This first film version of Ernest Hemingway's novel A Farewell to Arms stars Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes. Cooper plays Lt. Frederick Henry, a World War I officer who falls in love with English Red Cross nurse Catherine Barkley (Hayes)-after first mistaking her for a woman of ill repute. Henry's friend, Major Rinaldi, is envious of the romance, and pulls strings to have Catherine transferred to Milan. When Henry is wounded in battle, he ends up in the very hospital where Catherine works. They
resume the affair, which reaches an ecstatic peak just before Henry is returned to the front. The now-pregnant Catherine remains in Switzerland, sending letters by the bushelfull to Henry. But the jealous Rinaldi sees to it that Henry never receives those letters, leading Catherine to conclude sorrowfully that Henry has forgotten her. As the Armistice approaches, Henry makes his way to Switzerland, hoping to find Catherine. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The first Hemingway novel made into a Hollywood film is also one of the better ones due to Gary Cooper's star turn and Borzage's stylized helming, even if a happy ending was imposed against the author's wishes and protests.
Cooper and Hays bring Borzage's liking for towering, vulnerable men and tiny, tough women to its visual apotheosis (her head barely reaches his armpit when they walk).
Creaky antique with mismatched stars is interesting in how much more openly the couples sexual relationship is portrayed than it would have been just a few years later when the production code had gone into effect. Otherwise it isn't anything to go out of your way to watch.
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