Great Novels on Film 4 Movie Pack

Farewell to Arms This first (and by far the best) film version of Ernest Hemingway's novel "A Farewell To Arms" stars Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes. Henry's friend Major Rinaldi is envious of the romance and pulls strings to have Catherine transferred to Milan. When Henry is wounded in battle he ends up in the very hospital where Catherine works. The now-pregnant Catherine remains in Switzerland sending letters by the bushel full to Henry. But the jealous Rinaldi sees to it that Henry never receives those letters leading Catherine to conclude sorrowfully that Henry has forgotten her. As the Armistice approaches Henry makes his way to Switzerland hoping to find Catherine. Catherine too is near death but lingers long enough for a tender reunion with Henry.Runtime: 85 minutes Snows of KiliminjaroThis fantastic adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's novel stars Gregory Peck who plays a character based on Hemingway's crony F. Scott Fitzgerald. While hunting in the African mountains in the company of his faithful lady friend Susan Hayward Peck is seriously wounded; in fact it doesn't look as though he'll survive the night. In the few hours he has left Peck reflects upon what he considers a wasted life. The only time that he truly felt as though he'd made a contribution to the world was when he fought on the Loyalist side in Spain. As for his lost romance with his late wife Aver Gardner Peck still cannot figure out what went wrong.Runtime: 117 minutes Becky Sharp (AKA Vanity Fair) This adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's novel "Vanity Fair" made cinema history as the first feature film in Technicolor. The story which vibrantly details the manners and morals of 19th century English society follows the rise and fall of one Becky Sharp. Though a poor orphan Becky has grand dreams-and hopes that a good marriage will assure her fortune. In particular she has her eye on Joseph Sedley the wealthy brother of her best friend Amelia. But even Product Description

Farewell to Snows of Becky Twist

Screenplays in the GREAT NOVELS ON FILM 4 Movie Pack are based on the writings of Hemingway, Dickens and Thackeray.

CONTENTS:

BECKY SHARP-- This central character in "Vanity Fair" was an orphaned child of poor parents. Becky made her life's ambitions the obtaining of money and social status, no matter who got hurt along the way.

A FAREWELL TO ARMS-- During WWI, an injured ambulance driver falls in love with his nurse. To modern sensibilities this plays like a warning against pre-marital sex. The most likeable character in the film, Menjou's Major Rinaldi, turns out to be a bit of a rat.

OLIVER TWIST-- Orphaned child endures tortures and deprivations in a workhouse, is apprenticed to an abusive undertaker and runs away to London where he falls in with a gang of thieving street urchins. Their leader, Fagin, tutors the boy in the "art" of picking pockets.

SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO-- As a writer lays dying, he thinks about his life. Based on several Ernest Hemingway stories. Even the author didn't like this film.


ALFRED HITCHCOCK: 4 Tales of the Macabre (also from BCI / Eclipse) contains a few fine examples of the Master of Suspense's early sound films.


BRENTWOOD's 4-fers are nicely priced movie bundles. Video and sound quality of these digitally unrestored public domain films is generally fine. Discs are dual-side recorded.

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Parenthetical numbers preceding titles are 1 to 10 viewer poll ratings found at a film resource website.

(6.2) Becky Sharp (1935) - Miriam Hopkins/Cedric Hardwicke/Billie Burke/Nigel Bruce

(6.5) A Farewell To Arms (1932) - Helen Hayes/Gary Cooper/Adolphe Menjou

(5.7) Oliver Twist (1933) - Dickie Moore/Irving Pichel/William 'Stage' Boyd

(6.3) Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952) - Gregory Peck/Susan Hayward/Ava Gardner/Leo G. Carroll January 13, 2008

There Is a Better Alternative!

BUY "CLASSIC LITERATURE ON FILM." You get ten films for $17.99.

CLASSIC LITERATURE ON-SCREEN: 10 FILMS
(Listed chronologically in the year the film was released.)

1. "Farewell to Arms" (1932. Frank Borzage)
-Gary Cooper. Helen Hayes. Adolph Menjou.
-Gorgeous black and white by cinematographer Jack Cardiff. (He won the Oscar for Best Cinematography for this film. Cardiff also did the cinematography for "Black Narcissus" and "The Red Shoes.")

BOOK - "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway

2. "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" (1952. Henry King)
-Gregory Peck. Susan Hayward. Ava Gardner.
-Color.
-The takeaway is Ava Gardner, but she's wasted here.

BOOK - "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" Ernest Hemingway

3. "Becky Sharp" (1935. Rouben Mamoulian)
-Miriam Hopkins. Frances Dee. Cedric Hardwicke. Billie Burke.
-Color.
-The first feature length film to be entirely shot in color. (You can tell...they still had to work on the kinks...the color in "Becky Sharp" is bad, which completely distracts you from the great acting by Miriam Hopkins...she's fascinating.) By 1939, the process of Technicolor would be perfected by the films of "The Wizard of Oz" and "Gone With the Wind."

BOOK - "Vanity Fair" by William Makepeace Thackeray

4. "Oliver Twist" (1933. William J. Cohen)
-Dickie Moore, Irving Pachel, Doris Lloyd, et. al
-Black and white.
-The first Hollywood sound version of "Oliver Twist."

BOOK - "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens


5. "Of Human Bondage" (1934. John Cromwell)
-Bette Davis. Leslie Howard.
-Black and white.
The takeaway is Bette Davis' performance...which shot her to acclaim. This is one of the best performances I've ever seen of an actress.

BOOK - "Of Human Bondage" by W. Somerset Maugham

6. "Whistle Stop" (1946. Léonide Moguy)
-George Raft. Ava Gardner. Victor McLaglen.
-Black and White.
It's a film noir. Very great actors.

BOOK - Whistle Stop" by Maritta M. Wolff

7. "Cyrano de Bergerac" (1950. Michael Gordon)
-José Ferrer and Mala Powers
If you're new to literary/play adaptations, start with this film.
-The takeaway is José Ferrer, who won the Oscar for his performance of Cyrano de Bergerac. People rave about his brilliant performance. You might recognize him as the painter, Toulouse-Lautrec in "Moulin Rouge." (Another amazing performance.)

PLAY - Cyrano de Bergerac" by Edmond Rostand

8. "Studs Lonigan" (1960. Irving Lerner)
-Christopher Knight, Frank Gorshin, Jack Nicholson, et. al
-Black and White.
-The takeaway is the cast and cinematography by Haskell Wexler.

BOOK - "Studs Lonigan" by James T. Farrell

9. "Jane Eyre" (1970. Delbert Mann)
Made for television
-George C. Scott. Susannah York.
-Color.
-The takeaway is George C. Scott. He's simply fascinating as Edward Rochester. (He was in "Dr. Strangelove" and "Patton.")

BOOK - "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

10. "F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Last of the Belles" (1974. George Schaefer)
Made for television.
-Richard Chamberlain, Blythe Danner, Susan Surandon, et. al
-Color.
-This is a semi-fictional biopic on how F. Scott met Zelda.
-Interesting piece to include in this set.

SHORT STORY - "Last of the Belles" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
October 5, 2005

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