This is the original Academy Award winning screen version of Hemingway’s well-crafted story of doomed love between Frederic, a wounded ambulance driver (Gary Cooper) and Catherine, his English nurse (Helen Hayes) in Italy in World War I. The war serves merely as a backdrop for their tragic romance. The film is mostly concerned with the fate of Catherine and Frederick - their quick but ardent meeting, their mock wedding in a hospital room, their long and painful separation during which Frederic deserts the army, and Catherine’s death in childbirth. Their farewell scene, where Catherine dies in Frederic’s arms as the bells peal out Armistice, is a moving climax to this all time classic of the screen.
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Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
324831
Language
English
Audience classification
G
Subject categories
Feature films → Feature films - United States
Literature → American literature - Film and video adaptations
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Black and White
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)