For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943)

Director:

Sam Wood

Writers:

Ernest Hemingway (novel)
Dudley Nichols (screenplay)

Release Date:

28 April 1944 (Sweden)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | History | Romance | War

Tagline:

The Most Thrilling Moment Ever Screened

Plot:

Spain in the 1930s is the place to be for a man of action like Robert Jordan. There is a civil war going...

Plot Keywords:

Cave | Mountain | Bridge | Civil War | Traitor

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Gary Cooper	...	Robert Jordan
Ingrid Bergman	...	María
Akim Tamiroff	...	Pablo
Arturo de Córdova	...	Agustín (violent)
Vladimir Sokoloff	...	Anselmo (guide)
Mikhail Rasumny	...	Rafael (Gypsy)
Fortunio Bonanova	...	Fernando (calm)
Eric Feldary	...	Andrés (courier to Gen. Golz)
Victor Varconi	...	Primitivo (lookout)
Katina Paxinou	...	Pilar
Joseph Calleia	...	El Sordo
Lilo Yarson	...	Joaquin
Alexander Granach	...	Paco
Adia Kuznetzoff	...	Gustavo
Leonid Snegoff	...	Ignacio

Runtime:

170 min | USA:134 min (re-release) | USA:168 min (restored version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

UK:U | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Blue Canyon, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Ingrid Bergman's first color film.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: (At 49:50) Pilar says "Wait" to Jordan and Maria. It is clear that the shot has been reversed, as the bolt handle and magazine on her Krag-Jorgenson carbine (see previous entry) was on the left of the rifle, whereas this weapon was only made in right-handed versions.

Quotes:

Robert Jordan: Are you afraid?
Maria: Not now. I love you, Roberto. Always remember. I love you as I loved my father and mother, as I love our unborn children, as I love what I love most in the world, and I love you more. Always remember.
Robert Jordan: I'll remember.
Maria: Nothing can ever part us now, can it?
Robert Jordan: Nothing, Maria.

Movie Connections:

Featured in La société du spectacle (1973)

INGRID AND GARY FOREVER

No doubt about it ! This DVD deserves a perfect 5 (this is the second that I give after ROBOCOP director's cut).

130 minutes of absolute pleasure with actors who were real stars : Ingrid Bergman and Gary Cooper. The colors are wonderful, the scenery superb and the musical score terrific.

But I hear someone out there complaining : Gosh ! It's a 1943 movie, an antiquity. Don't be afraid, you will not be disappointed. There are also in this movie explosions, gunfires and even torrid love scenes. Just observe how Ingrid Bergman plays with her hair in order to seduce Gary and you will forget all the actual little starlets.

This story of a three-days love affair during the Spain civil war is about idealism, self-sacrifice and hope. Themes that, I agree, are not specially "in" in 1998 but were developed by Ernest Hemingway, one of the best american writers.

A healthy DVD in order to clean our eyes and ears.