For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943)

 

 

            Ernest Hemingway’s novel came out in 1940 and it was movie-bound from the moment it became a bestseller.  It was the story of an American who joined the anti-fascists in the Spanish Civil War.  Paramount bought the rights and Dudley Nichols wrote the screenplay.  He took out any references to Francisco Franco and the Falangists.  I guess he didn’t want to offend fascists.  Sam Wood (“Command Decision”) directed.  Hemingway wanted Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman to play his two main characters.  The studio agreed to Cooper, but chose Vera Zorina for the role of Maria.  She had her hair cut short and she was dressed in drab clothing.  Like the character in the book.  When the executives saw some footage of her, they were appalled that her guerrilla warrior was not glamorous!  They brought in Bergman and beautified the character.  Bergman’s participation in the picture had a significant unintended consequence.  She had just made “Casablanca”.  Warner Brothers wanted to reshoot some scenes.  One of them involved replacing “As Time Goes By” with a different song.  She was not available, so the film stayed the way it was.  “For Whom the Bell Tolls” was the second highest grossing film in 1943.  It was critically acclaimed and was nominated for nine Academy Awards.  Katina Paxinou won for Best Supporting Actress.  The other nominations were for Best Picture (losing to “Casablanca”), Best Actor (Cooper lost to Paul Lukas for “Watch on the Rhine”), Best Actress (Bergman lost to Jennifer Jones for “The Song of Bernadette”), Best Supporting Actor (Akim Tamiroff), Cinematography (Color), Art Direction (Color), Editing, and Score. 

            The movie opens with a title card: “Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind and therefore send not to know ‘For whom the bell tolls, the bell tolls for thee.’”  (The quote actually comes from a book by John Donne.)  We are in Spain in 1937.  Robert Jordan (Cooper) is an American language teacher who has joined the Republicans fighting against Franco’s fascists.  He is an explosives expert and we see him sabotaging a train.  He gets away, but he has to shoot his wounded partner.  His next mission is to blow up a bridge.  He hooks up with a band of rebels led by Pablo.  Their lair is a cave in the mountains.  Pablo is against blowing up the bridge because he fears reprisals and the heat that his band will receive.  His wife Pilar (Paxinou) is one tough broad.  She overrules Pablo, calls him a coward and drunkard, and green lights the mission.  On the other end of the female spectrum is the lovely Maria.  She was rescued from the fascists.  She and Jordan fall in love.  There are going to be a lot of bumps in the road, but I don’t have to spoiler alert that there is going to be a blown up bridge.

            “For Whom the Bell Tolls” is a decent rendering of the famous novel.  It is faithful to the book, so students can write their book report from it instead of reading the book.  Or use AI. And it is in Technicolor, not black and white!  And did I mention it has explosions?  The movie hooks you early with the blowing up of a train and this is bookended by the railroad bridge demolition.  There’s also a bullet-expending ambush and a chase scene at the end.  For guys, these will balance the schmaltzy romance that is intertwined with the action scenes.

            The movie has a fine ensemble cast and the acting is stellar, with the surprising exception of Ingrid Bergman.  She is not believable as Maria.  Maria has seen her parents killed and has been raped by the fascists.  And yet, she is a cheerful person.  She’s just not believable.  Plus, she is much too beautiful to play a guerrilla gal.  Her love scenes with Cooper are rife with smarmy dialogue. In one scene, Jordan and Maria go to sleep after talking in gag-inducing frippery and when they wake up we have to sit through more of it.  Other than the smoochy stuff, the dialogue is fine. The characters are interesting.  Pablo is a spineless jerk, but he gets the films redemption arc.  Jordan is Gary Cooper playing himself.  He did not have to stretch much, but he is perfect in the role, as Hemingway foresaw.  Acting honors go to Oscar-deserving Paxinou.  Her Pilar is a blast (excuse the pun).  She not only should be running the band, she does run the band.  She gets a monologue on being ugly.  And she gets to pull a grenade with her teeth.  She is the first woman I have seen in a war movie who could have actually done that.

            The movie is technically sound.  The lighting for the nighttime scenes is excellent.  Something modern movies have a hard time pulling off.  The score is traditional drama music and the movie seldom does not have music, but it’s a good soundtrack and became the first movie soundtrack to be released as a record.

            The film is a bit predictable, especially if you are familiar with Hemingway’s style.  For instance, Jordan decides to blow up the bridge even though they find out that the purpose for the demolition is no longer in play. The film eschews a happy ending in favor of an appropriate finale for the Hemingway hero Jordan.  Maybe that is why it lost to “Casablanca”.  Jordan does not walk into the misty night with Pilar.

 

GRADE  =  B