Based on the Ernest Hemingway semi-autobiographical A Farewell to Arms, Frank Borzage’s 1932 film is considered one of the best
adaptations of his novels. An important film that tackles the war pessimistically,
it celebrates the unique and romantic love forged between a Lieutenant and nurse
and the tragic outcome. A Farewell to
Arms boldly stated how commonplace pre-marital sex was during the Great
War, while also tackling the fracturing relationship and conflict soldiers had
towards the cause itself. Something frowned upon by the Hays Code who deemed
that “lustful kissing” and the scenes of childbirth needed to be excised from
the film. Thank God David O. Selznick had an original nitrate copy after
garnering the rights for his remake in 1955, for Lobster Films to restore.
Bombs explode during the opening credits. A Farewell to Arms charts Lt. Frederic
Henry’s (Gary Cooper) career as an American, working for the ambulances on the
Italian Front. Arriving at a local hospital, Major Rinaldi (Adolph Menjou)
recommends the nurses - and specifically Ms. Catherine Barclay (Helen Hayes).
Frederic and Catherine meet, by chance, when bombs hit the town and he
drunkenly plays with her foot, mistaking her for someone else. Their romance
blossoms, something the nurses are displeased with. Officers, including Rinaldi,
become worried Frederic will “lose his head over some woman”. Fate brings them together
in Milan, whereby Frederic is injured and Catherine by his bedside. Their love distracts
them from the war, but it isn’t long before Lt. Henry is called back to the
front. Reluctantly they part ways, though Frederic is unaware of her pregnancy...
One would expect the Lieutenant to fight, return to his
girlfriend with child, to live their life together. Slight alterations from the
book are expected, but a positive end is not Hemingway. The Lieutenant doesn’t
see what he is fighting for and, against regulation, runs away from the front. Arrested,
he flees to Switzerland, only to hold his lover as she dies in his arms.
The opening alone hints at such a dark commentary on
military action, as we pan over a hill to reveal a dead soldier with a missing
leg. A throwaway attitude to women is also callous and flippant. “What sort of
town is it? Any girls?”/”…a house full of them”. The Hays Production Code in
1934 cut these “sordid” moments, and even inserted a shot of a wedding ring
being placed on Catherine’s hand (despite talk of a wedding later in the film!)
to try and create a more “decent” picture.
This post was originally written for Flickering Myth on 30th May 2014
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