A Farewell to Arms (1957)
I’ve seen both film adaptations of Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, and both have their pluses and minuses. In the original, Gary Cooper stumbled his way through the script, and Helen Hayes’s adorable interpretation wasn’t enough to save the film from her leading man’s wooden delivery. Adolphe Menjou tried to be a lovable, foreign sidekick, but since he wasn’t really foreign, it didn’t really work. But since it was 1932, we all forgive it its little flaws. Twenty-five years later, in Technicolor, we expect a lot more.
In this one the tragic, engrossing romance is revitalized with Jennifer Jones and Rock Hudson, and Charles Vidor directs the war epic. Jonesy is my favorite actress of her time period, and if you’ve ever seen one of her movies, you know she nearly exclusively made epic tearjerkers and tragedies. Get out your Kleenexes because she puts her heart and soul into this one as well. The lovable, foreign sidekick is Vittoria De Sica, but as this is his first American movie, his accent is so thick, it’s extremely difficult to understand the important lines he’s saying. Kurt Kasznar, who has a smaller role, might have been a better choice.
Now for the flaws: My beloved Jonesy is supposed to be a young, English nurse, but she’s neither young nor English. I’ll never know why she didn’t put on an English accent, since she’s a capable, accomplished actress, but she didn’t. During the courtship, Rock and Jonesy have such horrible, corny dialogue to say, it’s a wonder they both didn’t walk off the set and refuse to come back on until a rewrite was completed. I lost track of how many times Rock professed his undying love, only to have Jonesy ask, “Really?” making him tell her all over again. Her insecurity is irritating, and contrasted with their giggling when nothing’s funny, the movie gets old fast. They actually have to yodel while in a sled in the snow; I’m not kidding.
But, the lousy script isn’t their fault. Since they didn’t walk off the set demanding a rewrite, they were forced to deliver those awful, corny lines. If you stick with this movie all the way through, you’ll get to see the reasons you rented it in the first place. Rock Hudson looks very handsome. Jennifer Jones gets to scream and cry and suffer. So, weigh the pros and cons of both versions and pick which one you want to start with. It’s a famous Hemingway story, so what are you waiting for?
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to war scenes and adult content, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Juhi Thaker" for posting!
More Rock Hudson movies here!
More Jennifer Jones movies here!
Be sure to check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of 1932's A Farewell to Arms here!
In this one the tragic, engrossing romance is revitalized with Jennifer Jones and Rock Hudson, and Charles Vidor directs the war epic. Jonesy is my favorite actress of her time period, and if you’ve ever seen one of her movies, you know she nearly exclusively made epic tearjerkers and tragedies. Get out your Kleenexes because she puts her heart and soul into this one as well. The lovable, foreign sidekick is Vittoria De Sica, but as this is his first American movie, his accent is so thick, it’s extremely difficult to understand the important lines he’s saying. Kurt Kasznar, who has a smaller role, might have been a better choice.
Now for the flaws: My beloved Jonesy is supposed to be a young, English nurse, but she’s neither young nor English. I’ll never know why she didn’t put on an English accent, since she’s a capable, accomplished actress, but she didn’t. During the courtship, Rock and Jonesy have such horrible, corny dialogue to say, it’s a wonder they both didn’t walk off the set and refuse to come back on until a rewrite was completed. I lost track of how many times Rock professed his undying love, only to have Jonesy ask, “Really?” making him tell her all over again. Her insecurity is irritating, and contrasted with their giggling when nothing’s funny, the movie gets old fast. They actually have to yodel while in a sled in the snow; I’m not kidding.
But, the lousy script isn’t their fault. Since they didn’t walk off the set demanding a rewrite, they were forced to deliver those awful, corny lines. If you stick with this movie all the way through, you’ll get to see the reasons you rented it in the first place. Rock Hudson looks very handsome. Jennifer Jones gets to scream and cry and suffer. So, weigh the pros and cons of both versions and pick which one you want to start with. It’s a famous Hemingway story, so what are you waiting for?
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to war scenes and adult content, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Juhi Thaker" for posting!
More Rock Hudson movies here!
More Jennifer Jones movies here!
Be sure to check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of 1932's A Farewell to Arms here!