sammysdad97 Any fan of either Spencer Tracy or Loretta Young should watch this movie when the opportunity presents itself. (It is currently in rotation on Antenna TV which is broadcast ((not cable)) in most major markets.) I particularly enjoyed the opening dinner date between the two and how Tracy "pays" for it. The real worth of this movie is its depiction of the time (early Depression) and the values of the time in which it was made. 1933 was, indeed, a very different world and a character like Tracy's and his attitude towards women was not that uncommon then. (Probably not that uncommon now, but an attitude only allowed to be expressed in the action genre.) Young plays a smitten young woman of 19 who may indeed be an "idiot" to use one other reviewer's less than charitable description of her, but that type of young "idiot"ic and naive woman is very much with us today and putting up with far worse from their men than anything Tracy dished out in this film. (Many of today's reputedly liberated young women will by the CDs with the most misogynistic lyrics which make up so much of what passes for modern music and call themselves the most vile and basest of names. There is no way Loretta Young's character in this movie would do that. Needless to say a woman clinging to an abusive man is a recognizable type in any era - as is an abusive man.) To my eye, Tracy's character was "abusive" only because he wanted to drive her away as he saw (correctly) that she would be able to tame him if given the chance. The only thing that truly surprised me was the out-of-wedlock pregnancy - mention of which was never made in films of that time, except for this one. And to see the very devout Tracy and Young in those roles in light of what came later for both of them personally was very surprising.Frankly I think that sums up this film for me - very surprising. The setting surprises. Ditto for the characters. The screenplay works well enough to bring out the world in which Bill & Trina, and Ira & Flossie and all the rest find themselves, and how they attempt to deal with it and to find what happiness they can.

marcslope I generally find Loretta Young hard to take, too concerned with her looks and too ladylike in all the wrong ways. But in this lyrical Frank Borzage romance, and even though she's playing a low-self-esteem patsy who puts up with entirely too much bullying from paramour Spencer Tracy, she's direct and honest and irresistible. It's an odd little movie, played mostly in a one-room shack in a Hooverville, unusually up-front about the Depression yet romantic and idealized. Tracy, playing a blustery, hard-to-take "regular guy" who would be an awful chauvinist and bully by today's standards, softens his character's hard edge and almost makes him appealing. There's good supporting work from Marjorie Rambeau and Glenda Farrell (who never got as far as she should have), and Jo Swerling's screenplay is modest and efficient. But the real heroes are Borzage, who always liked to dramatize true love in lyrical close-up, and Young. You sort of want to slap her and tell her character to wise up, she's too good for this guy, but she's so dewy and persuasive, you contentedly watch their story play out to a satisfying conclusion.

Greta-Garbo It's a shame this movie is so hard to get your hands on in the US. I found it through a rare video dealer, and it was certainly worth it. This is, without a doubt, the best film made during the pre-code era, and the finest film of the 1930s. Masterful director Frank Borzage made wonderful films about the Depression, and with MAN'S CASTLE he created a fairy tale amidst the hardships of the era.Loretta Young and Spencer Tracy have a wonderful chemistry between them, and they help make this movie a wonderful romance. Young's Trina is sweet and hopeful, while Tracy's Bill is gruff and closed-off. The dynamic between the character creates one of the most difficult, but in the end rewarding relationships on film.MAN'S CASTLE is the most soft-focus pre-code film I've seen. Borzage uses the hazy and dreamy technique to turn the squatter's village where Bill and Trina live into a palace. The hardships of the Depression are never ignored, in fact they're integral to the film. But as Borzage crafts the film as a soft focus fairy tale, the love between the characters makes the situation seem less harsh. It makes the film warm and affectionate.MAN'S CASTLE is the crowning achievement of the pre-code era. If only more people could see it.

mark.waltz Although this rarely seen film is not available on video, and has not been shown on cable that I am aware of, it is a classic which deserves the light of day. Spencer Tracy, before his MGM years and major stardom, was teamed with Loretta Young, one of the major stars of the early 30's, and sparks were united.Tracy is a rough and tough shanty town character who takes in down on her luck Young. Slightly mistreating her, Tracy is on the verge of leaving her when she drops a bombshell that will change their lives. Also around are Marjorie Rambeau as a drunken neighbor with a heart of gold (and giving a very sensitive performance), Glenda Farrell as a singer who turns Tracy's head, and Walter Connelly as another neighbor who becomes a father-like figure to the two. The camera work and settings are rough and gritty, almost like a Warner Brothers film. However, this was made at Columbia, then a second-rate "B" studio which was most known at the time for its string of films directed by Frank Capra (usually starring Barbara Stanwyck). It is short and sweet (66 minutes according to Leonard Maltin), and very moving. I agree with Maltin's comment that Tracy's character was a bit much to take at times, but it is evident that he hides many facets behind his hard exterior. The story is very close to the play "Lilliom" (Tracy finding spiritual guidance after a failed payroll robbery), and ironically Tracy's character's name is Bill, changed to Billy for the musical "Carousel".Young, never one of my favorites, was at her best in the early 30's before she became too "lady-like". Even though her character is sweet and vulnerable, she is far more realistic than she got in her more esteemed years after winning the Oscar for "The Farmer's Daughter". Farrell is fine in her few scenes, but has little to do. It's a shame that this very talented lady never rose above the line of secondary roles or leads in "B" features. If "A Man's Castle" makes its way onto cable (or with some miracle, home video), I highly recommend it to film students and historians.