IMDb RATING
6.4/10
6.8K
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An American ambulance driver and an English nurse fall in love in Italy during World War I.An American ambulance driver and an English nurse fall in love in Italy during World War I.An American ambulance driver and an English nurse fall in love in Italy during World War I.
- Won 2 Oscars
- 4 wins & 2 nominations total
Alice Adair
- Cafe Girl
- (uncredited)
Henry Armetta
- Bonello
- (uncredited)
Herman Bing
- Swiss Postal Clerk
- (uncredited)
Agostino Borgato
- Giulio
- (uncredited)
Robert Cauterio
- Gordini
- (uncredited)
Marcelle Corday
- Swiss Nurse
- (uncredited)
Gino Corrado
- Italian Soldier
- (uncredited)
Peggy Cunningham
- Molly
- (uncredited)
George Humbert
- Piani
- (uncredited)
William Irving
- Frustrated Opera Singer
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaErnest Hemingway hated this interpretation of his novel, as he felt it was overly romantic. That didn't stop him, however, from becoming lifelong friends with Gary Cooper, whom he met several years later. In fact, it was Hemingway who would insist that Cooper be cast in the lead of the adaptation of his novel For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943) 11 years later. However, the two made a point of never discussing this film.
- GoofsA night attack is shown. During World War I there was very little flying at night and the night attacks that did occur were limited to big cities. It was almost impossible for a plane to attack specific targets in a large city, so effectively attacking people on a road in the dark was not possible, and did not happen.
- Quotes
Frederic: We've never been apart, really. Not since we met.
Catherine: Not since we met.
Frederic: And never can be.
Catherine: Never apart.
Frederic: In life and in death. Say it Cat.
Catherine: In life and in death, we'll never be parted.
Frederic: You do believe that, don't you, Cat?
Catherine: I believe it, and I'm not afraid.
- Crazy creditsIn the original 1932 credits, the credits are punctuated by aerial bomb blasts, and every time there is a blast, a credit disappears to be replaced by the next one.
- Alternate versionsSPOILER: Paramount decided, after much disagreement, to keep Hemingway's original ending and fade out after the death of Catherine Barkley. This ending was kept for the European release, but a new ending in which Barkley lives was later added to the U.S. release.
- ConnectionsEdited into Your Afternoon Movie: Farewell to Arms (2023)
Featured review
A Memorable Film In Need of Restoration
The 1932 film version of Ernest Hemmingway's A FAREWELL TO ARMS will never challenge the likes of ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT--but while it fails to capture the horrors of World War I it is remarkably effective at capturing the novel's sparse and unyielding prose. A good deal of the credit goes to writers Garrett and Glaizer and director Borzage--but the real interest here is not so much in the cinematic interpretation of the Hemmingway novel as it is in the cast, which is remarkable.
Actress Helen Hayes was already among the leading lights of the New York stage when she was lured to Hollywood for a handful of films in the early 1930s--and it is easy to see what all the fuss was about. Plaintive beauty aside, unlike most stage and screen actors of the era she is completely unaffected in her performance and proves more than powerful enough to overcome the more melodramatic moments of the script. She is costarred with Gary Cooper in one of his earliest leading roles, and while the pairing is unexpected, it is also unexpectedly good: they have tremendous screen chemistry, and in spite of the film's dated approach they easily draw you into this story of an ill-fated wartime romance between a nurse and an ambulance driver.
The film is also well supplied with a solid supporting cast that includes Adolphe Menjou, Jack La Rue, and Mary Philips, and while clearly filmed on a slim budget--something most obvious in the battlefront sequences--the camera work is remarkably good. Unfortunately, all this counts for nothing unless you can find a print of the film that you can stand to watch. It is sad but true: the 1932 A FAREWELL TO ARMS seems to have fallen into public domain, and the result is a host of DVD and VHS releases that range from the merely adequate to the incredibly dire.
Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Actress Helen Hayes was already among the leading lights of the New York stage when she was lured to Hollywood for a handful of films in the early 1930s--and it is easy to see what all the fuss was about. Plaintive beauty aside, unlike most stage and screen actors of the era she is completely unaffected in her performance and proves more than powerful enough to overcome the more melodramatic moments of the script. She is costarred with Gary Cooper in one of his earliest leading roles, and while the pairing is unexpected, it is also unexpectedly good: they have tremendous screen chemistry, and in spite of the film's dated approach they easily draw you into this story of an ill-fated wartime romance between a nurse and an ambulance driver.
The film is also well supplied with a solid supporting cast that includes Adolphe Menjou, Jack La Rue, and Mary Philips, and while clearly filmed on a slim budget--something most obvious in the battlefront sequences--the camera work is remarkably good. Unfortunately, all this counts for nothing unless you can find a print of the film that you can stand to watch. It is sad but true: the 1932 A FAREWELL TO ARMS seems to have fallen into public domain, and the result is a host of DVD and VHS releases that range from the merely adequate to the incredibly dire.
Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer
helpful•338
- gftbiloxi
- Mar 28, 2005
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Adiós a las armas
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $799,520 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 20 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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