A Farewell to Arms is a 1957 American war movie directed by Charles Vidor. It was the last film made by David O. Selznick. The movie stars Rock Hudson, Jennifer Jones, Vittorio De Sica, and Elaine Stritch. The screenplay was written by Ben Hecht and is based partly on a 1930 play by Laurence Stallings. This film is the second movie version of Ernest Hemingway’s 1929 novel of the same name. The first movie version was released in 1932 and starred Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes.

Plot

Frederick Henry is an American officer who works in an ambulance unit for the Italian Army during World War I. While recovering from a wound in a British base hospital in northern Italy, he is cared for by nurse Catherine Barkley, and they begin a romantic relationship. Frederick's friend, a doctor, tells the army that Frederick's knee injury is worse than it actually is. Frederick and Catherine continue their relationship but do not get married.

Catherine finds out she is pregnant, but after secretly bringing alcohol into the hospital for Frederick, head nurse Miss Van Campen discovers this and separates them. She also tells Frederick's superiors that he has fully recovered from his wounds and is ready to return to active duty. During their separation, Catherine believes Frederick has left her.

After the Battle of Caporetto, Frederick and his close friend Major Alessandro Rinaldi are part of the discouraged and retreating Italian Army. Along the way, many people die or are left behind due to exhaustion. Rinaldi's negative comments about the war lead to a military trial, where he is falsely accused of being a German spy and executed by a firing squad. When Frederick makes a mistake while saluting, the judge suspects him of being an infiltrator. Frederick runs away and jumps into a river.

Wanted by Italian authorities, Frederick avoids capture and finds Catherine. They escape to Milan and hide near a lake on the Swiss border. Fearing arrest, Catherine convinces Frederick to flee to Switzerland by rowboat. Pretending to be tourists trying to avoid the war, they are allowed to stay in neutral Switzerland. Catherine's pregnancy continues, and everything seems fine, but she has complications during childbirth. A Caesarean section is performed, but their child is stillborn, and Catherine dies shortly after from heavy bleeding. Frederick leaves, shocked, and walks alone through the empty streets.

Production

David O. Selznick wanted to film the Hemingway novel for many years, but Warner Bros. owned the rights and refused to sell them to him. When Warner Bros. planned to remake A Star Is Born, for which Selznick owned the foreign rights, he traded those rights to the studio in exchange for the rights to A Farewell to Arms. This would be Selznick's first film in four years.

Selznick first hired director John Huston for the project, but Huston changed the script and spent too much time preparing before filming began. When Selznick expressed his concerns, Huston left the project. Charles Vidor replaced Huston, but Selznick had a difficult relationship with him as well. During production, Selznick sent more than 10,000 memos to the team.

The film was shot on location in the Italian Alps, Venzone in the Province of Udine in the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, and Rome. The budget was more than $4 million. Selznick's wife, Jennifer Jones, was cast in the lead role.

According to Carlos Baker's 1969 biography Ernest Hemingway: A Life Story, Hemingway was told by Selznick that he would receive a $50,000 bonus from the film's profits. Hemingway was unhappy with Selznick's decision to cast his nearly 40-year-old wife as a character meant to be in her early 20s. He responded, "If, by some chance your movie, which features the 38-year-old Mrs. Selznick as 24-year-old Catherine Barkley, does succeed in earning $50,000, I suggest that you take all of that money down to the local bank, have it converted to nickels, and then shove them up your ass until they come out your mouth." A. E. Hotchner also mentioned this story in his 1966 book Papa Hemingway: A Personal Memoir.

After making the film, Selznick left the film industry and did not produce any other films.

Release

The film had its first showing at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on December 18, 1957. It also opened at seven other theaters in Los Angeles and 44 theaters across California before expanding to more locations in 1958. During its first week in Los Angeles, the film earned $87,000 from eight theaters. In the United States and Canada, the film earned about $5 million in theatrical rentals. By the end of 1958, it had earned $6.9 million in rentals worldwide. The film company Fox made a profit, but Selznick did not get back the money he spent on the film.

Reception

In a recent review in The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther noted that the film failed to show "the important understanding of war's unavoidable presence and pressure." He wrote: "Mr. Selznick's film is a slow and uninteresting story about a love affair between two people who insist on keeping it casual—except, as they explain, in the eyes of God. The feeling of danger and sadness is missing, so when a sudden tragedy happens, it feels more like an unexpected accident than a natural result of their lives. The love shown between the characters is strongly acted but not truly felt. It is unclear if Mr. Hudson and Miss Jones are the best actors for these roles."

Critic Mae Tinee of the Chicago Tribune wrote: "The film has moments of strong action, but sometimes it moves slowly. I think the film could have been shorter, as some love scenes felt shy and too long, and the repeated dialogue from Hemingway's writing slowed the story."

The New York Herald Tribune gave a very harsh review of the film.

The review website Rotten Tomatoes reported that the film received very low approval, with only 8% of critics giving positive reviews. The average score was 3.9 out of 10, based on 13 reviews.

Awards

Vittorio De Sica was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He did not win, and the award was given to Red Buttons for his role in the movie Sayonara.