Erich Maria Remarque - his works on film

Discussion of the actors, directors and film-makers who 'made it all happen'
Post Reply
User avatar
charliechaplinfan
Posts: 9040
Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am

Erich Maria Remarque - his works on film

Post by charliechaplinfan »

I happened upon a coincidence of watching films of two of Remarque's novels back to back. The first one was Arch of Triumph and the second one the Borzage directed Three Comrades. I watched So Ends Our Night not too long ago and have read but never watched his most famous All Quiet on the Western Front.

Firstly Three Comrades, directed by Frank Borzage and starring Robert Taylor, Margaret Sullavan, Franchot Tone and Roland Young. It does have some of MGM's gloss on it and the screenplay was written by no other than F Scott Fitzgerald, who's touch can be felt. For me this is the most touching Robert Taylor performance I've seen, teamed with Margaret Sullavan as doomed lovers, doomed because of her TB yet strangely all three men, home from the war, worn down by Germany's struggles, the timeline being 1920 begin to live again through their acquaintance with her. Robert Young's character Gottfried is struggling with his ideals and his place in the world, he joins a socialist group which brings him trouble along the way. Franchot Tone's character is the more grown up, cynical but wanting to find a peace in the world and a confidante to Margaret's Pat. The ending is sad yet strangely uplifting and although this film was made without direct reference to the Nazi's I'm sure they can't have been far from many people's thoughts in 1938. A year or so later margaret Sullavan would work again with Frank Borzage in a film that does make direct reference to the Nazi's The Mortal Storm.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
User avatar
charliechaplinfan
Posts: 9040
Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am

Re: Erich Maria Remarque - his works on film

Post by charliechaplinfan »

Yesterday it was the turn of Arch of Triumph, a film that promised an awful lot, based on a work by Erich Maria Remarque, directed by Lewis Milestone who directed the earlier All Quiet on the Western Front. It stars Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman. I didn't expect much, I'd read about all the conflicts that went into getting it made and how dissatisfied Boyer and Bergman were with this film yet when watching it, I didn't think it was a bad film, perhaps badly directed and Ingrid's character not fully brought to screen, I felt a little confused about her motivations and as such didn't have as much sympathy with her character as I thought I should have.

The story here is a little like So Ends the Night, it concerns refugees, in this case Boyer who plays Dr Ravic, although this is only one of his aliases, in a flashback we see him watching a woman being tortured and then dying refusing to give up what she knows about Ravic, her tortured is played by Charles Laughton. Ravic lives in a hotel for refugees that gets raided periodically, one night when out walking he comes across Joan played by Ingrid Bergman, she seems distressed and is soaking from the rain. He takes her to a cafe and they drink calvados to warm up, later he lets her stay in his room as she has nowhere to go, he's called away to perform an operation on a woman who has been butchered by a back street abortionist, when he returns he takes Joan back to her hotel were her boyfriend is dead. He takes charge of the situation helping Joan and then leaves after asking for her number, he destroys it on the way home. she contacts him and he helps her once again getting her a job in a Russian bar he frequents. Once Joan starts work there, he doesn't visit until one night he breaks his resolve. They start an affair although he holds back a little from her, she doesn't know he's a refugee and he's tried not to get involved knowing that his life is not one that can be spent with a woman, constantly being on guard and moving on, being on guard against arrest. They take a break in the South of France were he tells her of his status, he can't marry her, he doesn't exist, if he did he'd be hunted down. Once back in Paris he is discovered and deported, Joan not being allowed to go to him. Abandoned, she waits for months to no avail, she goes back to the South of France and becomes a kept woman.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
User avatar
charliechaplinfan
Posts: 9040
Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am

Re: Erich Maria Remarque - his works on film

Post by charliechaplinfan »

When Ravic comes back to Paris his thoughts turn to Joan but she can't found, eventually she turns up again, with her man. The trust and bond between then is now broken but the love is still there. Ravic is too proud, Joan can't give up everything she has got straight away, she can't hurt the man who has given her so much. She tests him by calling him and telling him to come, when he comes there is no emergency. He's distracted by his nemesis, Laughton who turns up again, he dispatches him in scenes that were edited according to the imdb, scenes included him chopping up Laughton, lovely. Then he finds out Joan has been shot and he operates. The ending is sad, the second world war has started, the hotel has been raided and Ravic joins the queue of people destined for the concentration camps.

Boyer and Bergman cannot be faulted in their performances, the older Boyer is just right to play the tortured and world weary Ravic, trying not to love, trying to hold back and failing despite himself. The love scenes with Ingrid weren't all they could have been, they could have revealed more of the despair and longing that flowed through both of them. Ingrid's character must have suffered from the cuts, she's difficult to get a handle on her motivations. when we meet her she's fled her dead lover, dead through illness and she's not direct about what happens. She suffers dreadfully when Ravic is deported, waits and waits and then ups and leaves just as Ravic comes back, then she can't make a clean break and that proves her undoing. Boyer at the end, sipping his coffee, looking out of the window, is this a man who has been devastated or is this a man who is very tired of suffering?

Don't avoid Arch of Triumph because of it's production problems, it's very much worth watching. I feel like I need to read the book to fully appreciate the story, if anyone has read it, can you fill in the gaps?

I don't think I fully understand why these men in So Ends the Night and Arch of Triumph can't get passports, I can only assume that they are on the run from the Nazi regime and are not lucky enough to have sponsors who can get them safe conduct to another country. All through the film hubby was asking me, why didn't they come to Britain? I'm not sure if there's an answer.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
Mr. Arkadin
Posts: 2645
Joined: April 14th, 2007, 3:00 pm

Re: Erich Maria Remarque - his works on film

Post by Mr. Arkadin »

Three Comrades is a great film. You should also see my other favorite, A Time to Love and a Time to Die (1959), which is available in a beautiful R2 print. Both are incredible portraits of the devastation of war, TC being the prelude, while ATTLATTD reveals the aftermath.
User avatar
charliechaplinfan
Posts: 9040
Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am

Re: Erich Maria Remarque - his works on film

Post by charliechaplinfan »

I didn't realise A Time To Love and A Time to Die had been released here, thanks for that Mr Arkadin. I plan to watch AQOTWF pretty soon, I've held off watching it because I have very clear memories of the book.

Reading a review on the imdb I read that Joan Pardou was a reflection of Remarque's feelings about Marlene Dietrich, I don't know if there is any truth in that.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
Mr. Arkadin
Posts: 2645
Joined: April 14th, 2007, 3:00 pm

Re: Erich Maria Remarque - his works on film

Post by Mr. Arkadin »

All Quiet on the Western Front is a classic and an astounding achievement considering it came so early in the sound era (pay attention to how Milestone uses the camera and sound in the battle scenes). While the flashbacks are dispensed for a chronological telling, the film matches the book's intensity in most respects. My only complaint is Paul's speech to his old classroom drags a bit and could have been shortened, but it's still a powerful scene. The final shot is breathtaking (in a literal sense!). I'll be interested to hear what you think of this one.
User avatar
charliechaplinfan
Posts: 9040
Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am

Re: Erich Maria Remarque - his works on film

Post by charliechaplinfan »

I promise I'll watch it this week.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
Vecchiolarry
Posts: 1392
Joined: May 6th, 2007, 10:15 pm
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Re: Erich Maria Remarque - his works on film

Post by Vecchiolarry »

Hi Alison,

I have to chuckle when I saw that you had started a thread on Remarque. I immediately connected the dots between him and Charlie Chaplin : - Paulette Goddard!!!

Another personal anecdote that I'd really forgotten until "A Time to Love and a TIme to Die" was mentioned: -
I attended the premier of this picture in Paris in 1958 just before returning to university in Heidelburg.
I was recruited to be Lilo Pulver's escort. She didn't have much to say though and I spent most of the party later being with Paulette, who had just married Herr Remarque...
I kept jokingly calling her Frau Remarque and she cattily commented to me, "No mere Frau can sport all this, darling!!", as she pointed to all the rubies she was wearing....
We had a good laugh...
Paulette was fun; Lilo wasn't!!!

Larry
User avatar
charliechaplinfan
Posts: 9040
Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am

Re: Erich Maria Remarque - his works on film

Post by charliechaplinfan »

By all accounts that was a happy union unlike his union with Dietrich. Paulette sounds tremendous fun, she sounds one of the most unaffected of the Hollywood stars, despite her rubies.

It's been some months since I watched So Ends Our Night based on the Remarque novel Flotsam. Starring once again Margaret Sullavan who must have had the corner in tragic germanic heroines at the time. She is co starred with Fredric March and a young Glenn Ford. They are all fleeing their countries and are without passports, the film movies between Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Margaret is a Jewish chemist fleeing her homeland, Glenn Ford is an idealistic young man who falls in love with her and Fredric March is a man fleeing from a concentration camp when Glenn Ford's character falls in with him. One can only imagine the impact of this on America just entering the war. The film contains a very memorable scene of Fredric March following his wife Frances Dee in the marketplace to say goodbye to her, she can't turn around, she is being trailed, she can't show any recognition but her face tells so much. A film about valour, honour, convictions and a dangerous life on the run.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
Gary J.
Posts: 199
Joined: November 9th, 2008, 1:22 pm
Location: Sonoma, CA
Contact:

Re: Erich Maria Remarque - his works on film

Post by Gary J. »

charliechaplinfan wrote:
I don't think I fully understand why these men in So Ends the Night and Arch of Triumph can't get passports, I can only assume that they are on the run from the Nazi regime and are not lucky enough to have sponsors who can get them safe conduct to another country. All through the film hubby was asking me, why didn't they come to Britain? I'm not sure if there's an answer.
Most countries had restrictions on immigration during those years. You needed a sponsor, either a relative or an established citizen and then there were many more hoops to jump through, such as promised employment. They didn't want anyone living on the dole to the government.

If Nations had a more liberal immigration policy during the war there would never had been a need for a film like Casablanca (1943). That country would had been emptied out and the only folks hanging around Rick's saloon would had been members of Vichy and a few camel jockeys looking for tips.

Gary J.
User avatar
charliechaplinfan
Posts: 9040
Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am

Re: Erich Maria Remarque - his works on film

Post by charliechaplinfan »

I guess I understood this but how many countries shut their eyes and borders to the persons expelled from the Nazi regime. I suppose I don't really need the answer but am just voicing my disbelief. One has to be thankful to Erich Maria Remarque for writing about these people and also thankful to the people involved in making the films.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
User avatar
charliechaplinfan
Posts: 9040
Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am

Re: Erich Maria Remarque - his works on film

Post by charliechaplinfan »

I watched All Quiet on the Western Front over the last couple of nights. I had mixed feelings,mostly good. It is one of the best early talkie movies, of that there is no doubt. I felt it took a bit to get going but once in the action it gained pace quite quickly. I agree Mr Arkadin that Paul's speech is the weakest point in the movie and the ending, remarkable. In between there were many moments, some of comedy, the boys in the river, the girls unfriendly until realising what gifts they bear. The stolen moments at the girls cottage. Paul's coming home and not being able to bear it, leaving before his leave was up. Being in the hospital and being moved and Paul thinking he would never come back. Louis Wolheim dying whilst Paul carries him on his soldiers, caught by some shrapnel.

It's utterly relentless like Remarque's novel. A story to show war up for what it is. The irony is that as strong as the book and film are it didn't prevent another war following quite quickly on the heels of the first. It makes one think though of all the men whose lives were snuffed out by the conflict.

There's something coincidental about Lew Ayres role as a conscientious objector, one wonders if this film had an inflence on him. His bravery can't be questioned as he was a medic in the field. He gave a great performance as Paul, he was in my mind perfectly cast.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
Mr. Arkadin
Posts: 2645
Joined: April 14th, 2007, 3:00 pm

Re: Erich Maria Remarque - his works on film

Post by Mr. Arkadin »

charliechaplinfan wrote:He gave a great performance as Paul, he was in my mind perfectly cast.
The scene where he's being wheeled into the "death room" from which no one returns, is incredible and you can hear and feel the panic and determination in his performance.

charliechaplinfan wrote:It's utterly relentless like Remarque's novel. A story to show war up for what it is. The irony is that as strong as the book and film are it didn't prevent another war following quite quickly on the heels of the first.
Most historians agree that the second war was a continuation of the original conflict and the chaotic state in which WWI ended. The players and some of the motivations changed, but the basic premise was the same.

What is incredible is how Remarque's works (and the films made from them) document the wars, with All Quiet on the Western Front examining the Great War, Three Comrades detailing the German depression, anti-semitism , and rise of fascism, while A Time to Love and a Time to Die probes WWII and summarizes the end of battle. In all of these movies, Remarque's unique view of human nature (sometimes inspiring, sometimes despairing) shines through, reminding us that man is the only creature that makes war on itself.
User avatar
charliechaplinfan
Posts: 9040
Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am

Re: Erich Maria Remarque - his works on film

Post by charliechaplinfan »

Well said. Is it because it's told from the German's point of view that it's feels even more poignant, the popular image of the Germans of this time is what was perpertrated by the newspapers and Remarque's novel shows them as oridinary boys and men.

The Second World War was a continuation of the First, Remarque's works are incredibly human and in some places bleak. Another reason the Second World war was necessary was the persecution that Hitler subjected some of his people and other nation's people to, not all of this was known at the time. One wonders how much Remarque's stance changed from All Quiet on the Western Front. Viewing So Ends Our Night and Arch of Triumph his direction turned to the persecuted people.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
User avatar
charliechaplinfan
Posts: 9040
Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am

Re: Erich Maria Remarque - his works on film

Post by charliechaplinfan »

I've started reading Arch De Triumph, the film although far from perfect but holding an interesting storyline, the book has really grabbed my attention, the main character of Ravic being a illegal person working in Paris as a surgeon usually saving woman from botched abortions, abhoring the politics of his own country he has come to Paris as a man without papers, a man without a country, known as a brilliant surgeon in Germany he operates in France for others. A woman, Joan Madou gets his attention. On screen the parts were played by Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman, both of them bringing the characters to life without being able to use the full story of the book because of the production code. Erich Maria Remarque had based this losely on his romance with Marlene Dietrich but if Dietrich is Madou he's looking at Dietrich through tinted glasses.

The film is slated in various biographies of it's stars, I enjoyed it when I watched it, I think the one thing it does have going for it is three very good actors, Boyer, Bergman and Laughton, it does invoke an atomosphere, a desperation. As a novel I don't think it's rated as highly as some of his other greater work but it's very readable.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
Post Reply