My thoughts on A Farewell To Arms (1932)

Gary Cooper & Helen Hayes clutch each other in the moonlight.

Holy moly, sex was all over the place in this one! Phew! I had DVR'd this great film earlier on in the week and just sat down to watch it this afternoon, as soon as I got home from work. That's what's so great about the month of February on TCM; there are so many great films on the schedule! I've been recording like crazy! Admittedly, my Mom is a little upset with me because I keep taking up all of the digital storage on our cable box and she can't seem to record her soaps. Heh.

WHO NEEDS SOAPS WHEN YOU'VE GOT 31 DAYS OF OSCAR ON TCM?! I ASK YOU!

A Farewell To Arms was released in 1932 (pre-code - hooray!) and was based on the novel by Ernest Hemingway. Gary Cooper plays American ambulance driver Lt. Frederic Henry who falls for nurse Catherine Barkley, played by the very gamine Helen Hayes, during WWI. Adolphe Menjou co-stars as the Italian surgeon Major Rinaldi who is also in love with Nurse Barkley and will stop at nothing to separate her and Lt. Henry. Now, because this was a pre-code film, there were no restrictions regarding sex and having babies out of wedlock. I was actually quite shocked at some of the language in this movie during the first few scenes because I'm so used to seeing sex toned down and hidden in classic films! It was almost like a breath of fresh air to see Coop making love to a woman onscreen without having to use dainty words and gentle gestures. And yeah, I wish I was her.

I freaking WISH I was Helen Hayes *swoon*

Another thing that really struck me about this movie were the trick camera shots that were used in the scene when Lt. Henry is wheeled into the hospital after being injured in a bomb blast. The scene is filmed through the eyes of Lt. Henry as he lies on his gurney and random doctors and nurses flit in and out of shot as they bend over to look at the injured patient. I thought that was really interesting camerawork, especially considering that this movie was made in the very early 30s when most features were filmed head-on with little to no special effects whatsoever.

**WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!

Lt. Henry and Nurse Barkley endure equal periods of love and despair in this timeless tale, being constantly separated and lost to each other because of the war and that pesky Major Rinaldi. Love is never easy, and by the end of the film, both stars are exhausted and on the brink of destruction after what they have both gone through. Another powerful moment for me was the final scene in which Lt. Henry is finally able to see his ailing "wife" in some desolate hospital somewhere in Switzerland.

Despite her reassuring words to Lt. Henry, it's obvious that Nurse Barkley will not make it through the next ten minutes. Without making him realize it (at first), she says her final goodbyes and is brutally honest when she says she's scared of what's coming for her. I almost hate to say it, but at first I was like: "Oh, here we go! Another sappy deathbed speech," but was I ever knocked for a loop when I actually had a tear in my eye whilst listening to Nurse Barkley's final words! "Never parted. In life and in death. I believe it ... and I'm NOT afraid!"

Instant tears! Whoa momma!

Good Lord, even injured he looks like a God!

The last sequence in the movie illustrates the joyous effect the armistice had on the troops and civilians who made it through the Great War - it also serves as an incredible ending to not only the film itself, but the love story between Lt. Frederic Henry and Nurse Catherine Barkley. Peacetime is declared and bells toll the world over as Lt. Henry cradles his beloved Nurse in his arms and carries her body to the open window so that her spirit may depart in joyous rapture.

A tearful Lt. Henry bids adieu to the woman he loves *sniff*

Oh, and one more thing before I go: Coop appears on screen topless. Yes, that's right: topless. Meaning, no shirt. Now if that doesn't want to make you watch this movie, I don't know what will!