A FAREWELL TO ARMS

CAPSULE REVIEW –– One of several adaptations of Hemingway's classic novel, I think this version of the WWI romance between an American ambulance driver and English nurse fares better than most. Ambitious for the time, this film pits the gorgeous up-and-coming Gary Cooper against the luminous Helen Hayes. They seem to be an odd pairing – his able body seems to dwarf her petite frame – yet they make an onscreen connection that makes this sometimes grainy and melodramatic picture eminently watchable. World War II in Italy was a precarious place filled with one-night liaisons, but fate brings Frederick and Katherine together and they form a bond only death can break. The lovers make the most of their time together, swearing undying love even though the war and a jealous comrade played by Adolphe Menjou conspire to keep them apart. The cinematography makes the lovers look even more beautiful, while managing to capture the brutality and ugliness of the war around them. The plot is pretty simple, but Cooper and Hayes make the most of this genuine love story, unlike their modern-day counterparts Sandra Bullock and Chris O'Donnell in IN LOVE AND WAR, an insipid and boring version of this tale. If you like your romance old-fashioned filled with staunch devotion and unending heartache, than this is the picture for you.