Liliom (1930)

Director:

Frank Borzage

Writers:

Ferenc Molnár (play), S.N. Behrman (screenplay),

Stars:

Charles Farrell, Rose Hobart, Estelle Taylor

Cast

Cast overview:
Charles Farrell	...	Liliom
Rose Hobart	...	Julie
Estelle Taylor	...	Mme. Muscat
H.B. Warner	...	Chief Magistrate
Lee Tracy	...	The Buzzard
Walter Abel	...	Carpenter
Mildred Van Dorn	...	Marie
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams	...	Hollinger (as Guinn Williams)
Lillian Elliott	...	Aunt Hulda
Anne Shirley	...	Louise (as Dawn O'Day)
Bert Roach	...	Wolf
James A. Marcus	...	Linzman (as James Marcus)
Harvey Clark	...	Angel Gabriel

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

inspiration for american broadway musical | robbery | heaven | foreign language adaptation | hell | 

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Taglines:

Charles Farrell in his greatest role

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 October 1930 (USA)

Also Known As:

Frank Borzage's Liliom by Franz Molnar

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was once considered lost, but has since been found, restored, and put on DVD.

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Quotes

Julie: [to Marie, who is engaged to Wolf] Have you ever experienced passionate love with Wolf?

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Connections

Version of A Trip to Paradise (1921)

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Soundtracks

"Dream of Romance"
Music by Richard Fall
Lyrics by Marcella Gardner

User Reviews

Studio Bound But Just Borzage's Meat

There is indeed much to complain about this movie version of Molnar's mystical play --Farrell looks good in his title role, but his line readings, frankly, stink. This also suffers, in large part, from this being credited as the first movie that makes use of rear projection. The sets look phony.

There are two great strengths in this show, however: although the dialogue readings limp, the visual performances are perfect. Rose Hobart, as Julie, is little remembered today: mostly for ROSE HOBART, in which Joseph Cornell cut down the programmer EAST OF BORNEO to simply shots of her: credit Melford's stylish visual direction of the original. Her great beauty and simple (although stagy) performance help repair some of the damage to the earth-bound sections of this movie.

However, one of Borzage's themes is the mystical power of love, and it is the handling of the celestial sections that make this great, from the arrival of the celestial train to the journey to 'the Hot Place'. H.B. Warner's performance here is, as always, perfect.

So we have here a flawed but very interesting version. I think that Lang's 1934 version is better, as well as the celestial scenes in the Henry King version of CAROUSEL, the watered-down musical remake. But I still greatly enjoyed this version and think you should give it a chance.