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A Farewell to Arms
USA 1932
produced by
Frank Borzage for Paramount
directed by Frank Borzage
starring Helen Hayes, Gary Cooper, Adolphe Menjou, Mary Philips, Jack La Rue, Blanche Friderici, Mary Forbes, Gilbert Emery, Peggy Cunningham, Henry Armetta, George Humbert, William Irving, Agostino Borgato, Robert Cauterio, Fred Malatesta, Paul Porcasi, Tom Ricketts, Herman Bing, Marcelle Corday, Doris Lloyd
screenplay by Benjamin Glazer, Oliver H.P. Garrett, based on the novel by Ernest Hemingway
review by
Mike Haberfelner
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Gorizia, Italy, Word War I: Frederic (Gary Cooper) is an American
paramedic working for the Italian medical corps, who during a night out
with his best friend and colleague Rinaldi (Adolphe Menjou) feels
attracted to that man's almost-girlfriend, and vice versa, and eventually,
the two of them spend the night together - much to the dismay of Rinaldi,
who sees to it that she's transferred to another hospitalin Mlan. Then
though, when at the front, Frederic is wounded when his camp is bombed,
and Rinaldi sees to it that he's sent to the hospital in Milan Catherine's
working at. Once there, Frederic and Catherine spend a wonderful time
together, and even get secretly (and unofficially) married by an army
priest (Jack La Rue). However, the head nurse (Blanche Friderici) is not
very happy about their relationship as she thinks it's bad for morale, so
she sees to it that Frederic is sent back to the front. Rinaldi is happy
that his friend is back, and thinks Catherine has just been a little
distraction, so he sees to it that none of her letters reach Frederic, and
confiscates all letters from him to her. So Frederic has no chance knowing
that he has actually impregnated Catherine, and that she has flown to
Switzerland to wait for him. But not hearing from her only makes Frederic
anxious, and eventually he deserts the medical corps and tries to make his
way to Milan in a treck of refugees - a treck that gets under enemy fire,
and eventually he's presumed dead. However he makes it to Milan in one
piece, to find out Catherine's gone, and nobody knows where to. In
Switzerland, Catherine finally learns that none of her letters have
reached Frederic, enough for her to suffer a miscarriage. And once in
hospital, she just wilts away. Frederic finally finds out where
Catherine is - thanks to Rinaldi, who has somehow tracked him down and
wants to make up for having kept her from him - and makes his way to
Switzerland in a row boat. When he arrives at the hospital, she's already
dying, but has enough life in her for both of them to confess their
undying love for one another. And when she does die, the church bells
announce the end of the war ... A Farewell to Arms is
really "good old Hollywood" at its best: An epic story with big
emotions told on an epic scope, with lush sets and locations, told in very
evocative pictures and using a rich cinematic language. That said, the film
suffers some from Ernest Hemingway's source material being trimmed down a
little too much to fit the running time, which explains certain character
inconsistencies, and while the first half of the film shows a certain wit,
both in dialogue and storytelling, the second half is a bit too heavy on
the drama for the film's own good - but also uses some really masterful
montages. In all, at least visually, Hollywood films from the early 1930s
hardly got any better than this one.
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find A Farewell to Arms at adultvideouniverse.com
