During the Spanish Civil War, an American allied with the Republicans finds romance during a desperate mission to blow up a strategically important bridge.During the Spanish Civil War, an American allied with the Republicans finds romance during a desperate mission to blow up a strategically important bridge.During the Spanish Civil War, an American allied with the Republicans finds romance during a desperate mission to blow up a strategically important bridge.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 4 wins & 9 nominations total
- Agustín
- (as Arturo de Cordova)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe book (and movie's title) is taken from John Donne's "Meditation XVII" from 1624: ..."No man is an island, entire of itself... any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
- GoofsEarly in the film when Gary Cooper's character Robert Jorden meets General Golz, Cooper's shadow can be seen on a wall in the background. In the straight-on angle, it's Cooper's shadow, but in another angle it's obvious another person was used to create the shadow. When Cooper places his hand on his chin, the shadow's move is late by a second.
- Quotes
Pilar: Look I am ugly. Yet one can have a feeling here
[points to her heart]
Pilar: that blinds a man while he loves you. He thinks you are beautiful. And one day for no reason at all he sees you ugly as you really are. And he is not blind anymore. Then you see yourself as ugly as he sees you - and you lose your man and your feeling. Then one day the feeling, that idiotic feeling that you are beautiful, grows inside you again and another man sees you and thinks you are beautiful and it's all to do over again. Now I'm past it. But it still might come again.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits prologue: any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde: and therefore never send to know For Whom The Bell Tolls It tolls for thee.
Spain, 1937
- Alternate versionsOriginal roadshow presentation ran 170 minutes, not counting intermission. Film was later cut to 130 minutes for general release. The restored version released to VHS, laserdisc, and DVD, lists a running time of 166 minutes. This version was produced from a 156-minute archival print, with overture and entr'acte music making up the additional 10 minutes of running time, While this restored version reinstates most of the cut footage, about 4 minutes from the original roadshow remain missing.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Buccaneer (1958)
What he did like was Gary Cooper's portrayal of a Hemingway hero. He and Cooper got to be good friends, so he was Papa's first and only choice to be Robert Jordan in For Whom the Bell Tolls.
The novel grew out of Hemingway's experience in the Spanish Civil War that raged for almost four years. A number of generals not liking the leftist trend the new Spanish Republic was taking pulled a military coup d'etat. The whole world took sides with the Soviet Union aiding the Republic's defenders and Italy and Germany aiding the Nationalist Generals.
The USA was officially neutral, but people had their opinions. Believe it or not many supported the rebelling generals seeing them as upholding traditional Catholic Spain. But some in America organized the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, a group of volunteers who fought for the Republic. Some in there were U.S. Communist Party members, but a whole lot were idealists. All of them had a lot of difficulty after World War II, for shall we say being to prematurely anti-Fascist.
Gary Cooper plays just such a volunteer and he's got a mission, to blow up a key bridge in the Guadarrama mountains. He makes contact with the guerrilla band of Akim Tamiroff and Katina Paxinou. Of course fighting with them is Ingrid Bergman, so we had some romantic interludes there which steamed up the screen.
This was quite a year for Ingrid, she did Casablanca as well that year and her name became synonymous with romance. She was not the first choice here. Director Sam Wood did not like his original leading lady Vera Zorina and replaced her with Bergman who he really wanted in the first place.
In fact Wood was a second choice. Paramount originally scheduled this film for Cecil B. DeMille. I'm betting there were some creative differences between DeMille and Papa Hemingway. If this had become a DeMille type film, it would have been a disaster.
Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Akim Tamiroff, and Katina Paxinou all got Academy Award nominations. Only Paxinou won the Oscar for this film. A great performance, but also probably a tribute to her refugee status. She had fled her native Greece when the Nazis took over where she was a leading member of their national theater. She accepted her Oscar in memory of her late colleagues there.
The only criticism of the film came from those that thought it lingered too long on Cooper and Bergman's romance. Something by the way they were having in real life as well.
But Ernest Hemingway liked the film just fine and I think most will as well.
- bkoganbing
- Aug 14, 2006
- Permalink
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- Also known as
- Wem die Stunde schlägt
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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- Budget
- $3,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime2 hours 50 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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