A Farewell to Arms – 1931
I was surprised by how much this movie sucked me in. I have never been overly sentimental when it comes to Hollywood films, but the passion of the romance portrayed in this film was done perfectly. It was strong without being overwhelming. It was dramatically desperate without being sappy
The two big stars of the film were Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes. Cooper played the part of Lieutenant Frederic Henry, an American serving as an ambulance driver in the Italian Army during World War One. Hayes played Catherine Barkley, an English Red Cross nurse. They had a great on-screen chemistry.
I’ll say right off the bat that I have never been a huge Gary Cooper fan, but only because I have not seen many of his films. Also, I’ve always thought that everyone seems to go severely overboard when commenting on how attractive he was. I have always considered him to be pretty average in the looks department. But there were moments in this movie in which he showed an incredible emotional vulnerability which, I thought, made him more appealing.
Helen Hayes was also very pretty and acted her part well with a grace and poise that we rarely see in most modern actresses. She had an air of sweetness about her that did nothing to diminish the strength of her character… with one exception.
Someone needs to tell Lieutenant Henry that when a girl repeatedly says no, pushes you away and even slaps you across the cheek, then it is not OK to force her to make out with you. But her weakness is that after she slaps him for forcing her to kiss him, she immediately apologizes and asks him to try again.
Despite this rocky start, and despite the fact that Army regulations forbid such a romance, they both fall deeply in love. They steal every moment they can on the sly, even going so far as to be informally married by the Army Chaplain, played very well by Jack La Rue when he finds out about their affair and her pregnancy.
There was one place where the plot was a little confusing. Lt. Henry is on the front lines of the War. He is captured by enemy soldiers, which allows him to escape and become a deserter in order to run to his love, fearing that she is in danger.
His instincts prove to be correct. There are complications in delivering the baby, which is unfortunately stillborn, and in the end she dies in his arms. The scene is very cleverly done. In his grief, he lifts her from the hospital bed and turns away from the camera. The white bed sheet is draped dramatically, making it appear very much like a wedding dress. The image is that of Frederic holding the limp form of his fallen bride.
Frederic’s best friend and drinking buddy is a confusing character. He is Major Rinaldi, an Italian surgeon, played by Adolphe Menjou. At first he doesn’t like that they are together. Then he doesn’t mind. Then he manipulatively splits them up. Then he helps them be together. Then he intercepts their letters to each other to split them up again. Then when he learns of the baby, he helps them reunite once more. But he had a rather charming demeanor, so I liked him anyway.
There was one scene in the film that was done in an interesting way. When Frederic is wounded at the front, he is taken to the hospital. The director, Frank Borzage chose to show the scene from Frederic’s perspective. The camera is looking at the ceiling of the hospital as the gurney is wheeling from room to room. The heads of various officers and nurses pop into view and speak directly to the camera while Cooper’s voice can be heard responding to them. Then when Catherine enters the room and falls on him to shower him with kisses, for a few moments, all we can see on the screen is her giant eye.
But ultimately, I ended up liking the film. The war scenes were apropriately chaotic and exciting with lots of explosions and falling soldiers. The romance was good and I was surprised with the quality of Cooper’s touching performance. The film was based on an Ernest Hemmingway novel which was semi-autobiographical. That being the case, it gives the film that much more emotional impact.
The film was remade in 1957 starring Rock Hudson and Jennifer Jones, though the remake was not nominated for the Best Picture award. It was also remade into a mini-series in 1966.