A Farewell to Arms

20th Century Fox's 1957 full-color adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's classic 1929 novel was a critically slammed, expensive late-career flop for Gone with the Wind producer David O. Selznik, who conspicuously used it as a vehicle for his starlet wife Jennifer Jones—even though many thought the 38-year-old was badly miscast as tragic heroine Catherine Barkley, a young English nurse in the Italian campaign in WWI. She is romanced (and impregnated) by American ambulance-driver Frederic Henry (Rock Hudson). The pair flee from the battle lines to Switzerland, but their happiness is not to be. Original director John Huston clashed with Selznik's dictatorial micro-managing (also said to be the undoing of the script by Ben Hecht) and Charles Vidor completed the epic film, which does show off the Italian Alps and on-location sets to impressive effect. Distanced by time from all the bad press, the production still suffers from a distinct lack of chemistry between the handsome leads, as well as a generally stolid, uninvolving pace. Making its Blu-ray debut, this should still be considered a strong optional purchase. (C. Cassady)