Xanadu's Feature Movie of the Month - This Month's Choice--April--For Whom the Bells Tolls - Movies

Starring: Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Katina Paxinou, Akim Tamiroff
Director: Sam Wood
Writer: Dudley Nichols

I am not one of these sentimal, nostalgic types who think that real movies were made in the '40's and '50's. In fact, I abhor most of them. With a repressive society and blind optimism running rampant through the United States, artistic integrity was compromised. Still, there are a few exceptions, one of which is this 1943 masterpiece.

Still watered down from the incredible Hemingway novel of the same name, this movie was still controversial for its violence and undertones of rape. Nominated for 9 Academy Awards in 1944, it's a shame this movie had to compete with Casablaca, because I can't think of two better movies that came from that decade.

This film places Robert Jordan, an American school teacher turned freedom-fighter in the middle of Spain, assisting rebels in combating the Fascist state. The typical Hemingway hero, Gary Cooper plays this stock character to perfection. Hard-nosed, quick-thinking, and a man of a few words, Cooper is impressive. Also very well-played is Ingrid Bergman's portrayal of María, the innocent victim who pulls Jordan's focus from the task at hand. Complimenting these two is a fine supporting cast of Spanish rebels. The entire show is stolen by Katina Paxinou, who plays Pilar, the take-charge Hemingway bitch who holds the band of guerrillas together. Unlike many other Hemingway bitches, Pilar is quite likeable in spite of her domineering attitude. I obviously wasn't the only one who thought her performance was top-notch; she took home the Supporting Actress Oscar that year.

With beautiful cinematography, still impressive though it was primitive Technicolor techniques of days gone by, the harsh mountain landscape of the rebel's base is stretched out across the screen. As the clock (and Pablo, one of their own) works against them, the Facist forces begin to mobilize and prepare for attack, the freedom-fighters struggle to blow the bridge, facing a series of insurmountable obstacles. With machine guns and explosion abounding, love flaring up between Jordan and María, and Pilar and Pablo having round after round in between, this movie escalates to an incredible climax. Surprisingly, the movie follows closely to the book (which is a must read for everyone as well), and thank God, even though it was that horridly optimistic post-war America, they did not change the ending to make a feel-good, cutsey, love-triumphant ending. It ends consistent with the book as well.

If you are like me and hate the "Oh gosh, golly, gee, dahling, do you really love me?" of the run-of-the-mill '40's movie, then this is your movie. It breaks all the melodramatic molds and is 2 hours 46 minutes of brilliance. This is movie-making at its best, at a time when movie-making wasn't good at all with a few rare exceptions.

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