A Farewell To Arms (1932)

I just watched this movie for the first time last night. I have to say that it was pretty good and even though it is 77 years old and in black and white it still has themes that hold today. Despite all that it had good acting by Gary Cooper.

I was very surprised by the issues that were allowed in the movie in the 1930s. There's the having sex before you are married aspect (even in the 1950s married couples had to sleep in separate beds on TV and in movies.) The "marriage" ceremony that wasn't really legal (ie there was no civil ceremony which was required in Italy at the time.) There's the part where the woman gets pregnant (again while not married.) And the part were the guy deserts his military posting during war.

I know it is loosely based on a book by Ernest Hemingway and that there have been other movies made since One in the 1950s with Rock Hudson and one in the 1990s with Sandra Bullock and Chris O'Donnell, but I still think that this 1932 version is the best one by far.