A Farewell to Arms

Plot synopsis:
On the Italian front during World War I, Frederic Henry (Gary Cooper), an American serving as an ambulance driver in the Italian Army, delivers some wounded soldiers to a hospital. There he meets his friend, Italian Major Rinaldi (Adolphe Menjou), a doctor. They go out carousing, but are interrupted by a bombing raid. Frederic and English Red Cross nurse Catherine Barkley (Helen Hayes) take shelter in the same place. The somewhat drunk Frederic makes a poor first impression.
Rinaldi persuades Frederic to go on a double romantic date with him and two nurses, Catherine and her friend Helen Ferguson (Mary Philips). However, Rinaldi becomes annoyed when Frederic prefers Catherine, the woman the major had chosen for himself. Away by themselves, Frederic learns that she was engaged to a soldier who was killed in battle. In the darkness, he romantically seduces her, over her half-hearted resistance, and is surprised to discover she is a virgin.
Their romantic relationship (forbidden by army regulation) is discovered. At Rinaldi's suggestion, Catherine is transferred to Milan. When Frederick is wounded by artillery, he finds himself in the hospital where Catherine now works. They continue their affair until he is sent back to the war. Now pregnant, Catherine runs away to Switzerland, but her many letters to her beloved sweetheart/lover are intercepted by Rinaldi, who feels he needs to rescue his friend from the romantic entanglement. Meanwhile, Frederic's letters to her are sent to the hospital which she has abandoned.
After a time, Frederic cannot stand being away from Catherine any longer. He deserts his post and heads out in search of her. Returning first to the hospital in Milan, he attempts to convince the reluctant Ferguson to reveal Catherine's whereabouts to him. Displaying animosity toward Frederic, all she reveals finally is that Catherine has left and is pregnant with Frederic's child. Rinaldi visits him at the hotel where he is hiding, and, upon hearing of Catherine's pregnancy, out of remorse for having interfered with their correspondence, tells Frederic where she is living. He rows across a lake to her. Meanwhile, Catherine is delighted when she is told she has finally received some mail, but faints when she is given all of her romantic love letters, marked "Return to Sender". She is taken to the hospital, where her child is delivered stillborn. She herself is in grave danger. Frederic arrives, and just as an armistice between Italy and Austria-Hungary is announced, Catherine tragically dies, with him at her side.

Tags: romantic

Review:
Hemingway himself publicly disowned the movie, claiming that Jones was far too old for the part and unhappy about the film in general.
Of the top 6 reviews I currently see here, 3 are slamming Jennifer Jones for being too old, 1 is slamming producer David Selznick for being in the decline of his career, 1 is whining that it's not like the book, and 1 is slamming writer Hemingway for not doing any fighting in the war (Um...
So here goes my attempt."A Farewell to Arms" is a lavish production of a love story set against the backdrop of World War I.
The result may be a bit disappointing in the romance department, and several reviewers (as well as the New York Times review on the film's release) have complained about the "lack of chemistry" between the two leads.
But in fact this purposely informal, slightly dysfunctional romance is what ultimately made it interesting to me because it marked a change of formula in the age-old Hollywood romance.If you see this movie, pay close attention to Jennifer Jones' excellent portrayal of a reluctant lover who is perhaps suffering from too many demons to actually fall in love completely, the way she wants to.
If you enjoy stereotype reversals like this, you'll definitely find yourself interested in their "lack of chemistry".Was Jennifer Jones too old (late 30s) to play the role of Katherine as Hemingway had intended her (early 20s)?
Actually I take back the thing about Vivien Leigh being better; the more I think about it, Jennifer was ideal for this sort of character.A subplot involving Vittorio de Sica's war-weary character descending into madness is sure to catch your attention.
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.
The direction is stilted and sometimes downright awkward, more the fault of producer Selznick, I would bet, who had a reputation for micro-managing his films, than famed director Charles Vidor.Simply put, I'm never convinced, not even for a moment, that what is happening is real and not just another movie.
But despite for love for Ernest Hemingway and for Rock Hudson, A Farewell to Arms just didn't work for me.
Selznick was far from a Hemingway purist.No Selznick when it came to the career of his wife Jennifer Jones lost all kinds of sense of balance.
But Selznick fired Huston and replaced him with Charles Vidor because allegedly too much attention was paid to Rock Hudson and not enough to Jennifer.That's ironic as all get out because the novel itself is as all Hemingway works is male chauvinistic in the extreme.
He should have used one of the Bronte sisters.Since the novel is male oriented Rock Hudson makes a fine Fredric Henry, the idealistic man who volunteers on the Italian front as an ambulance driver to experience war so he can write about it when it's over.
Given the unique problems of Hemingway and Selznick, we're lucky the film came out as good as it did..
With Rock Hudson as the lead (as far as im concerned), and Jennifer Jones as his love interest, this pair lights up the screen with their love for each other.
(A Farewell to Arms)  Although IL&W  was a great movie, and shared a very sad ending, I still have to believe that the older version was the better of the two.
Jennifer Jones was far too old for her part and Vittorio de Sica seemed to think he was acting in some other movie altogether.
The 1957 version of Hemingway's great romantic novel is, like The Sun Also Rises, another adaptation of one of Papa's masterpieces, pretty to look at, expensively made, and wooden in all other respects.
In this version Hudson is earnest but bland, Jones too old, De Sica in the wrong movie and Stritch, well, her acid nurse is one of the film's only bright spots.
Had the film been as good as it's musical score it would have been a classic; what A Farewell To Arms ultimately is though, is an overstuffed period piece and a tepid finale to the great David Selznick's career.
Consequently, some 10 years later I managed to track it down on video and was a little disappointed.What is now obvious to me is that 1) the part I saw had little input from Jennifer Jones; 2) the emotion conveyed by Rock Hudson was deeply touching; 3) the setting was also memorable; 4) it was far too long.
What is particularly disappointing is that Jennifer Jones was clearly miscast, and yes - we all know why.However, I have seen this actress in other productions - for example 'Gone to Earth', in which she was simply splendid; but her role in this film was most definitely not the kind of part she excelled in.This could potentially have been Rock Hudson's finest hour, but as with other epic productions of the time e.g. Cleopatra, the best bits most probably ended up on the cutting room floor; however, that said, I can only think of a handful of films that have imprinted themselves on me like this one.I would be interested in seeing a re-edited version of this with special features.7 for at least one standout scene; a superb performance by Rock Hudson and its ability to touch someone..
David Selznick loved Jennifer Jones and per John Huston in his book "put everything on the line for his adored Jennifer" I met Douglas Fairbanks Jr years ago at a party when he was in New York and Fairbanks remarked that of major producers he knew, David Selznick stood out because of Mr. Selznick's love of great literature.
(David Selznick wanted to but could not get financing for War and Peace starring of course Ms.Jones) One wonders why David Selznick insisted on remaking A Farewell to Arms but push ahead he did.
David Selznick made a releasing deal thru 20th (Likely because of Jennifer Jones' attachment and successes at 20th Century Fox -Song of Bernadette, Love Is A Many Splendored Thing, et al) and hired John Huston to direct again possibly because of Jennifer's past history with John Huston (Beat The Devil, We Were Strangers).
David Selznick micro managed his productions and fired John Huston whom he felt was titling the picture towards a war film versus a highly romantic film, i.e. favoring Rock Hudson over Jennifer Jones.
Some of A Farewell To Arms scenes are brilliantly photographed and large in scope as is the trademark of a Selznick International picture.Jennifer Jones was a beautiful movie star.
I would recommend a review of Ms. Jones career, as Ms. Jones is sadly forgotten but was a huge box office star and acclaimed screen actress of her day: Madame Bovary, Good Morning Miss Dove, Duel In The Sun, Ruby Gentry et al Some carp over Jennifer Jones' age in this film but Jennifer Jones looks fine in this picture (but ironically would look even much better years later in a fine and underrated film 20th's Tender Is The Night).
My quibble with this film is the dialogue between Jennifer Jones and Rock Hudson which seems so stilted and phony.
Has anyone counted the number of times the word "darling" is used?Rock Hudson, then a gigantic box office star after George Stevens great film Giant and his run at Universal with hits such as Magnificent Obsession, All That Heaven Allows, etc got first billing over the veteran Oscar Winning Jennifer Jones.
Of all David Selznick's movies I liked Gone With The Wind best but also the splendid WWII Film Since You Went Away starring Ms. Jones and a superb Claudette Colbert I wish Selznick had done an original film like Since You Went Away rather than a remake of A Farewell To Arms.
A book on the back story filming of this movie would prove to be interesting.
David Selznick Loved Jennifer Jones.
David Selznick Loved Jennifer Jones.
Jennifer Jones is splendid in this David Selznick production.
When Jennifer Jones was in a picture with out without the Selznick Studio involved David Selznick did all he could to make sure his great love Jennifer Jones was shown to every good advantage and also that the picture had the finest in production values.The Camera work here in particular the scenes in the Alps is superb My quibble with the film is that Rock Hudson is too distant as Jennifer's lover.
This movie reminds me of a later film: LOVE STORY.
Everything is just perfect and couldn't have been made better, both the script and the screening far outshines the Gary Cooper/Helen Hayes bathos version of 1932, the script by Ben Hecht takes care of all the best of Hemingway's, the war scenes are realistically impressing enough, there is nothing wrong with the acting, Jennifer Jones always reliably doing her best, and here even Vittorio de Sica adds some virtuoso excellence in one of the most important characters of the film, in brief, no complaints.
Maybe in 1957 the First World War felt so far away and outdated by the Second, or maybe Hemingway had just been filmed too much?
Whatever, the dully attention should be paid to that man who was consistently at the top box office in 1950s and 1960s together with Gable, Cooper, Wayne, etc; his movie "A Farewell to Arms" (1957) which I consider his best performance remained also unappreciated.The cream about all things connected with Rock Hudson is his relationship with director Douglas Sirk.
Selznick Production;" the orchestral score swells, and the film title in huge letters sweeps from right to left as though too big to be contained by a mere movie screen; a written prologue introduces background to the era; a turbulent romance unfolds against a terrible war; thousands of soldiers march and fight; civilians flee a burning city under attack; an overworked doctor struggles in a make-shift hospital that overflows with wounded soldiers; a woman struggles through a difficult childbirth.
Unfortunately, the big budget production of Ernest Hemingway's love story during World War I falls short.Directed by Charles Vidor from a script by Ben Hecht, the film has some fine elements that include a lush score by Mario Nascimbene and scenic locations in the Italian Alps lensed by Oswald Morris and Piero Portolupi.
The outlines of the two films are similar; American falls for English nurse; they are separated; he is wounded; she is transferred to the hospital where he is convalescing; their romance deepens; melodramatic consequences ensue.Rock Hudson and Jennifer Jones are an uncomfortable fit as the stars and lack the chemistry of Helen Hayes and Gary Cooper in the earlier version.
While Rock Hudson as Lt. Frederick Henry, an American soldier in the Italian army, is at the peak of his hunky good looks, Jennifer Jones, six years Hudson's senior, seems too mature as Catherine Barkley, an English nurse with no English accent.
While the movie is passable entertainment, the project had unrealized potential, but Selznick's "A Farewell to Arms" eventually falls flat as an unconvincing overlong romance..
Had she not been married to the producer, Jennifer Jones would not have been the most obvious choice for the leading female role in this tragic tale of an affair between an American soldier and an English nurse, set against the backdrop of the First World War. Her British accent is not perfect, and in the fifties it was unusual for a big romantic lead to go to an actress in her late thirties, even one as attractive as Miss Jones, especially when she was several years older than her leading man..
In the event, the film turned out to be such a turkey that they were doubtless grateful not to have it on their CVs. The film tells, at great length, the story of the romance between Frederick, an American volunteer serving with the Italian Army as an ambulance driver and Catherine, a nurse with the British Red Cross.
Howard Hawks succeeded in making a good version of "To Have and have Not", a film that is considerably better than the book on which it is nominally based, but that is because he largely ignored Hemingway's plot and turned the film into a remake of "Casablanca", set in Martinique rather than French Morocco.
If you've read the novel, you can understand how the director and actors would have had a hard time getting the characters across since Hemingway provides practically no emotion or description to his dialogue.
I don't know that Vittorio de Sica's portrayal of Rinaldi was Oscar worthy, but it was the most worthy of a nomination out of all the aspects of the film.The story ends up being driven by a number of things.
Rock Hudson's performance didn't really work for me because he seemed like he was trying to be too emotional while playing a character that has a hardened personality.
To all prospective viewers, I'll say that it will likely come off as cheesy even if you love old movies or Earnest Hemingway's books.
"A Farewell to Arms" is based upon the semi-autobiographical novel of Ernest Hemingway's experiences in World War I when he served as an ambulance driver for the Italians who fought the Austrians and Hungarians (1915-1918).
("Tenente") Frederic Henry (Rock Hudson) sustains a leg wound from a shell on the Alpine front and while recuperating in the military hospital meets English nurse Catherine Barkley (Jennifer Jones).
Poor Jennifer....I think her career actually would have been better had she not been promoted by Selznick, as her Oscar-winning role in "Song of Bernadette" came before he became involved with her career.The original film starred Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes.
So, the notion of a remake isn't a bad thing.In this version, Rock Hudson and Jones play the fated couple.
This character was based, in part, on Ernest Hemmingway's own experiences driving an ambulance in the war.Hudson falls for a very young British nurse (Jones).
Now the film DOES look nice--the budget was very good and it's obvious that Selznick wanted this to be a big picture.
An American soldier (Rock Hudson) falls in love with a British nurse (Jennifer Jones) in Italy during World War 1.
Better than most films, I felt this movie showed the horrors of war.
A film producer or director has to tell a story in a very different way than does an author.
Selznick remake of Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms ('57), director John Huston left the set in the Italian Alps, following a disagreement with the producer.
Beyond Farewell, Selznick enumerated his future plans as package deals with 20th-Fox for Tender Is the Night and Mary Magdalene; developing Gone With The Wind as a stage operetta; and a TV spectacular of Rebecca, sometime within the next two years.Between Huston's desertion on 22 March 1957, and Vidor's appointment on 5 April, the film had been carried on by second unit director Andrew Marton, who had completed shooting all the film's major battle scenes - involving 14,000 soldiers and 2,000 mules and horses - before Vidor arrived at the Udine location.Although more faithful to Hemingway than the earlier version with Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes (in that film, Henry deserted because he suspected that Rinaldi was having an affair with Catherine), Selznick's remake entirely fails to capture the spirit of the novel.
The last line of the novel reads: "After a while I went out and left the hospital and walked back to the hotel in the rain." In the overdone film, however, Rock Hudson walks out of the hospital; we hear music, and then the voice of Jennifer Jones.
The supporting cast is peppered with such luminaries as Vittorio De Sica and Mercedes McCambridge, but these are wasted bits of nonsense that in no way reflect upon the formidable talents of either actor and best made evident elsewhere in their canons of film making.The anamorphic picture element for "A Farewell to Arms" looks good enough, though there's just a bit too much film grain present in certain scenes for this reviewer's liking.
Jennifer Jones has always been a wonderful actress as far as I'm concerned and in this film you can see her acting at her best.
And I admit I have never read Ernest Hemingways tragic love story!This movie actually have some of the most impressive co-ordinated battle scenes I've ever seen, that is not faked, cgi, or using back-projection.
(LOng before The Longest Day 1962) (For some reason I've seen this movie in some War-movie boxes, and I agree it doesn't belong there, it's a wartime movie and not a war movie!) The hero is an ambulance driver so we are only in the outskirts of War, never in the battle-zones.Rock Hudson is very good, and he was a new hot star at that time, and this was at the time when he was making tearjerkers with Jane Wyman, a few years before he was seducing Doris Day.Jennifer Jones is very good too, she was married to producer David O Selznick, so she got many bad reviews just because of that at the time,and yes Love is a Many Splendoured Thing and Good Morning Miss Dove might have suited her better.Vittorio de Sica!!
The film follows Hemingway's novel with Rock Hudson's Lt Frederick Henry wounded while serving as an ambulance driver in Italy during WW1.
While recuperating, he falls in love with an English nurse, Catherine Barkley, played by Jennifer Jones.
A major criticism of the film is that Jennifer Jones at 38 was too old for the part.
So there you are, Jennifer Jones was 6 years older than Rock Hudson, probably not the ages the novel vaguely suggests, but I feel too much has been made of this aspect.
"A Farewell to Arms" was first filmed in 1932 starring Gary Cooper, and also appears in a slightly different form as one of the segments in "Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man".