Highlights Archives
Classic Book and Movie Club — September 17
The 1943 film adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's classic 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls, set amid the chaos of the Spanish Civil War, will be presented in a free public screening at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, September 17, in the auditorium of the Wisconsin Historical Society's headquarters building. Hemingway's poignant tale of love and guerilla warfare unfolds in Spain's Guadarrama Mountains in the late 1930s as the Loyalists of the Second Spanish Republic — and their ragtag band of expatriate fighters from many countries — join to combat Spain's fascist Nationalists, under the command of Generalissimo Francisco Franco. Among them is American Robert Jordan, played by Gary Cooper, who falls in love with Ingrid Bergman's character Maria, whose life has been shattered by the outbreak of war.
By signing Bergman for the female lead role, Paramount Pictures rode the wave of Bergman's popularity generated by her leading role in the 1942 Warner Bros. hit film Casablanca. For Whom the Bell Tolls received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Actress, but only Greek actress Katina Paxinou — in her first film role as Loyalist leader Pilar — took home an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
While Hemingway's novel took a clear political stand in favor of the Loyalists and their struggle against Franco's Nationalists, the film neatly depoliticized the story. With Franco having prevailed in the war's outcome by the time the movie went into production, the Spanish government lobbied Hollywood to avoid offending Spain. As a result, screenwriter Dudley Nichols removed all references to Franco and the Loyalists. Even so, the film was never shown in Spain until 1978 — three years after Franco's death.
The Classic Book and Movie Club is a joint venture of the Wisconsin Historical Society, the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research, and The Capital Times newspaper.
:: Posted September 15, 2006
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