Arch of Triumph

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque, Arch of Triumph is a complicated war romance directed by Lewis Milestone. Dr. Ravic (Charles Boyer) is a refugee physician practicing medicine illegally in Paris under a false name. He saves Joan Madou (Ingrid Bergman) from committing suicide after the sudden death of her lover. He gets her a job singing at the nightclub where his only friend, Boris Morosov (Louis Calhern), is the doorman. Joan falls in love with Ravic, but he is deported and she finds herself the mistress of wealthy Alex (Stephan Bekassy). Meanwhile, Ravic seeks revenge against a Nazi officer (Charles Laughton) and war is declared between France and Germany. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Screen: Black and White
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Features:
  • cc

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Charles Boyer - Dr. Ravic
       Ingrid Bergman - Joan Madou
       Charles Laughton - Haake
       Louis Calhern - Morosow
       J. Edward Bromberg - Hotel Manager
       Hazel Brooks - Sybil
       William Conrad - Official
       Franco Corsaro - Novarro
       Byron Foulger - Policeman
       Jay Gilpin - Refugee Boy
       Alvin Hammer - Milan Porter
       Ilia Khmara - Russian Singer
       John Laurenz - Col. Gomez
       Leon Lenoir - Capt. Spanish
       Andre Marsaudon - Roulette Croupier
       Ruth Nelson - Madame Fessler
       Nino Pipitone - General's Aide
       Art Smith - Inspector
       Peter Virgo - Polansky

• Director:

  Lewis Milestone

• Producer:

  Lewis Milestone, David Lewis

• Screenwriter:

  Harry Brown, Lewis Milestone

• Book Author:

  Erich Maria Remarque

• Cinematographer:

  Russell Metty

• Composer (Music Score):

  Louis Gruenberg

• Editor:

  Mario Castegnaro, Duncan Mansfield

• Production Designer:

  William Cameron Menzies

REVIEW:

• Without its stars, Arch of Triumph would be a terribly dull reduction of Erich Maria Remarque's complex novel into a standard Hollywood soap opera. Truth to tell, it's the kind of novel that is very hard to bring to the screen, for it features a very large cast of characters with many different, though interconnected, storylines. This density and volume are crucial to the novel's success, but trying to translate that accurately to the screen would result in a six-hour movie. So the makers of Arch did what seems the only practical thing -- concentrated on the main storyline and included only a handful of the extraneous characters. But reducing the story to its bare essentials removes the poetry and richness, leaving a plot that is perhaps of some interest but which is presented in fairly bold strokes, while making the characters into stock figures we've come across many times before. Fortunately, Charles Boyer is in very fine form as the doctor who must sacrifice love for his higher mission, and he deserves credit for keeping Arch alive. As his would-be paramour, Ingrid Bergman is a bit off her form; she's as luminous as ever and certainly as skillful, but she doesn't seem to quite connect with the character on a gut level. Charles Laughton is very far off the mark as the Nazi villain, but Louis Calhern is aces as the doorman who was once a proud Russian soldier. Lewis Milestone's direction is adequate, but much more is needed. However, he does get a grand assist from the beautiful chiaroscuro cinematography of Russell Metty. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi