertainment on May 21, 2024.

Reception

Mordaunt Hall wrote in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', "Even though Frank Borzage in his direction of ''Man's Castle'', ... gives an occasional fleeting reminder of his successful silent film, ''Seventh Heaven'' the story is by no means as plausible or as poetic as that memorable old work. ... ''Man's Castle'' can, however, boast of the thoroughly efficient portrayals of Spencer Tracy and Loretta Young, particularly Mr. Tracy's. Their work results in much of the narrative being quite interesting and several of the scenes are blessed with touches of originality." The film's box office performance was described as "dismal". In 1998,

Jonathan Rosenbaum Jonathan Rosenbaum (born February 27, 1943) is an American film critic and author. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for '' The Chicago Reader'' from 1987 to 2008. He has published and edited numerous books about cinema and has contributed to ...

of the ''

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...

'' included the film in his unranked list of the best American films not included on the AFI Top 100.

References

External links

* * * {{Frank Borzage 1933 films 1933 romantic drama films American black-and-white films American romantic drama films Columbia Pictures films Films directed by Frank Borzage Films with screenplays by Jo Swerling 1930s English-language films 1930s American films Films scored by W. Franke Harling English-language romantic drama films