Arch of Triumph (1948 film)

Last updated
Arch of Triumph
Arch-of-Triump-1948.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Lewis Milestone
Written byLewis Milestone
Harry Brown
Screenplay byLewis Milestone
Harry Brown
Irwin Shaw (uncredited)
Based on Arch of Triumph
by Erich Maria Remarque
Produced by David Lewis
Starring Ingrid Bergman
Charles Boyer
Charles Laughton
Ruth Warrick
Roman Bohnen
Ruth Nelson
Michael Romanoff
Cinematography Russell Metty
Edited byDuncan Mansfield
Music by Louis Gruenberg
Production
company
Distributed by United Artists (United States & Canada)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (International; through Loew's Inc.)
Release dates
  • February 17, 1948 (1948-02-17)(Miami, Beach, Florida)
  • March 6, 1948 (1948-03-06)(United States)
Running time
120 minutes
133 minutes
(restored version)
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
German
Budget USD 5,000,000 [1] [2]
Box office$4,250,000 [3]
$1.7 million (US rentals) [4]
$4,100,000 (total) [3]

Arch of Triumph is a 1948 American romantic war drama film directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, and Charles Laughton. It is based on the 1945 novel Arch of Triumph by Erich Maria Remarque, which he wrote during his nine-year exile in the United States.

Contents

Plot

Pre-World War II Paris is crowded with illegal refugees, trying to evade deportation. One of them is Dr. Ravic, who practices medicine illegally under a false name, helping other refugees. He saves Joan Madou from committing suicide after the sudden death of her lover. They become involved, but he is deported and she becomes the mistress of Alex, a very wealthy man. Ravic eventually returns, still seeking revenge against the Nazi officer, von Haake, who tortured Ravic's beloved to death. Von Haake is in Paris, in civilian dress, for some unknown, sinister purpose.

On September 1, 1939, Germany invades Poland. Two days later, Britain and France declare war on Germany. Ravic kills von Haake, but so quickly that the villain does not know why he is dying. Meanwhile, Joan's jealous lover shoots her, then comes to Ravic for help. The bullet has injured her spine. Paralyzed, except for her left arm, Ravic operates on her in a vain attempt to save her but she is left paralyzed. Dying, she begs him to end her suffering. He comforts her and they speak of their love while she dies. He goes home to find that the authorities are checking papers at the hotel. He waits in line with his friend, Boris, who predicts a stay in a concentration camp. Ravic believes that they will be useful, now that war is here. Boris bids him an affectionate farewell, promising to meet at Fouquet's after the war. The last shot of the film is through the Arc de Triomphe.

Cast

Background and production

The film's name is a reference to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, where the film is set.

Irwin Shaw spent five months writing a screenplay which minimized the love story. Lewis Milestone disagreed with this and other aspects of his script. Milestone and Harry Brown created their own version, which was preferred by the producers and Ingrid Bergman. [5] Ingrid Bergman's salary was $175,000 + 25% of net profits. [5] William Conrad, in his fourth film, has a small, important (uncredited) role as a policeman.

The rough cut of the film was four hours long, and several subplots and at least one actor were cut in reducing it to two hours. [5] The head of the MPAA's Production Code Administration at the time, Joseph Breen, made the studio tone down the violence in the script. Breen also objected to the fact that the murder went unpunished, but he relented on the basis that it was a war story. [5]

1984 film for television

In 1984, Charles E. Israel adapted the novel for British television, with Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Ravic, Donald Pleasence as von Haake, Lesley-Anne Down as Joan Madou and Frank Finlay as Boris Morosov. Waris Hussein directed. [6] This made-for-television film was released in the United States in 1985. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arc de Triomphe</span> Triumphal arch in Paris, France

The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, often called simply the Arc de Triomphe, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the étoile or "star" of the juncture formed by its twelve radiating avenues. The location of the arc and the plaza is shared between three arrondissements, 16th, 17th (north), and 8th (east). The Arc de Triomphe honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ingrid Bergman</span> Swedish actress (1915–1982)

Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish actress. With a career spanning five decades, Bergman is often regarded as one of the most influential screen figures in cinematic history. She won numerous accolades, including three Academy Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, four Golden Globe Awards, BAFTA Award, and a Volpi Cup. She is one of only four actresses to have received at least three acting Academy Awards. In 1999, the American Film Institute recognised Bergman as the fourth-greatest female screen legend of Classic Hollywood Cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Laughton</span> British and American actor (1899–1962)

Charles Laughton was a British and American actor. He was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play with his future wife Elsa Lanchester, with whom he lived and worked until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewis Milestone</span> American film director (1895–1980)

Lewis Milestone was an American film director. Milestone directed Two Arabian Knights (1927) and All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), both of which received the Academy Award for Best Director. He also directed The Front Page (1931), The General Died at Dawn (1936), Of Mice and Men (1939), Ocean's 11 (1960), and received the directing credit for Mutiny on the Bounty (1962), though Marlon Brando largely appropriated his responsibilities during its production.

<i>The Bells of St. Marys</i> 1945 film by Leo McCarey

The Bells of St. Mary's is a 1945 American musical comedy-drama film, produced and directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman. Written by Dudley Nichols and based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a priest and a nun who, despite their good-natured rivalry, try to save their school from being shut down. The character Father O'Malley had been previously portrayed by Crosby in the 1944 film Going My Way, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. The film was produced by Leo McCarey's production company, Rainbow Productions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Boyer</span> French-American actor (1899–1978)

Charles Boyer was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American films during the 1930s. His memorable performances were among the era's most highly praised, in romantic dramas such as The Garden of Allah (1936), Algiers (1938), and Love Affair (1939), as well as the mystery-thriller Gaslight (1944). He received four Oscar nominations for Best Actor. He also appeared as himself on the CBS sitcom I Love Lucy.

<i>Dead Men Dont Wear Plaid</i> 1982 film by Carl Reiner

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid is a 1982 American neo-noir mystery comedy film directed, co-written by, and co-starring Carl Reiner and co-written by and starring Steve Martin. Co-starring Rachel Ward, the film is both a parody of and a homage to film noir and the pulp detective films of the 1940s. The title refers to Martin's character telling a story about a woman obsessed with plaid in a scene that was ultimately cut from the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victor Fleming</span> American film director, cinematographer, and producer

Victor Lonzo Fleming was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were Gone with the Wind, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director, and The Wizard of Oz. Fleming has those same two films listed in the top 10 of the American Film Institute's 2007 AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elsa Lanchester</span> British-American actress (1902–1986)

Elsa Sullivan Lanchester was a British actress with a long career in theatre, film and television.

<i>Anastasia</i> (1956 film) 1956 American historical drama film directed by Anatole Litvak

Anastasia is a 1956 American historical drama film starring Ingrid Bergman, Yul Brynner, and Helen Hayes. The film was directed and written by Anatole Litvak and Arthur Laurents, adapting the 1952 play written by Guy Bolton and Marcelle Maurette. It was inspired by the story of Anna Anderson, one of the best known of the many Romanov impostors who began to emerge after the Imperial family was murdered in July 1918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ingrid Thulin</span> Swedish actress (1926–2004)

Ingrid Lilian Thulin was a Swedish actress and director who collaborated with filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. She was often cast as harrowing and desperate characters, and earned acclaim from both Swedish and international critics. She won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her performance in Brink of Life (1958) and the inaugural Guldbagge Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for The Silence (1963), and was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress BAFTA for Cries and Whispers (1972).

<i>Joan of Arc</i> (1948 film) 1948 film by Victor Fleming

Joan of Arc is a 1948 American epic historical drama film directed by Victor Fleming, and starring Ingrid Bergman as the eponymous French religious icon and war heroine. It was produced by Walter Wanger and is based on Maxwell Anderson's successful Broadway play Joan of Lorraine, which also starred Bergman, and was adapted for the screen by Anderson himself, in collaboration with Andrew Solt. It is the last film Fleming directed before his death in 1949.

Arch of Triumph may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anatole Litvak</span> Soviet film director

Anatoly Mikhailovich LitvakOBE ; 10 May 1902 – 15 December 1974), better known as Anatole Litvak, was a Ukrainian-born of Ashkenazi Jewish origin American filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in various countries and languages. He began his theatrical training at age 13 in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire.

<i>Arch of Triumph</i> (novel) 1945 novel by Erich Maria Remarque

Arch of Triumph is a 1945 novel by Erich Maria Remarque about stateless refugees in Paris before World War II. Written during his exile in the United States (1939–1948), it was his second worldwide bestseller, after All Quiet on the Western Front.

<i>Arch of Triumph</i> (1984 film) 1984 British TV series or programme

Arch of Triumph is a 1984 British television film by HTV. It is based on the novel Arch of Triumph by Erich Maria Remarque, author of All Quiet on the Western Front. The novel was previously adapted in 1948 for a film of the same name with Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer. It was released on 19 December 1984 in the UK, and on 29 May 1985 in the US.

<i>Joan of Arc at the Stake</i> 1954 Italian film

Joan of Arc at the Stake is a 1954 Italian film directed by Roberto Rossellini and starring his wife Ingrid Bergman, which is based on a live performance in December 1953 at the San Carlo Theatre in Naples of the oratorio Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher by Paul Claudel and Arthur Honegger. It was filmed using a color process called Gevacolor.

Paul Victor Ernst Dahlke was a German stage and film actor.

Enterprise Productions, Inc. was an independent production company co-founded by actor John Garfield alongside producers David L. Loew and Charles Einfeld in 1946, right after Garfield's contract with Warner Bros. had expired. Having recently turned freelance, the idea was Garfield's outlet in obtaining creative control over his own projects, as well as encouraging fellow filmmakers to pursue their own humanistic advocacies through their work.

References

  1. Brady, Thomas F. (1 February 1948). "Hollywood Deals - Prospects Brighten for United Artists - Budget Runs Wild and Other Matters" . The New York Times . p. X5. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  2. Balio, Tino (2009). United Artists: The Company Built by the Stars . University of Wisconsin Press. p.  217. ISBN   978-0-299-23004-3.
  3. 1 2 "Ent's Loan". Variety . 14 July 1948. p. 12. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  4. "Top Grossers of 1948". Variety. 5 January 1949. p. 46. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Arch of Triumph". www.tcm.com. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  6. BFI Screenonline: Hussein, Waris (1938- ), screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  7. John J. O'Connor, "'Arch of Triump,' Paris on the Eve of World War II", The New York Times , 29 May 1985. Retrieved 18 January 2021.