A Farewell to Arms (1957)

Director:

Charles Vidor

Writers:

Ben Hecht (screenplay)
Ernest Hemingway (novel)

Release Date:

14 December 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Plot:

The story of an affair between an English nurse an an American soldier on the Italian front during World War I. |

Plot Keywords:

Italy | Italian Army | Italian Soldier | Armistice | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Rock Hudson	...	Lt. Frederick Henry
Jennifer Jones	...	Catherine Barkley
Vittorio De Sica	...	Major Alessandro Rinaldi
Oskar Homolka	...	Dr. Emerich (as Oscar Homolka)
Mercedes McCambridge	...	Miss Van Campen
Elaine Stritch	...	Helen Ferguson
Kurt Kasznar	...	Bonello
Victor Francen	...	Colonel Valentini
Franco Interlenghi	...	Aymo
Leopoldo Trieste	...	Passini
José Nieto	...	Major Stampi (as Jose Nieto)
Georges Bréhat	...	Captain Bassi (as Georges Brehat)
Johanna Hofer	...	Mrs. Zimmerman
Eduard Linkers	...	Lieutenant Zimmerman
Eva Kotthaus	...	Delivery Room Nurse

Runtime:

152 min | Italy:141 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Iceland:12 | West Germany:16 (f) | USA:Approved (certificate #18795) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | Australia:G | France:U | Finland:K-16 | UK:15 (video rating) (1988) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video re-rating) (2005)

Filming Locations:

Alps, Italy

Company:

Selznick Studio, The

Trivia:

The film's original director, John Huston, was fired after clashing with producer David O. Selznick. Cinematographer Oswald Morris quit after Selznick claimed Rock Hudson was being favored over his wife, Jennifer Jones.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the café while Catherine is in hospital, Frederick is shown placing the sugar cubes on the table, with three already there and his hand moving to place there the fourth one. Camera cuts to a different angle and there are suddenly five sugar cubes on the table. Later in the same scene, after he flattens the sugar cubes with his hand, the position of his hand (and sugar cubes) changes instantly and he's holding one sugar cube that he wasn't holding a split second before.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Rock Hudson's Home Movies (1992)

Total crap adaptation

This film should be called adventures in Cinemascope. It is like the screenwriter and director tooks the Cliff's Notes page 3 outline and decided that this would be a great vehicle for a film about the Italian Alps. Rock Hudson is pretty good here, but the dialogue bears no resemblance to Hemingway at all. This is a made up version of Hemingway. Hecht, the screenwriter, is a hack. Watch the 1932 version with Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes. That is great cinema and was made by someone who understood Hemingway and the war in Northern Italy. Gary Cooper is very, very good compared to his performance in For Whom the Bell Tolls where he is stiff as a board and thinks he is in a western.

Anyway, if you are a Hemingway fan, do yourself a favor and do not watch this film. Your best bet is to get the unabridged audio CD and just listen to one of the greatest novels ever written.