In the West, nothing new (film, 1930)

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In the West, nothing new ( All Quiet on the Western Front ) is an American film directed by Lewis Milestone , released on, after the eponymous novel (original title: Im Westen nichts Neues ) by Erich Maria Remarque published in 1929 . In 1990 , In the West, nothing new is selected for the National Film Registry by the National Film Preservation Board for conservation at the US Congressional Library because of its “cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance.” “. He is considered by Martin de Bie as “a real cinematographic bomb and emblem of the commitment to peace. He is […] one of the greatest war movies with a pacifist message. » 1 .

Synopsis

During the First World War , Paul Bäumer and his classmates in a German high school decided to enlist voluntarily to respond to the patriotic harangues of their teacher who urges them to defend the homeland and to cover themselves with glory. Some enthusiastic, others not wanting to stand out. Soon, adolescents realize that there are not only good sides to the war: absurd discipline, disorganization of the front, undernourishment, unbearable waiting under deadly bombardment, cruel fighting, huge losses. The doctors are missing and the wounded, adding to the dead, eventually die.

When Paul returns after three years at the front, the teacher who convinced these young people to go to war is motivating others. Paul tells him that there are no good sides to the war and tells the young people present not to listen to the teacher. Then he returns to the front, become his only reason to be.

Technical sheet

  • Title: In the West, nothing new
  • Original title: All Quiet on the Western Front
  • Director: Lewis Milestone
  • Scenario: Maxwell Anderson , Del Andrews , George Abbott , Gardner Sullivan , Walter Anthony , Lewis Milestone , based on the work of Erich Maria Remarque
  • Producer: Carl Laemmle Jr.
  • Production Company: Universal Pictures
  • Music: Sam Perry and Heinz Roemheld
  • Photography: Arthur Edeson
  • Framing: Cliff Shirpser
  • Editing: Edgar Adams and Milton Carruth
  • Budget: $ 1.2 million
  • Country of origin: United States
  • Language: English
  • Format: Black and white – 1.33: 1 – Mono – 35 mm
  • Genre: War, drama
  • Duration: 131 minutes
  • Release dates:
    •  United States :
      • (world premiere in Los Angeles )
      • (first in New York )
      •  (national release)
    •  United Kingdom :(first in London )
    •  France :
    •  Germany :

Distribution

Caption : Second dubbing around 1970 / Third dubbing in 2005

  • Louis Wolheim (VF: Jean Clarieux / Roger Lumont ) : Stanislas “Kat” Katczinsky
  • Lew Ayres (VF: Jacques Thebault / Alexis Victor ) : Paul Bäumer
  • John Wray (VF: Serge Lhorca ) : Himmelstoss, the postman
  • Arnold Lucy (VF: Pierre Baton ) : P r Kantorek
  • Ben Alexander (VF: Serge Lhorca ) : Franz Kemmerich
  • Scott Kolk : Leer
  • Owen Davis Jr . : Peter
  • Walter Rogers : Behm
  • William Bakewell (VF: Marc de Georgi ) : Albert Kroop
  • Russell Gleason : Mueller
  • Richard Alexander (VF: Raymond Loyer ) : Westhus
  • Harold Goodwin (VF: Henry Djanik ) : Detering
  • Slim Summerville (VF: Fernand Fabre ) : Tjaden
  • G. Pat Collins : Lieutenant Bertinck
  • Beryl Mercer (VF: Hélène Tossy ) : M me Bäumer, Paul’s mother
  • Edmund Breese (VF: Yves Brainville ) : Mr Meyer
Actors not credited to the credits
  • Marion Clayton Anderson : Miss Anna Bäumer
  • Andriot doll : a French villager
  • Vince Barnett : The Cook’s Assistant
  • Daisy Belmore : M me Kemmerich
  • Heinie Conklin (VF: Jean-Henri Chambois ) : Joseph Hammacher
  • Yola d’Avril : Suzanne, a French villager
  • Renée Damonde : a French villager
  • William Irving : Ginger, the cook
  • Tom London : Orderly
  • Bertha Mann : Sister Libertine
  • Joan Marsh : the poster girl
  • Edwin Maxwell : Mr Bäumer
  • Bodil Rosing : the patient’s mother in the hospital
  • Fred Zinnemann : a German soldier / the driver of a French ambulance

Around the film

  • The film is part of the National Film Registry , a collection of films selected for preservation at the Library of Congress .
  • He was the victim of censorship organized by the Nazis in German cinemas. It was banned only a week after its release, theby the ” Film-Oberprüfstelle  (de) “, the film censorship committee of the time.

Distinctions

Oscars 1930

  • Oscar for the best film
  • Oscar for Best Director for Lewis Milestone
  • Nomination for Oscar Best Adapted Screenplay
  • Nomination for the Oscar of the best photograph

Other

  • Best Foreign Film Award at the Kinema Junpo Awards 1931

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Simon Verreycken ” At the Western Front (1930): another image of the Germans  [ archive ] ” brackets , June 16, 2015.

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