This film is certainly not a great of the cinema, yet it is a fine, rewarding Hemingway adaptation that will stay in the mind for some time.
For me, Cooper seemed to suggest Hemingway's protagonists better than any other actor. He was still on his way to stardom when cast in this film, and is an interesting choice to play Frederic, yet not a bad choice at all. Cooper's quiet, contained style of acting equips the film well and his delivery of ironic lines such as('I was shot while eating spaghetti') is subtle and measured. He interacts well with Helen Hayes as Catherine Barkley, a nurse whom ambulance driver Cooper enjoys a passionate romance with in the midst of World War One. Menjou creates a memorable Rinaldi.
This is a neatly directed and surprisingly tidy film, one that holds up remarkably well for modern audiences. It contains some very memorable images, not least the stunning shot of hundreds of sad, white crosses across the battleground landscape.
It is interesting to note this was made Pre-Code, so Cooper and Hayes do get some romantic scenes that probably would not have made it past the censors in just a couple of years time (one of their kisses is surprisingly erotic in nature). Also notable is that touching final scene between Cooper and Hayes, with Catherine in Frederic's arms- it would be used again, more famously, in Wuthering Heights (1939), with another dying 'Cathy' being carried to the window by her love.
A definitive 'Farewell to Arms' has not yet been made, however this comes the closest when compared to the overblown Selznick adaptation starring Jennifer Jones and Rock Hudson.
For me, Cooper seemed to suggest Hemingway's protagonists better than any other actor. He was still on his way to stardom when cast in this film, and is an interesting choice to play Frederic, yet not a bad choice at all. Cooper's quiet, contained style of acting equips the film well and his delivery of ironic lines such as('I was shot while eating spaghetti') is subtle and measured. He interacts well with Helen Hayes as Catherine Barkley, a nurse whom ambulance driver Cooper enjoys a passionate romance with in the midst of World War One. Menjou creates a memorable Rinaldi.
This is a neatly directed and surprisingly tidy film, one that holds up remarkably well for modern audiences. It contains some very memorable images, not least the stunning shot of hundreds of sad, white crosses across the battleground landscape.
It is interesting to note this was made Pre-Code, so Cooper and Hayes do get some romantic scenes that probably would not have made it past the censors in just a couple of years time (one of their kisses is surprisingly erotic in nature). Also notable is that touching final scene between Cooper and Hayes, with Catherine in Frederic's arms- it would be used again, more famously, in Wuthering Heights (1939), with another dying 'Cathy' being carried to the window by her love.
A definitive 'Farewell to Arms' has not yet been made, however this comes the closest when compared to the overblown Selznick adaptation starring Jennifer Jones and Rock Hudson.