A Farewell to Arms (1932) Film 4

[Stanley Stewart]

Have just spotted that A Farewell to Arms (1932) has been scheduled for Film 4, this afternoon, 14 May, 1500-1645hrs. The 1932 version with Gary Cooper & Helen Hayes is probably a bit dated now but was always superior to the elaborate 1957 remake. VCR at the ready!

[Stanley Stewart]

The film was shown on rather a good print although I could feel the mould surrounding the production which, of course, wasn't filmed on location; both Italy & Switzerland were created in the backlot at Paramount Studios, against painted backcloths, yet the 1932 film was Oscar nominated for its Design and I noticed that most of the set-ups concentrated on tight- shots which worked effectively. Overall, Scott Fitgerald failed in Hollywood because he was a compelling writer of narrative, rather than a scriptwriter with a facility for spoken dialogue. The grammar of film was well established by the early 30s but I was surprised that the editing favoured a frequent use of fade-out, rather than cutting, or a 'mix' from one image to t'other. Some, here, may have attended the John Player Lectures at the NFT during the 50s-70s when leading directors like Wm Wyler, Mervyn Le Roy or Rouben Mamoulian
(1897-1987), in particular, spoke about and screened examples of his innovations in City Streets,(1931), Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (1932), demonstrating, for the first time, how he used the process of mixing to show the transformation of Dr Jekyll to Mr Hyde - the DVD worth acquiring - and how he got involved in fist fights with studio technicians who resisted his intention to make the sound boom mobile instead of mics being placed in a rigid position in the floor. Reminders of the hilarious scenes in Singin'In The Rain (1952) when a demented director tries to coax a dumb actress in the craft of speaking into a microphone attached to her bosom!

The real pleasure in watching A Farewell to Arms was to see the emerging star quality of a young actor, Gary Cooper, in an early screen appearance - a natural as they say; his strength lay in the ability to re-act which charged his creative instincts, rather than coping with a top-heavy script. His leading lady looked rather stagey and contrived alongside him. In 1943, Cooper also played the protagonist in the adaptation of Hemingway's "For Whom The Bells Toll" and dominated the screen with consummate ease. Earlier, 1936, he earned his international star status in Frank Capra's "Mr Deeds Goes to Town - a veritable Everyman - as James Stewart achieved the same success in Capra's Mr Smith Goes to Washington, (1939). Both actors demonstrating that 'less is more' on the screen.

For those interested, I see that Farewell to Arms is being repeated on Film 4, tomorrow, (19 May) at 14.30 - 16.20hrs.

[Richard Tarleton]

Hi Stanley, yes the film of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" was on TV fairly recently. The great Akim Tamiroff works as a Spaniard, but not Ingrid Bergman Gary Cooper perfect as Robert Jordan.

I may give this a go. I went through a Hemingway phase in my late teens but haven't been able to read him since coming across some well-judged literary parodies. I did read "The Dangerous Summer" recently, his summer spent following Ordoñez and Dominguín round the bullrings, their attitude to him ambivalent to say the least but he is immune to irony!

[Stanley Stewart]

Thanks, Richard. Indeed, the "great" Akim Tamiroff, a leading actor in Russia before he took residence in America in 1923. A strong exponent of Stanislavsky's codification of acting, hence his strong presence and identification with each character played. A contract player at Paramount Pictures who was often invited by casting directors to adjudicate at auditions. I bet there was a high voltage on the set of For Whom The Bell Tolls when he was playing opposite the volcanic Katina Paxinou as Pilar!

Hemingway fared reasonably well in The Snows of Kilimanjaro, 1952, at 20th Century Fox and provided good box office returns with Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner and Susan Hayward in starring roles. Shelagh Graham's biography of her affair with Hemingway - she also wrote College for One which itemised her journalistic education with Fitzgerald more successfully - but the biography "Beloved Infidel"
(1959) was wrecked by the casting of Gregory Peck - Deborah Kerr as Graham - he lacked the deep anger and power, she missed the edge and understanding of the character's roots in the back streets of London, the common touch essential here. However, I still return occasionally to my off-air video, now on DVD, as the seeds of creativity and being a writer almost surfaced in the narrative.