A Farewell to Arms (1957)

An English nurse and an American soldier on the Italian front during World War I fall in love, but the horrors surrounding them test their romance to the limit.

Directors:

Charles Vidor, John Huston (uncredited)

Writers:

Ben Hecht (screenplay), Ernest Hemingway (novel)

Stars:

Rock Hudson, Jennifer Jones, Vittorio De Sica

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Frederick Henry, an American serving as a volunteer ambulance driver with the Italian forces in the First World War, is wounded and falls in love with his attending nurse, the British Catherine Barkley. In the midst of war and some intrigue, the pair struggles to stay together and to survive the horrors around them.

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Plot Keywords:

italian army | world war one | based on novel | bare chested male | soldier | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Latin

Release Date:

14 December 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Adiós a las armas

Filming Locations:

Bassano del Grappa, 36061 Province of Vicenza, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$4,353,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Selznick International Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

152 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The critical and commercial failure of this film caused David O. Selznick to stop producing movies.

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Goofs

When Hudson and Jones are in the hotel bedroom he gives her a glass of wine. The amount of wine in her glass varies between shots.

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Quotes

Major Alessandro Rinaldi: She's very strange, very moody, who knows she might even prefer you to me.

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Crazy Credits

Producer David O. Selznick tries to imitate the opening credits of his classic film, "Gone With The Wind", by having the letters of the title "A Farewell to Arms" sweep slowly across the screen from right to left.

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Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Hist-o-Rama: Spencer Tracy (1961)

User Reviews

Amazing visually but dull

I really wanted to like A Farewell to Arms. But despite for love for Ernest Hemingway and for Rock Hudson, A Farewell to Arms just didn't work for me. Granted it does look amazing, with ravishing use of CinemaScope and the scenery and costumes are gorgeous as you can see in the first hour. The direction is fine, and the music is beautiful and cleverly composed. However, in the pace the film was very pedestrian, but the pace wasn't the only dull thing about it. I am especially talking about the story, which was overall uninteresting and wasn't affecting, and the script, which is really stilted in a lot of scenes. The ending also felt abrupt. The acting is not good, considering how talented the actors are. I love Rock Hudson, and he visibly tries hard and looks really handsome here but he seems very out of his depth. Jennifer Jones is miscast, and her performance is a very uneven mix of overacting and underacting, also she seems very detached from her character and Hudson as well. As for Vittoria di Sica, he overdoes it so wildly you feel as though he accidentally walked onto the wrong set. All in all, despite the talented cast and director and the beautiful visuals and score, the film was dull. 3/10 Bethany Cox