A devastating story of war and a generation destroyed. In 1914 a group of German schoolboys, idealistic and inflamed with youthful patriotism, set off to fight in the "glorious" war. During their brutal basic training disenchantment begins. Then, boarding a train for the front, they see the wounded being rushed back to the hospitals, and they begin to grasp the grim reality of war. On their first night in action they come under heavy attack. In the trenches, they begin to fall. Their youth is stripped away by the violence, and the boys become as sullen as veterans. When Paul shoots a Frenchman and watches him die, he realizes the futility of war. Wounded, he returns home to a different world, a place where he cannot fit in. Sent back into battle, he meets destiny on a day when the German High Command states simply, "All Quiet on the Western Front".
Directed by
Lewis Milestone
Written by
Erich Maria Remarque (novel); Maxwell Anderson (adaptation).
Starring
Louis Wolheim (Kat Katczinsky); Lew Ayres (Paul Bäumer – as Lewis Ayres); John Wray (Himmelstoss); Arnold Lucy (Professor Kantorek); Ben Alexander (Franz Kemmerich); Scott Kolk (Leer); Owen Davis Jr. (Peter); Walter Rogers (Behn - as Walter Browne Rogers); William Bakewell (Albert Kropp); Russell Gleason (Mueller); Richard Alexander (Westhus); Harold Goodwin (Detering); Slim Summerville (Tjaden - as 'Slim' Summerville); G. Pat Collins (Lieutenant Bertinck - as Pat Collins); Beryl Mercer (Mrs. Bäumer - Paul's Mother); Edmund Breese (Herr Meyer). Please contact SFC to add other cast members and characters.
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The Futility of War
Mark Banks (United Kingdom)
Opinion: Recommended
I can well see why this film was banned in many countries upon its release for fear that it would turn men away from fighting. The film captures well the sombre feeling of the futility of war, and in doing so manages to provide a strong testament to life itself. With the film being so well made way back in 1930 it is fully deserving of its three Oscar nominations for Best Writing, Picture and Directing - the latter two of which came in as winners. All Quiet on the Western Front is must-see for any one with even the vaguest in interest in war films, or come to that for any one with even the vaguest interest in humanity per se.
