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Feature titles include:The Bride of Frankenstein, Frankenstein, The Ghost of Frankenstein, House of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein ... Read more

Reviews (112)

AFI top 100 film, Universal's Frankenstein is#1, now on DVD!
Universal Studios made its indelible mark in Hollywood due to its famous mastering of the Horror movie. In 1931 Universals "Frankenstein" changed the film world forever. Even today it remains a very basic classic horror movie. The American Film Institute (AFI) voted it into the top 100 films in the first 100 years of film (1998).

Universal gathered the movie genius' and embarked on adapting Mary Shelly's novel to the screen. James Whale was chosen as the director and the make-up master Jack Pierce to create the giant Frankenstein Monster (played by Boris Karloff).

NOTE: The movie actually had a opening caution film introduction because of its 1931 unspeakable subject matter. People were genuinely scared, horrified but curious to see this film.

Summary: The mad Dr. Frankenstein (Colin Clive) & his hunchback Assistant Fritz (Dwight Frye) are robbing graves for bodys to construct a man to bring back to life. The Dr. still needs a brain to fullfill his inventory. Fritz steals a brain from the local medical school. Unfortunately the only one available is an abnormal one. The Dr. creates his monster being with the abnormal brain unknowingly. Through lightning storms, electrical shocks and unbelievable special effects brings the Monster to life! Now the horror is unleashed.

This is the first in Universal Studio's "Classic Monster Collection" DVD Series. This collection is the very best of their horror movies completely digitally remastered and uncensored. With lots of special features, photos and narratives. A must have DVD collection of classic Hollywood horror films.

It's Still Alive After All These Years
After repeated attempts of securing a Frankenstein, director James Whale hired a middle-aged character actor named William Henry Pratt (stage name: Boris Karloff) who had previously been limited to cameos, stand-ins, and predominantly small eccentric parts to play Frankenstein's monster. Karloff's restrictive age, massive obscurity, and absence of experience may have emerged as hindrances for this newly discovered personality. However, time and popular opinion has obliterated these fears into long lost paranoid hallucinations.

It is Boris Karloff's indisputably iconic and singularly haunting performance as the child-like brute, misunderstood and despised by all, whose only longing and desire is to be loved and cared for by others that continues to be one of cinema's timeless jewels of acting perfection, dramatic magnitude, and note-fully seamless pathos. Karloff's monster, like Anthony Perkin's Norman Bates or Robert De Norio's Travis Bickle, is one of cinema's fortunate accidents of how the exact casting of just the right perfect someone can unbelievably bolster the film. Karloff's casting as the inevitably sympathetic artificial concoction of a mad scientist with a deity complex turned out to be one of many grandiose happy accidents that has allowed this 70 year-old gothic horror film to continue to be copiously admired, internationally beloved, and enthusiastically cherished up to contemporary times.

Frankenstein retains numerous stellar elements including a magnificently captivating early sound ensemble cast including Edward Van Sloan (Doctor Waldman), Mae Clarke (Elizabeth), Frederick Kerr (Baron Frankenstein), Dwight Frye (Fritz), and the unforgettable Colin Clive, the archetypal mad scientist, (Henry Frankenstein), brilliantly provocative Frankenstein make-up by make-up genius Jack Pierce, manically splendid and cleverly articulated German Expressionistic sets ,that place this tale in an indescribable alternate Grimm Fairy Tale reminiscent landscape, James Whales immeasurably eloquent moral consolidation and inventively multi-faceted interpretation of Mary Shelly's tale, and forever crowned with one of cinema's most cunningly virtuoso and unredeemable bravura performances of inarticulate primal indignation and childish rage ever recorded on film by Karloff as the monster.

However due to it's age and Hollywood production values at the time, Frankenstein is not totally absent of problems: lacking of a musical score to countermarch the film's profuse talkativeness, predictably saddled with pedestrian and extremely dated comedic and romantic sub plots, and weakened by an awfully trite comedic conclusion. Despite these blemishes, Frankenstein consummately embodies the finest narrative qualities of the early Universal monster films, contains the simply greatest incarnation of Frakenstein's monster, and stubbornly remains both in ambiance and creative evocativeness the finest film version of the Mary Shelly story.

Talk about staying power!!!

As for Frankenstein's DVD format, it contains a uncannily pristine Pan and Scan
Standard presentation, intriguing Making-Of Documentary, Film Historian Rudy
Behlmer's audio commentary, original theatrical trailer, and much more.

Universally (pun intended) recommended to anyone interested in film classics,
the Universal Monster films, or films of the 1930's. Followed by James Whales
superior sequel The Bride of Frankenstein (1935).

P.S. Never Give Franky Flower Petals Near a Pond

Excellent
Being born in the 50's and enjoyin the classic Universal Horror Movies in the 60's was a great time for Horror Movies.
The Frankenstien DVD collection is excellent to say the least, especially seeing "House of Frankentstien" again, along with my other favorite, "Son of Frankenstien". It's real nice to see 5 Classic Horror Films on one DVD set. I would highly reccomend this to anyone who remembers the horror movies of the 50's and 60's, and to those who don't? go out and buy this DVD. It puts the new "slice 'em/dice 'em" movies to shame.

It's About Franken' Time!
Look, don't read this, just buy this thing before Universal realizes what they've done! They've opened their rusty old vault doors and let their most prized creations escape into open air! FRANKENSTEIN (dir.James Whale, w/ Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff, Dwight Frye) is loose! His BRIDE (dir. James Whale again! w/ Colin Clive, Elsa Lanchester, Boris Karloff, Dwight Frye) too! Their hideous SON (Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Basil Rathbone, Lionel Atwill) is also rampaging! If that's not enough, the GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN (Lon Chaney jr., Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Sir Cedric Hardwicke) now walks among us as well! Yes, this collection has them all, and tosses in the HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney jr., John Carradine, George Zucco, Lionel Atwill) that long overgrown piece of wretched real estate! Hurry, before Universal slams those creaky doors shut once more! If you're a horror nut like yours truly, then this is a nightmare come true! Highest recommendation...

Its alive! ITS ALIVE
What a great collection. I had Frankenstein and the Bride on VHS but getting them again on DVD was great. I have all three legacy collections. The Bride is the best, Frankenstein is the second best, Son is the third, House is the fourth and Ghost is the fifth. I like all five altough its obvious Ghost and House were made for entertainment. I heard they're working on a third Mummy movie. Wonder if they'll release the original Mummy series in a legacy set? I liked the Mummy movies and Van Helsing and I have to wonder what Stephen Sommers next project could be. The Invisible Man? That would be interesting. With his seris also in a legacy set? For now I'm satisfied though (but I hope that does happen) ... Read more

Reviews (112)

THE MOVIE THAT STARTED IT ALL
Director James Whale's classic thriller opened the floodgates for a new genre-horror. In 1931, this film packed quite a wallop. Though it has lost its power to horrify,"Frankenstien" survives as a beatufilly crafted, elegant film that put's most modern horror film's to shame. Boris Karloff's performance as the Monster is among the greatest performances in screen history. Colin Clive is also perfect as the nerve frayed Henry Frankenstien, the monster maker. The direction, sets and photography still hold up after all of these years. The new DVD edition is well worth latching onto; the film has never looked better, and the documentary by David Skal is worth the price of the DVD alone. A great film, and a must have for any serious film collector.

Finally, "it's alive" on DVD !!
I don't know what I could possibly add to all of the previous glowing reviews other than my patience for this release has paid off! I can only hope Universal home video goes forward in releasing the other classic monsters with such a definitive respectful treatment.

Whale and Karloff: Perfect Together!
Nowhere close to Shelley's novel but it makes no difference! Eerie, eccentric and atmospheric, this classic offers nothing but top drawer! Whale's vision is impeccable; sets are moody and gripping, but it is Karloff who mesmerizes with a performance that is a work of art in a role that allows no dialogue but punishing make-up and costuming. Even the distinguished DeNiro didn't come close to the pathos, confusion, sadness and panic of Boris Karloff's elegant and ageless performance. It gets better and better with each viewing.

More than I expected.
Surprisingly enough, I had never seen this movie to its entirety. I remember one time watching it on network tv and it was ugly and the sound was blotchy. So imagine my suprise when I found the DVD clear and beautiful. I was very pleased with the DVD! They did a good job at cleaning up the video and audio. I especially loved the "Special Features" that are the hallmark of DVDs. I would suggest this DVD to any audiophile!

Classic Film, but commentary is disappointing
5 stars just because it's worth having this classic on disc. But this great film deserves a better treatment than this DVD release. The accompanying audio comentary is pointless...it dwells more on cast biographies, literary history and trite observations, rather than discussing the movie we're watching, and the fine little touches that make it a classic. From Whale's comic touches like the pathetic Fritz with his foot-high walking stick pausing on the steps to pull up his socks, to the "Caligari"-inspired sets and the poorly-painted sky backdrop, there is plenty of interesting material on the screen on which to comment. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Superior film of adult behaviour and society
Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton, Mary Astor, Kathryn Marlowe, and John Payne headline this study of marriage and early 20th Century culture. The story line is solid, the script is restrained, direction & acting excellent. Typical of many lesser known films, Dodsworth combines the best of book-to-film conversions (Sinclair Lewis-book, Sidney Howard-script), and accurate psychological drama - for thinking adults.

Dodsworth offers a rare chance to see musical stage star Kathryn Marlowe as the daughter. Marlowe (AKA Kay Kimber on Broadway & London stage, Kay Rea on radio and TV), was brought to Hollywood as Fred Astaire's choice to be his movie partner at RKO studios. In typical Hollywood politics, this was stopped by Ginger Roger's mother, an RKO executive. Marlowe is the person who introduced Iowa radio sports announcer Ronald Reagan to Hollywood, getting him his agent, and introducing him around. Underused as a Goldwyn personal contract player, Marlowe returned to the London stage, starring in "High Button Shoes". There, she also pushed careers of newcomers in her shows, such as Audry Hepburn. Married to famed bandleader Roy Fox, after World War II Marlowe stopped touring, and became Production Manager of KTVO TV in Ottumwa, Iowa to be near her parents, and to raise a family.

John Payne can be seen early in his busy career.

A movie for adults--in the best sense of the term.
It is a stinging indictment of today's Hollywood that a movie like Dodsworth probably couldn't get made today. In its emotional richness and complexity, it demands an audience that doesn't expect an explosion or a poopoo joke every ten seconds. Walter Huston gives one of the all-time great performances as Sam Dodsworth, a self-made millionaire who goes to Europe searching for his roots. Unfortunately, his neurotic wife Fran (Ruth Chatterton, an unjustly forgotten actress) goes with him searching for something else entirely, and the movie is largely about the suffering her emotional games-playing causes him. Add Mary Astor as an elegant American divorcee, Paul Lukas and David Niven as shady Europeans, and Maria Ouspenskaya as a wise old Austrian baroness, and you have a great cast giving life to a screenplay of uncommon literacy and wisdom. Dodsworth is a movie for people who are willing to pay attention, who don't want everything spelled out in huge letters, and who agree with F. Scott Fitzgerald that action is character.

Oh, for the good old days of films!
Ruth Chatterton, William Wyler, Walter Huston - how could you go wrong with these film greats involved? I loved every minute of it. It was romantic, touching, funny -- black and white and I wouldn't have it any other way. Such a great film -- please, do yourself a favor and buy this NOW! It's how movies should be!

A movie for a desert isle....
If I can only have one movie to take with me to that proverbial desert isle, I pick this one. The play between Walter Huston and Ruth Chatterton is really something to see...they gave the best performances of their careers here (and I love Chatterton in a little-known Pre-Code film called "Lilly Turner" which you should definitely seek out). The script VASTLY improves upon the book by Sinclair Lewis, and fleshes out the part of, to quote Chatterton, "that washed-out ex-patriate" played by Mary Astor. Praised in its day for its maturity and its sumptuous production, it is still an absolutely perfect film. The final 5 minutes show what an intense climax a director can create from a relatively tiny story.

A GREAT FILM FROM 1936.
This movie holds a special fascination for me. First off, the little-seen-on-video actress Ruth Chatterton does a superlative job as Fran Dodsworth, the hopelessly vain forty-something wife of a successful American Industrialist

I love the remark Mary Astor makes to Chatterton when Fran states to the younger Edith: "I hope I look as good as you do at your age" - "You're almost certain to, my dear" replies Mary.

As Dodsworth himself, Walter Huston is amazing: a brilliantly effective performance, simple, unaffected -- basking in its realism.

Mary Astor is wonderful as the true blue widow Edith Cortwright. Astor plays her role with a sincere confidence and her character is a nice contrast to the foolish Fran (Who gets more ridiculously affected and flirtatious as the film progresses)

Apart from the great Maria Ouspenskaya - who has one telling scene - David Niven is merely adequate here and the other supporting players (John Payne, Spring Byington, etc.) aren't particularly memorable.

But Huston, Chatterton and Astor carry the film aided by William Wyler's superb direction. And that lovely semi-sentimental musical theme heard throughout doesn't exactly mar the film, either.

DODSWORTH is an uncommonly adult film for the 193O's (Nineteen thirties Hollywood, anyway!) And it's a joy to relish for those interested in fine vintage performances from three pros doing some of their finest work on screen. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Absolutely one of the most hilarious movies ever made, this classic farce featuring the outrageous genius of the Marx Brothers is a chance to see some of their best bits woven together seamlessly in a story of high society, matchmaking, and chaos. In order to bring two young lovers together, brothers Groucho, Chico, and Harpo must sabotage an opera performance even as they try to pass themselves off as stuffed shirts. Featuring the classic sequence where Groucho piles as many people as possible into a ship's stateroom, A Night at the Opera is a deliciously zany romp worth watching again and again. --Robert Lane ... Read more

Reviews (40)

The 2nd Best Marx after Duck Soup
Night at the Opera is different from their first 5 - in a nutshell, as everyone else had commented, there's no Zeppo, more music, Margaret Dumont is back, bigger role for romantic leads, and the comedy is somewhat more disciplined, i.e., the antics are perhaps less spontaneous than earlier films.

I understand criticisms leveled by those who prefer to skip the plot, musical numbers, and romantic plot development, but I wholeheartedly disagree that the movie is somehow lesser because of it, particularly the music. The brothers were an extemely musically talented trio, and throughout their lives saw themselved less as a Comedy show and more a variety show. To disregard the musical numbers as "filler" is to show a lack of appreciation for a performing art they held in very high regard.

I have always felt The Marx Bros. were more "in Character" here than in most of their other films (Duck Soup, Horse Feathers, Animal Crackers, are also good in this regard, as is Day at the races, to a lesser degree). Everything from the contract swindle ("the party of the first part...") to the organized fooling of sgt. Henderson ("now there are four beds - I know I'm crazy!") to the stateroom bit ("Is my Aunt Minnie in here?") to the methodically brilliant destruction of Il Trovatore in the finale are examples of great writing that suited the personalities of the brothers.

Duck Soup or Horse Feathers may be their funniest films, and Animal Crackers may be more memorable for it's classic scenes, but Night at the Opera in my opinion is the most well-balanced of all thier movies. I feel it's the best-written, best-produced, has the best plot, and contains BY FAR the best acting among suporting roles. If Duck Soup weren't so well-paced and funny, Night at the Opera would be my favorite.

The Marx Brothers at their very, very, best. Classic Comedy
On the one hand I want to say that I think "A Night at the Opera" is the greatest Marx Brothers comedy because their peculiar brand of lunacy works better when given a real world target such as Opera than in the fantasy land of Freedonia in "Duck Soup." On the other hand I want to say that I think "A Night at the Opera" has more funny stuff in it than "Duck Soup." I do not even want to begin to get into any consideration of what difference the retirement of Zeppo meant in all this. I just want to laugh my head off.

Groucho is Otis P. Driftwood, too busy trying to fleece Mrs. Claypool (Margaret Dumont) to waste time running an Opera Company. Harpo is Tomasso, the much abused valet to the pompous tenor Rudolpho Lassparri (Walter Woolf King), while Chico is Fiorello, self-appointed agent for the unknown but talent young singer Ricardo Baroni (Allan Jones), who is in love with Rosa Castaldi (Kitty Carlisle). When Groucho loses his job to stuffed shirt Herman Gottlieb (Sig Ruman), it is up to the Marx Brothers to restore order and sanity to the universe.

In terms of classic comic routines "A Night at the Opera" gives you (1) the Stateroom scene with all those people (and don't forget the hardboiled eggs); (2) Groucho and Chico discussing the clauses in a contract (including the Sanity Clause); (3) Chico and Harpo working "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" into the overture of the opera (get your peanuts); (4) a dinner date between Groucho and Margaret Dumont (looking at him is the price you have to pay); and (5) Chico the Russian aviator explaining how they flew across the Atlantic Ocean in a boat (always remember to take enough gas or else you will have to turn back). There are more-you now Chico plays the piano, Harpo plays the harp, and Groucho deflates a pompous windbag at some point--but I want to talk about other things now.

I think the person who really helps sell this film is Kitty Carlisle. In every Marx brother movie there are the boys, there is Margaret Dumont as the foil, and then there are the young boy and girl who sing their way into your hearts. Carlisle and Jones (the only boy singer to appear in more than one Marx Brothers movie) are clearly the best pair to ever take on these thankless roles. The boys clearly like her and take her seriously, which she does in return, giving "A Night at the Opera" a sense of heart. This does not happen in Marx Brothers movies (compare it to the campy efforts of the young lovers in "Animal Crackers"). On top of all this, Carlisle and Jones can sing and their duet from the end of Il Travatore is much better than all the sappy songs that the lovers usually sing in these films.

"A Night at the Opera" is directed by Sam Wood (who would later spend some time directing scenes on that "Gone With the Wind" film you hear so much about). James Kevin McGuineess receives story credit but the key thing is that George S. Kaufman had a major hand in the script (until it ended up in the hands of the actors of course).

Notes: Look for the father of the Marx brothers on the pier when the ship sets sail and please remember that it Leonard's stage name is pronounced "Chick-o" not "Chico." Put an end to this Marxist reinterpretation nonsense.

The beginning of the decline
Many think this film the best or one of the best the Brothers Marx ever did. It's probably a matter of taste (well, it's certainly a matter of taste), but I think the first MGM comedy by the Marx Brothers is scattershot. Groucho, Chico and Harpo are in top form, and when they're on -- and allowed to dominate a scene -- the film is terrific. The stateroom scene is still funny after 70 years, and the finale at the opera is Marxist anarchy at its finest.

But when they're off screen (at least a third of the movie), you're left with an embarrassing melodrama I'm sure the movegoing audiences of 1935 found as sappy as I did. Bad enough the young Italian lovers sound like they're from New England section of Italy; worse are the musical interludes, which bring the film to a halt and destroy any comedic momentum the Marxes have created. A scene where Chico, Harpo and Jones show off their musical prowess goes on far too long and completely stops the film. Their earlier comedies had musical interludes, but they were woven into the films better. The opening number in Duck Soup, for example, is a lengthy set-up to the first joke; ditto the "We're Going to War" number. When the young lovers in A Night at the Opera sing "Alone," there's nothing but the youngsters staring moonily at each other. Their voices are fine, but the studios of the time were never short of movies with beautiful youngsters singing to each other. It's unnecessary here, and it reminds you the Marx Brothers aren't on screen.

"A Night at the Opera" was the Marxes' most successful comedy at the box office, and probably the most popular film they ever did. But time has been kinder to their earlier Paramount productions. Those films are stagebound, but they have a madcap energy the MGM films never recovered.

If you're a real fan of the Marx Brothers, you've probably already seen this; the rest of you should start with Duck Soup or Horse Feathers. A Night at the Opera was, unfortunately, the beginning of the end for this legendary team.

"No need of you reading that, because these are duplicates."
Many have argued that A NIGHT AT THE OPERA is the Marx Brother's finest film, pointing out that it combined the best of the Brother's comedy with the biggest and boldest in MGM production values. Personally, while I really like the film, I wouldn't quite put it in the top slot. Any of the sequences containing the Marx Brothers themselves are gold, but I find that I'm not as enamored with the romantic subplot and singing as other reviewers have been (notably Leonard Maltin in this DVD's commentary). Still, arguing about which one of the fine films is actually the best is a little pointless. This is a great movie, regardless with how it compares to the others.

The biggest thing this film has going for it (outside of the wonderful Marx Brothers themselves, of course) is the big production values that MGM splashed out on. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it's nice to have some great big sets for the Brothers to clown around in (Harpo's stunt double swinging through the rafters is great), but all things considered, I think I prefer the tongue-in-cheek send-up of the big dance numbers (as done in DUCK SOUP) to the production dances which are played straight here.

Margaret Dumont is underused, which is a shame since her dignified outrage usually accounted for big laughs. She gets a good scene at the beginning, and a handful of opportunities to look indignant later in the film, but she isn't the constant presence that she had been in other films.

Still, while I can pick out a few flaws here and there, this is overall a hilarious and fun movie. Much of what is considered classic Marx Brothers material is from this film: the too-many-people-in-the-stateroom scene, the Marxian deconstruction of a legal contract (if anyone thinks that "'The party of the first part' shall be known in this contract as 'the party of the first part'" isn't realistic, then I can show you fine print I've received from credit card companies that are even more tautological than that), and, of course, the grand finale wherein the three brothers completely destroy an opera-in-progress.

The DVD also contains an all-new documentary, which features (among other people) co-star Kitty Carlisle, who is amazingly sharp for being in her 90s, and Dom DeLuise, who talks a lot about food and appears to have been interviewed in the middle of making breakfast (no, I'm not sure why he's here). This is mostly a talking heads interview documentary and there's not a whole lot of brand new material or trivia, but it is nice to see some differing perspectives on things. The story of how Groucho got his name contradicts the anecdote given on the commentary track, and Carlisle refutes the conventional wisdom that states that Margaret Dumont didn't get any of the jokes Groucho was bouncing off her.

A short except from a 1961 broadcast of "The Hy Gardner Show" (who?) reveals Groucho recounting the story of he and his brothers stripping naked and roasting potatoes in the office of Irving Thalberg after the famed producer kept them waiting once too long. I trust you will enjoy the anecdote, because it's told a whopping three times during the course of these DVD extras. Shockingly, none of the tellings blatantly contradict each other.

Two shorts have been included as extras, though I'm not sure I understand their relevance. Robert Benchley's HOW TO SLEEP won the Academy Award in 1935 for Best Short Subject/Comedy, and it's certainly entertaining enough. As for the other short, SUNDAY NIGHT AT THE TROCADERO, well, I'm baffled. I can't make heads or tails of it. Set in a nightclub, a Hollywood talent scout is visiting this ritzy affair. Numerous song and dance people are attempting auditions, while the club's doorman is trying to impress by doing very bad celebrity impersonations (it didn't help that half the time I didn't recognize the name of the person he was impersonating or the name of the person people actually thought he was doing). Cameos by stars of the day abound by having the camera cut to different tables and a voice over shouting, "Hey, look! It's Bob Has-been!" (or whoever). It isn't helped by the fact that most of the careers of these minor celebrities ended soon after the shoot, so for me I was watching cattle call of anonymous hotshots. I couldn't figure out why these people were appearing as themselves. Was the audience supposed to believe that these people really hang out at this fictional locale? Groucho Marx (out of character and costume) has a three-second cameo where he looks as confused as I felt.

I'm wary of commentaries performed by people who weren't actually born when the film they're talking about was made, but Leonard Maltin does a fine job here. He relates a lot of anecdotes about the Marx Brothers, points out how the script is layering the subplots, and relates a lot of trivia that I had never heard before (for example, the only surviving print is actually an edited version made during WWII when all references to Italy have been removed, which explains why the film bizarrely never tells you were the first scenes are set). He even gets into the fun, shouting "What a twit!" when the evil opera singer refuses to sing on the cruise-liner for free.

Although the DVD of A NIGHT AT THE OPERA is included in "The Marx Brothers Collection" box set, it is also available for individual sale. Although I slightly prefer A DAY AT THE RACES (also out on DVD now), I couldn't recommend anyone not pick up this film. For Marx novices, there's a great movie. For Marx aficionados, there's informational material that may be enjoyed. In any event, the powers that be have given a great film an excellent treatment on the DVD format.

Tiresome
Almost everything I write about stuff for Amazon gets either ignored or negative responses. I hardly expect this to fare any better. My original intent was to buy the 7 disc set of the Marx Bros (also just released), I grew faint-hearted near the deadline and canceled it and ordered the only 3 I wanted: Opera, Races and Casablanca. I think the first 5 "lost" Marx Bros movies (I have them on DVD and treasure them, all but Duck Soup, with a screenplay by one of their song-writing teams) are (so far) their funniest. Chaos, pandemonium, idiosyncrasies, personality. Either I was despondent when I watched this flick or else the Marx Bros' antics had worn thin for me. (I remember loving all their movies 30 years ago.) I was bored, saw what was supposed to be funny and didn't think it was. There were a few witty remarks, but those came from either Kaufman or Ryskind, not the Marx Bros. And on that subject, I never (at least not before The Solid Gold Cadillac) thought I'd ever watch or read a Kaufman play and not think it was hilarious. I did not think this was hilarious. The opera they featured at the end was Verdi's Il Trovatore, I don't like that opera anyway, particularly the mezzo gypsy song, particularly all of it. I thought the whole movie was watery, thin, dull and not the best of the Marxes, and not particularly funny. I just opened Casablanca. Tomorrow morning I'll take a crack at it, though I remember much of it now. I remember (and make the connection between that movie and this) that Harpo had gone from being an innocent who chases girls to a character who gets knocked around a lot by the heavies. I don't like the change. The characters, the (well, I said it already) idiosyncrasies and personalities of the brothers just weren't there in this movie. Sigh. I have 2 more to go. ... Read more

Description

An American soldier and an English nurse share an ill-fated romance in World War I. Based on the novel by Ernest Hemingway. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

The 1932 version of A Farewell to Arms owes as much to the shimmering house style of Paramount Pictures as it does the novel by Ernest Hemingway. If Hemingway purists can get past the romanticizing of the book, however, this film offers its own glossy appeal. On the Italian front in World War I, an American ambulance driver (Gary Cooper) falls in love with a nurse (Helen Hayes, before she became the official First Lady of the American The-a-tah). Cooper was a Hemingway friend in real life, and later played the hero of Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls; his boyish simplicity is just right for director Frank Borzage's heartfelt approach. Image Entertainment's DVD release is a stunningly gorgeous improvement on the muddy prints of this film that had been circulating for years, a fitting tribute to the Oscar-winning cinematography of ace cameraman Charles Lang (this is the kind of lush black and white that can capture the glow from a cigarette as it plays across Cooper's darkened face--a breathtaking touch). The jaded battle scenes show the influence of the hit film version of All Quiet on the Western Front, especially in a gripping montage depicting Cooper's progress alone through the war zone. Hemingway would have none of it, of course; he once disdainfully wrote that "in the first picture version Lt. Henry deserted because he didn't get any mail and then the whole Italian Army went along, it seems, to keep him company." This is first and foremost a love story, however, and as such it succeeds beautifully, right through to the remarkably intense ending.--Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (15)

love in the chaos of war
Based on Ernest Hemingway's semi-autobiographical novel about an ambulance driver and a nurse in WWI, this is a beautifully filmed and acted tragic romance, between tiny Helen Hayes, and tall, lanky Gary Cooper, who was 31 at the time and so handsome.
The chaos that surrounds the relationship makes all the participants (including Cooper's best friend, played by Adolphe Manjou) act in ways that are misguided, causing more misfortune, and furthering the anguish of the plot; the chemistry between the stars is wonderful and believable though, and despite its bleakness it is still a tender love story.

There are hellish scenes of war, set to Wagnerian musical themes, and there is an ominous mood that prevails in every scene, even when Cooper and Menjou are out on a drunken spree.
The restoration of this film is excellent, doing justice to Charles Lang's Oscar winning cinematography; the film also won for Best Sound, as well as being nominated for Best Picture.
There have been more recent versions of this story; the 1957 "A Farewell to Arms" with Jennifer Jones and Rock Hudson (which I have not seen), and the 1996 film "In Love and War" with Sandra Bullock and Chris O'Donnell which also has a similar theme, because it was based on Hemingway's youthful WWI romance with nurse Agnes Von Kurowsky; that film suffers because of a weak connection between its actors however, and despite its age, this is a much better film.
Total running time 80 minutes.

Can Love Survive A War?
This Hemingway tale is set in Italy during WWI. Gary Cooper plays an American working as an ambulance driver in the Italian Army, while Helen Hayes is a British nurse. They meet under strange circumstances, fall in love, and develop an intense relationship. But the war and various complications, most of them supplied by Cooper's Italian surgeon friend Adolphe Menjou, create problems in their relationship. Both leads are quite good, with particular praise going to Helen Hayes as the outspoken nurse. Menjou is also interesting as the friend who doesn't think love can be found in the war. I've read that the photography of the film is beautiful, but the print I've seen (like many of the ones out there of this film) was quite dark, occasionally making it difficult to see the action. But the film is well made, and the ending of the movie is well played and mounted, and will stick in your mind after it is over.

True Love and Tragedy
Based on an Earnest Hemingway best-selling novel, the 1932 film Farewell to Arms, is a touching love story set in war-torn Italy during World War I. Gary Cooper portrays an American ambulance driver in the Italian Army that falls in love with an English Red Cross nurse (Helen Hayes). The trials of war and the jealousy of a friend (Adolphe Menjou) put their love to the ultimate test. Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes deliver great performances and director Frank Borzage creates the feeling of authenticity of the era. The special effects in a film made in 1932 cannot be compared to the technology involved in today's movies, but Frank Borzage worked wonders with the technology available at the time. The ending gave me mixed emotions. The wonderful delivery of Helen Hayes allowed me to forgive the corniness of the final scene. I liked the movie so much I think I will read the novel.

Novel into Film
Frank Borsage's 1931 film version of Ernest Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms" can never have the power of the novel's prose, and its not-quite-so-simple romantic idyll. I first saw the film as a twelve-year old in 1931, when it was released; but I've reread the novel many times, and have seen the film twice in recent years. I am a veteran of World War II and a retired professor of literature. So I can now see AFTA through the eyes and sensibilities of a hopefully more seasoned, if not cynical, old man. In '31, I was too young to "get" the implications of war's tragedy (even though my boyhood was saturated with stories and films about "the Great War"--"All Quiet on the Western Front--the novel & the film--What Price Glory--the play & the film--the 1927 Seventh Heaven with Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor co-starring, too young--in that earlier age of innocence--to know how babies were made). Now I am touched by Frederick Henry's (not-so)"innocent" affair with Nurse Cathrine Barkley, touched by its initial idyllic quality. But in 1931, I had not read AFTA. Hardly! Or if read would I have understood it. But decades later, I can now see the lacunae, the holes & telescopings and elidings of vital scenes in the novel, one being the couple's "alpine idyll" above Montreux, Switzerland, the row across the lake to Switzerland (which Catherine shares, but not in the film), and which may have contributed to the complications of her baby's still-birth and her own death by loss of blood. Finally, that silly Hollywood ending, with Cooper (an otherwise good performance considering the pre-Method time)picking up Catherine from her (death) bed, murmuringm "Peace! Peace!" to the skies beyond the open window,as bells toll the war's end. Too much, what follows and ends the film--those doves fluttering across that sky. I can now see why Hem was so disgusted at the film. Had it ended in the way the novel ends, we would have had a more powerful and dramatic fadeout, with Frerick Henry walking out of the hospital and back to his hotel through the rain, the rain a dominant motif that runs through the film and the novel, his mourning, his loneliness far into the rest of his life (as Hemingway himself was haunted by the real-life "Catherine," Red Cross nurse Agnes Von Kurowsky). For those many non-readers "in our time," the 1931 film, or its successors, would be salutary--if it motivates them to go to the novel...which no film can ever match.

Classic version of a very romantic Hemingway work
This is an early filmed version of one of Hemingway's earliest, most successful, and most romantic works. Gary Cooper is a rugged and handsome Frederic, and the performance beautifully captures the brooding protagonist's disillusion with the war in Italy. Helen Hayes is an electrifying Katherine, in one of her most delicately-shaded performances. Adolphe Menjeu is also wonderful, and it is his character which serves as a catalyst for the movements of the main characters. For a French actor, he makes a very lively, convincing Italian. The lighting and cinematography are evocative of German expressionism, especially during the battle sequences, and the use of music is spare and tasteful. Some of the scenes are a little jerky and poorly-lit on DVD, particularly some of the romantic scenes, but the story is captivating and the performances keep it from descending into melodrama. There is an urgency in Katherine's final cry to be held which is tremendously touching and believable. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Astonishing Rita and DVD; silly movie
Rita Hayworth was never more captivatingly beautiful and sensuous than in "The Loves of Carmen". Fortunately, this lushly restored digital transfer is breathtaking in color and clarity and a fitting medium for Rita's screen presence and the film's fantastic cinematography.

The movie, however, is beyond melodramatic and turgid. The dialogue is often hysterical. While Rita (a Latina whose real name was Cansino) is actually pretty impressive as the gypsy Carmen, the otherwise reliable Glenn Ford is hopelessly miscast as the naive Spanish don who falls under her spell.

But if you love simply to behold Rita (and I do!), this is the ultimate feast for you. She is beyond stunning in this film. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

love in the chaos of war
Based on Ernest Hemingway's semi-autobiographical novel about an ambulance driver and a nurse in WWI, this is a beautifully filmed and acted tragic romance, between tiny Helen Hayes, and tall, lanky Gary Cooper, who was 31 at the time and so handsome.
The chaos that surrounds the relationship makes all the participants (including Cooper's best friend, played by Adolphe Manjou) act in ways that are misguided, causing more misfortune, and furthering the anguish of the plot; the chemistry between the stars is wonderful and believable though, and despite its bleakness it is still a tender love story.

There are hellish scenes of war, set to Wagnerian musical themes, and there is an ominous mood that prevails in every scene, even when Cooper and Menjou are out on a drunken spree.
The restoration of this film is excellent, doing justice to Charles Lang's Oscar winning cinematography; the film also won for Best Sound, as well as being nominated for Best Picture.
There have been more recent versions of this story; the 1957 "A Farewell to Arms" with Jennifer Jones and Rock Hudson (which I have not seen), and the 1996 film "In Love and War" with Sandra Bullock and Chris O'Donnell which also has a similar theme, because it was based on Hemingway's youthful WWI romance with nurse Agnes Von Kurowsky; that film suffers because of a weak connection between its actors however, and despite its age, this is a much better film.
Total running time 80 minutes.

Can Love Survive A War?
This Hemingway tale is set in Italy during WWI. Gary Cooper plays an American working as an ambulance driver in the Italian Army, while Helen Hayes is a British nurse. They meet under strange circumstances, fall in love, and develop an intense relationship. But the war and various complications, most of them supplied by Cooper's Italian surgeon friend Adolphe Menjou, create problems in their relationship. Both leads are quite good, with particular praise going to Helen Hayes as the outspoken nurse. Menjou is also interesting as the friend who doesn't think love can be found in the war. I've read that the photography of the film is beautiful, but the print I've seen (like many of the ones out there of this film) was quite dark, occasionally making it difficult to see the action. But the film is well made, and the ending of the movie is well played and mounted, and will stick in your mind after it is over.

True Love and Tragedy
Based on an Earnest Hemingway best-selling novel, the 1932 film Farewell to Arms, is a touching love story set in war-torn Italy during World War I. Gary Cooper portrays an American ambulance driver in the Italian Army that falls in love with an English Red Cross nurse (Helen Hayes). The trials of war and the jealousy of a friend (Adolphe Menjou) put their love to the ultimate test. Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes deliver great performances and director Frank Borzage creates the feeling of authenticity of the era. The special effects in a film made in 1932 cannot be compared to the technology involved in today's movies, but Frank Borzage worked wonders with the technology available at the time. The ending gave me mixed emotions. The wonderful delivery of Helen Hayes allowed me to forgive the corniness of the final scene. I liked the movie so much I think I will read the novel.

Novel into Film
Frank Borsage's 1931 film version of Ernest Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms" can never have the power of the novel's prose, and its not-quite-so-simple romantic idyll. I first saw the film as a twelve-year old in 1931, when it was released; but I've reread the novel many times, and have seen the film twice in recent years. I am a veteran of World War II and a retired professor of literature. So I can now see AFTA through the eyes and sensibilities of a hopefully more seasoned, if not cynical, old man. In '31, I was too young to "get" the implications of war's tragedy (even though my boyhood was saturated with stories and films about "the Great War"--"All Quiet on the Western Front--the novel & the film--What Price Glory--the play & the film--the 1927 Seventh Heaven with Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor co-starring, too young--in that earlier age of innocence--to know how babies were made). Now I am touched by Frederick Henry's (not-so)"innocent" affair with Nurse Cathrine Barkley, touched by its initial idyllic quality. But in 1931, I had not read AFTA. Hardly! Or if read would I have understood it. But decades later, I can now see the lacunae, the holes & telescopings and elidings of vital scenes in the novel, one being the couple's "alpine idyll" above Montreux, Switzerland, the row across the lake to Switzerland (which Catherine shares, but not in the film), and which may have contributed to the complications of her baby's still-birth and her own death by loss of blood. Finally, that silly Hollywood ending, with Cooper (an otherwise good performance considering the pre-Method time)picking up Catherine from her (death) bed, murmuringm "Peace! Peace!" to the skies beyond the open window,as bells toll the war's end. Too much, what follows and ends the film--those doves fluttering across that sky. I can now see why Hem was so disgusted at the film. Had it ended in the way the novel ends, we would have had a more powerful and dramatic fadeout, with Frerick Henry walking out of the hospital and back to his hotel through the rain, the rain a dominant motif that runs through the film and the novel, his mourning, his loneliness far into the rest of his life (as Hemingway himself was haunted by the real-life "Catherine," Red Cross nurse Agnes Von Kurowsky). For those many non-readers "in our time," the 1931 film, or its successors, would be salutary--if it motivates them to go to the novel...which no film can ever match.

Classic version of a very romantic Hemingway work
This is an early filmed version of one of Hemingway's earliest, most successful, and most romantic works. Gary Cooper is a rugged and handsome Frederic, and the performance beautifully captures the brooding protagonist's disillusion with the war in Italy. Helen Hayes is an electrifying Katherine, in one of her most delicately-shaded performances. Adolphe Menjeu is also wonderful, and it is his character which serves as a catalyst for the movements of the main characters. For a French actor, he makes a very lively, convincing Italian. The lighting and cinematography are evocative of German expressionism, especially during the battle sequences, and the use of music is spare and tasteful. Some of the scenes are a little jerky and poorly-lit on DVD, particularly some of the romantic scenes, but the story is captivating and the performances keep it from descending into melodrama. There is an urgency in Katherine's final cry to be held which is tremendously touching and believable. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

An Atomic Age Corman Cheapie
The Monster From the Ocean Floor (1954), produced by Roger Corman, is a really good example of why he always made money with his films. By duping a popular subject or theme of the time, in this case the giant atomic monster craze of the 50's, hiring unknown actors and production crew cheaply, setting an incredibly tight production schedule, sinking as little money as possible into production, and coming up with a fantastic and sensation title and advertising campaign...and it worked.

Lemme take a moment to talk about the director, Wyott Ordung. Never heard of him? Well, if you like B-movies, you should be familiar with some of his work. As a writer, he penned such classics as Robot Monster (1953) and Target Earth (1954), the latter actually being pretty good. But wait, he was also an actor, actually appearing in Monster From the Ocean Floor. Writer/actor/director? A triple threat, to be sure.

Anyway, the movie stars a couple of actors not really worth mentioning, playing a blonde vacationing in Mexico (you can tell this in the beginning as she's donning a giant sombrero with the word 'Mexico' embroidered on it...how tacky) and a less than hunky marine biologist who actually has an incredibly bad musical performance about halfway through as he plucks a guitar and warbles on in some sort of strange mating ritual meant to impress the blonde woman but just ended up revolting this viewer.

So the blonde woman learns of a 'devil' creature within the cove eating local residents and various animals. She also learns that the attacks begin about 1946, around the time the Bikini Island atomic testing began. Okay, so radiation fallout has caused some kind of embiggening of a sea creature, and it is now feeding within the cove. Taking an odd interest in these happenings, she decides to investigate. Her new friend, the marine biologist, poo poos the idea and chalks it up to superstition and proposes the attacks are caused by a shark. After a number of solo scuba excursions into the cove (not the brightest idea, if I may add), the woman finally does encounter a creature, and it's discovered to be a form of life we normally don't see. I thought it was going to be a giant octopus, and it actually looked like one, but that was wrong.

The creature, who we get to see for a total of about two minutes, looks like something made for another film that got rejected because of it's silliness. I suppose it was probably too expensive to show it more, and, you know what? It was probably for the best that it had the limited screen time that it did. The acting, along with the dialogue, is extremely clunky, causing a copious amount of groaning on my part. A very silly subplot was thrown in, one involving the local residents (all two of them) deciding that they should sacrifice the 'fairest of them all' (meaning the blonde) to the sea 'devil', in hopes to appease it and keep it from depopulating the tiny village even more. The underwater scenes involving the main characters swimming around in scuba gear were pretty nice, although sometimes a little too murky or blurry to really be enjoyed. I did like the biologist's little man powered submarine, and it was quite maneuverable. Thankfully the film only runs for 64 minutes. The movie does have some merits, but ultimately gets dragged to the depths of banality by the various aspects I've already mentioned.

For under ten bucks, I wasn't expecting much, and I didn't get much. The picture does look pretty good, with minimal deterioration, and there are absolutely no special features except for chapter stops. All in all, cheaply done non-thriller that will have you rooting for the monster to finish the cast and provide a quick end to this lack luster affair.

Cookieman108

Amoeba? One-Eyed Octopus? No Monster From the Ocean Floor
MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR stars Anne Kimball, Stuart Wade, Dick Pinner, Inez Palange, Jonathan Haze, and David Garcia.

This movie stars a strong female lead, who is fairly easy on the eyes without the obscenity of modern-bathing suits. Julie Blair, played by Anne Kimball, investigates stories of an underwater, single red-eyed, monster that is terrorizing a small Mexican community.

Steve Dunning (Stuart Wade), a marine biologist working in the cove provides the romantic interest. He pedals around a real neat one-man mini-sub. Without giving away the ending, this fact will be important at the movie's ending.

A local witch influences one of the peasants to make an attempt to sacrifice her, "the fair one," as an appeasement to the monster. His haphazard attempts make us sympathetic to him in a movie that drags somewhat and where there is little significant action.

I read that this was Roger Corman's first production, making it a must see for his fans and collectors. The director is Wyott Ordung who also appears as the superstitious Pablo in the movie. Roger Corman is in the movie, too, as Tommy. There is nothing on the box from RHINO or on the DVD to tell us this.

Kimball gives a good performance although the other actors often come off wooden and as if they are reading. The music is not bad and compliments the suspenseful water scenes. The one-eyed monster comes off cheap by today's standards, maybe even by those in 1954, but it is still rather neat with its one bulging eye. Unfortunately, we do not see much of it. The underwater scenes with the monster used a puppet in an aquarium. The live sequences, with just the swimmers and the sub was purported to be actual deep-sea footage. Usually such shots are done a few inches under water in someone's pool.

The RHINO DVD is a conventual pan/scan 1.33:1. There are no extras, just the movie and a few chapter divisions. The picture is pretty clear although the sound is below average. I had to turn my speakers way up. Part of the problem rests with the original production. There is too much background noise and the constant blowing wind becomes a distraction.

In retrospect the peasant woman, really a witch who disavows the local padre for her ancient superstitions, comes across as a real monster. However, she has little screen time. Further, while the character played by Kimball incessantly seeks the monster, she goes out unarmed and passes out every time she sees it. While she has proof of her discovery at the end, she goes back into the water looking for it again, for no good reason whatever. It simply provides the final situation for the movie's mild climax. The logic fails somewhat at this point.

Nevertheless, I like B-grade movies and this is a fair one.

>No foul language or blasphemy.
>Conventional bathing suits, but no bikinis and no nudity.
>Light romance, but nothing lewd and no sexual situations.
>Light plot violence.

Cheezy Mexican Sea Monster Horror at its Best
There's a bit of a sound problem here- apparently the sound man did not realize that wind can override the interlocutors. Yet, as a tale of a monster who lives in a Mexican beach cove under the water, this film can't be beat. The acting, except for the American damsel in distress, is so cheezy that it is good. It reminds me of the films I made with my friends as a kid. But this is a pretty serious horror movie, and we get to see the giant, slithering, undersea beast with all its suctiony members wriggling about horrifically. Recommended for the best/worse in old time horror cheeze.

A shade over an hour, "Monster" doesn't overstay its welcome
This low-budget cheapie actually has a breezy, watchable quality, largely due to Anne Kimball's relaxed, natural performance and some nice island scenery. But make no mistake about its pedigree: this movie is definitely a low-budget 50's monster movie in all its dubious glory. For me, this was cool to watch because I had just read about the film in Roger Corman's book "How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime", and it's always fun to see a movie after reading all the behind-the-scenes anecdotes and dirt about it. Actually, knowing from the book how the monster scenes were accomplished (they essentially moved a puppet around in a small aquarium), I was surprised how well the final result turned out. Not that the effects are actually good or believable, but they're watchable and somewhat accomplished considering the time and budget. Finally, the print Rhino used for this DVD release is actually pretty good; it's clean and clear and mostly free of defects. Recommended to aficianados of this sort of movie, who could certainly do worse.

Bare-bones but clean DVD of Corman cheapie
Even as a bad-movie fanatic, it's hard to find good things to say about Monster from the Ocean Floor. If this were not Corman's first sci-fi production it would have no reputation at all. There is little plot, virtually no action, and a notoriously shy monster. If you can get all fired up about the one-man mini-sub or are content to ogle Anne Kimball in her bathing suit, then you're about halfway there. That B-movie staple Embarrassing Racial Stereotypes also rears its ugly head in this one, adding to the overall icky feel. When we finally get to see the monster (I was sure that the stock footage of the octopus was gonna be it) it's rather quaint, kind of a cross between the really old B&W Muppets and a Diver Dan creature. Personally, I could've dealt with about half a dozen more appearances by the "special effects" if only to break the monotony (one wonders why they were so stingy). Rhino's DVD is pretty stingy as well, including only the movie and 12 chapter stops. Not even a trailer. Well, I guess at the price you can't complain too much. The print used is actually quite respectable. There is the usual very light speckling throughout, but otherwise little visible damage besides a couple of reel changes that suffer from scratches and blemishes. The tonal quality varies throughout (due I'm sure to the source material) from very good to somewhat flat (especially in the underwater scenes, which also suffer a little more from speckling). The image is not super-sharp but quite adequate. Overall, I'm pleased for the price. For Z-movie diehards and Corman completists, you might as well flip for it (what, you're waiting for the Criterion edition?); Normal People looking for a Good Movie may want to spend their cash elsewhere. ... Read more

Description

Rodeo star Gene Autry and a spirited young city gal jointly inherit a ranch and mine. When crooks try to buy the property, she wants to sell, but Gene wants to operate the mine. It takes all of Gene's charm and musical talents to persuade her to see things his way. This rollicking release introduced the character of Tadpole, Frog's little brother, who leads a rescue party in the action-packed climax. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

love in the chaos of war
Based on Ernest Hemingway's semi-autobiographical novel about an ambulance driver and a nurse in WWI, this is a beautifully filmed and acted tragic romance, between tiny Helen Hayes, and tall, lanky Gary Cooper, who was 31 at the time and so handsome.
The chaos that surrounds the relationship makes all the participants (including Cooper's best friend, played by Adolphe Manjou) act in ways that are misguided, causing more misfortune, and furthering the anguish of the plot; the chemistry between the stars is wonderful and believable though, and despite its bleakness it is still a tender love story.

There are hellish scenes of war, set to Wagnerian musical themes, and there is an ominous mood that prevails in every scene, even when Cooper and Menjou are out on a drunken spree.
The restoration of this film is excellent, doing justice to Charles Lang's Oscar winning cinematography; the film also won for Best Sound, as well as being nominated for Best Picture.
There have been more recent versions of this story; the 1957 "A Farewell to Arms" with Jennifer Jones and Rock Hudson (which I have not seen), and the 1996 film "In Love and War" with Sandra Bullock and Chris O'Donnell which also has a similar theme, because it was based on Hemingway's youthful WWI romance with nurse Agnes Von Kurowsky; that film suffers because of a weak connection between its actors however, and despite its age, this is a much better film.
Total running time 80 minutes.

Can Love Survive A War?
This Hemingway tale is set in Italy during WWI. Gary Cooper plays an American working as an ambulance driver in the Italian Army, while Helen Hayes is a British nurse. They meet under strange circumstances, fall in love, and develop an intense relationship. But the war and various complications, most of them supplied by Cooper's Italian surgeon friend Adolphe Menjou, create problems in their relationship. Both leads are quite good, with particular praise going to Helen Hayes as the outspoken nurse. Menjou is also interesting as the friend who doesn't think love can be found in the war. I've read that the photography of the film is beautiful, but the print I've seen (like many of the ones out there of this film) was quite dark, occasionally making it difficult to see the action. But the film is well made, and the ending of the movie is well played and mounted, and will stick in your mind after it is over.

True Love and Tragedy
Based on an Earnest Hemingway best-selling novel, the 1932 film Farewell to Arms, is a touching love story set in war-torn Italy during World War I. Gary Cooper portrays an American ambulance driver in the Italian Army that falls in love with an English Red Cross nurse (Helen Hayes). The trials of war and the jealousy of a friend (Adolphe Menjou) put their love to the ultimate test. Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes deliver great performances and director Frank Borzage creates the feeling of authenticity of the era. The special effects in a film made in 1932 cannot be compared to the technology involved in today's movies, but Frank Borzage worked wonders with the technology available at the time. The ending gave me mixed emotions. The wonderful delivery of Helen Hayes allowed me to forgive the corniness of the final scene. I liked the movie so much I think I will read the novel.

Novel into Film
Frank Borsage's 1931 film version of Ernest Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms" can never have the power of the novel's prose, and its not-quite-so-simple romantic idyll. I first saw the film as a twelve-year old in 1931, when it was released; but I've reread the novel many times, and have seen the film twice in recent years. I am a veteran of World War II and a retired professor of literature. So I can now see AFTA through the eyes and sensibilities of a hopefully more seasoned, if not cynical, old man. In '31, I was too young to "get" the implications of war's tragedy (even though my boyhood was saturated with stories and films about "the Great War"--"All Quiet on the Western Front--the novel & the film--What Price Glory--the play & the film--the 1927 Seventh Heaven with Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor co-starring, too young--in that earlier age of innocence--to know how babies were made). Now I am touched by Frederick Henry's (not-so)"innocent" affair with Nurse Cathrine Barkley, touched by its initial idyllic quality. But in 1931, I had not read AFTA. Hardly! Or if read would I have understood it. But decades later, I can now see the lacunae, the holes & telescopings and elidings of vital scenes in the novel, one being the couple's "alpine idyll" above Montreux, Switzerland, the row across the lake to Switzerland (which Catherine shares, but not in the film), and which may have contributed to the complications of her baby's still-birth and her own death by loss of blood. Finally, that silly Hollywood ending, with Cooper (an otherwise good performance considering the pre-Method time)picking up Catherine from her (death) bed, murmuringm "Peace! Peace!" to the skies beyond the open window,as bells toll the war's end. Too much, what follows and ends the film--those doves fluttering across that sky. I can now see why Hem was so disgusted at the film. Had it ended in the way the novel ends, we would have had a more powerful and dramatic fadeout, with Frerick Henry walking out of the hospital and back to his hotel through the rain, the rain a dominant motif that runs through the film and the novel, his mourning, his loneliness far into the rest of his life (as Hemingway himself was haunted by the real-life "Catherine," Red Cross nurse Agnes Von Kurowsky). For those many non-readers "in our time," the 1931 film, or its successors, would be salutary--if it motivates them to go to the novel...which no film can ever match.

Classic version of a very romantic Hemingway work
This is an early filmed version of one of Hemingway's earliest, most successful, and most romantic works. Gary Cooper is a rugged and handsome Frederic, and the performance beautifully captures the brooding protagonist's disillusion with the war in Italy. Helen Hayes is an electrifying Katherine, in one of her most delicately-shaded performances. Adolphe Menjeu is also wonderful, and it is his character which serves as a catalyst for the movements of the main characters. For a French actor, he makes a very lively, convincing Italian. The lighting and cinematography are evocative of German expressionism, especially during the battle sequences, and the use of music is spare and tasteful. Some of the scenes are a little jerky and poorly-lit on DVD, particularly some of the romantic scenes, but the story is captivating and the performances keep it from descending into melodrama. There is an urgency in Katherine's final cry to be held which is tremendously touching and believable. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

One of the finest films of the 1930s, this classic Samuel Goldwyn production was based upon the hit Broadway play written by Sidney Howard, which had in turn been adapted from the 1929 novel by Sinclair Lewis. Ahead of its time in dramatizing the disintegration of a marriage, the story centers on the title character (superbly played by Walter Huston, who originated his role onstage), a wealthy automobile manufacturer whose wife (Ruth Chatterton, in her final American film role) desperately craves an aristocratic lifestyle in Europe. Dodsworth indulges her fancies to a degree, but their clashing desires--compounded by her affair with a European baron and his affection for a sympathetic widow (Mary Astor)--create further tension and mutual rancor. Dodsworth was perhaps the first Hollywood drama of the sound era that maturely addressed the complexity of a failing marriage and impending divorce, made especially compelling since Dodsworth is such an admirable and upstanding character who means well and upholds the ideal of marital commitment. Sharply directed by William Wyler, the film is as relevant today as it was when released in 1936. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Superior film of adult behaviour and society
Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton, Mary Astor, Kathryn Marlowe, and John Payne headline this study of marriage and early 20th Century culture. The story line is solid, the script is restrained, direction & acting excellent. Typical of many lesser known films, Dodsworth combines the best of book-to-film conversions (Sinclair Lewis-book, Sidney Howard-script), and accurate psychological drama - for thinking adults.

Dodsworth offers a rare chance to see musical stage star Kathryn Marlowe as the daughter. Marlowe (AKA Kay Kimber on Broadway & London stage, Kay Rea on radio and TV), was brought to Hollywood as Fred Astaire's choice to be his movie partner at RKO studios. In typical Hollywood politics, this was stopped by Ginger Roger's mother, an RKO executive. Marlowe is the person who introduced Iowa radio sports announcer Ronald Reagan to Hollywood, getting him his agent, and introducing him around. Underused as a Goldwyn personal contract player, Marlowe returned to the London stage, starring in "High Button Shoes". There, she also pushed careers of newcomers in her shows, such as Audry Hepburn. Married to famed bandleader Roy Fox, after World War II Marlowe stopped touring, and became Production Manager of KTVO TV in Ottumwa, Iowa to be near her parents, and to raise a family.

John Payne can be seen early in his busy career.

A movie for adults--in the best sense of the term.
It is a stinging indictment of today's Hollywood that a movie like Dodsworth probably couldn't get made today. In its emotional richness and complexity, it demands an audience that doesn't expect an explosion or a poopoo joke every ten seconds. Walter Huston gives one of the all-time great performances as Sam Dodsworth, a self-made millionaire who goes to Europe searching for his roots. Unfortunately, his neurotic wife Fran (Ruth Chatterton, an unjustly forgotten actress) goes with him searching for something else entirely, and the movie is largely about the suffering her emotional games-playing causes him. Add Mary Astor as an elegant American divorcee, Paul Lukas and David Niven as shady Europeans, and Maria Ouspenskaya as a wise old Austrian baroness, and you have a great cast giving life to a screenplay of uncommon literacy and wisdom. Dodsworth is a movie for people who are willing to pay attention, who don't want everything spelled out in huge letters, and who agree with F. Scott Fitzgerald that action is character.

Oh, for the good old days of films!
Ruth Chatterton, William Wyler, Walter Huston - how could you go wrong with these film greats involved? I loved every minute of it. It was romantic, touching, funny -- black and white and I wouldn't have it any other way. Such a great film -- please, do yourself a favor and buy this NOW! It's how movies should be!

A movie for a desert isle....
If I can only have one movie to take with me to that proverbial desert isle, I pick this one. The play between Walter Huston and Ruth Chatterton is really something to see...they gave the best performances of their careers here (and I love Chatterton in a little-known Pre-Code film called "Lilly Turner" which you should definitely seek out). The script VASTLY improves upon the book by Sinclair Lewis, and fleshes out the part of, to quote Chatterton, "that washed-out ex-patriate" played by Mary Astor. Praised in its day for its maturity and its sumptuous production, it is still an absolutely perfect film. The final 5 minutes show what an intense climax a director can create from a relatively tiny story.

A GREAT FILM FROM 1936.
This movie holds a special fascination for me. First off, the little-seen-on-video actress Ruth Chatterton does a superlative job as Fran Dodsworth, the hopelessly vain forty-something wife of a successful American Industrialist

I love the remark Mary Astor makes to Chatterton when Fran states to the younger Edith: "I hope I look as good as you do at your age" - "You're almost certain to, my dear" replies Mary.

As Dodsworth himself, Walter Huston is amazing: a brilliantly effective performance, simple, unaffected -- basking in its realism.

Mary Astor is wonderful as the true blue widow Edith Cortwright. Astor plays her role with a sincere confidence and her character is a nice contrast to the foolish Fran (Who gets more ridiculously affected and flirtatious as the film progresses)

Apart from the great Maria Ouspenskaya - who has one telling scene - David Niven is merely adequate here and the other supporting players (John Payne, Spring Byington, etc.) aren't particularly memorable.

But Huston, Chatterton and Astor carry the film aided by William Wyler's superb direction. And that lovely semi-sentimental musical theme heard throughout doesn't exactly mar the film, either.

DODSWORTH is an uncommonly adult film for the 193O's (Nineteen thirties Hollywood, anyway!) And it's a joy to relish for those interested in fine vintage performances from three pros doing some of their finest work on screen. ... Read more