All Quiet on the Western Front (film)

• Release Date: 1930
• Director(s): Lewis Milestone
• Writer(s): George Abbott; Maxwell Anderson; Del Andrews
• Principal Actors and Roles: Lew Ayres (Paul); Louis Wolheim (Kat); Ben Alexander (Kemmerich); William Bakewell (Albert); Arnold Lucy (Professor Kantorek); Slim Summerville (Tjaden); John Griffith Wray (Himmelstoss)
• Book / Story Film Based On: All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) is a classic American antiwar film. Based on the bestselling 1929 German novel written by Erich Maria Remarque, which was originally published under the German title Im Westen nichts Neues and released in English as All Quiet on the Western Front, the 1930 film adaptation was also the first antiwar film of the sound era. Remarque served in World War I (1914–8) as a German soldier. Remarque named his hero after himself, giving him the name Paul, Remarque’s given middle name at birth. The film is centered on the experiences of a group of young German students who enlist in the German army during World War I at the behest of a school teacher. Disillusionment soon eclipses all hope of heroism and valor in war as the young soldiers are made to confront the reality of trench warfare and death on a scale with which they are ill prepared to deal. All justifications, stemming from propaganda that had been fed to the group, regarding killing the enemy disappears as the boys witness the death and dismemberment of friends and enemies alike, leaving them angry and confused.

The main protagonist, Paul Bäumer, is played by Lew Ayres; however, several other actors were considered for the part, including the prolific Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and even the author himself. Roles in films for Ayres dried up after he took an openly pacifist and antiwar stance on the heels of America’s participation in World War II (1939–45).

Plot

The film opens with a quote taken almost verbatim from Remarque’s novel. The first two characters to appear on the screen are a charwoman who is scrubbing a floor and a janitor who is polishing the doorknobs. They are having a conversation about the number of prisoners captured daily by German soldiers. The janitor opens the door and the camera pans out to the scene unfolding in the street. German soldiers in their uniforms are marching to war as patriotic music is played in the background. The camera zooms into a classroom. Professor Kantorek is espousing the virtues of participation in the war. Kantorek encourages his class of young German boys to enlist in the German military. Inspired by Kantorek’s rousing speech, the seven central characters of the film voluntarily enlist. The boys arrive at the training camp and are greeted by their drillmaster, Sergeant Himmelstoss. Himmelstoss is relentless and grueling, taking pleasure in introducing the boys to the reality of being a soldier. The boys are then taken to a French town. The screams of enemy soldiers are heard in the background while veteran German soldiers suffer from low supplies and lack of food. The first sight of soldiers in the trenches occurs. French infantry attack, and the German soldiers fire machine guns at them. A bomb explodes dismembering a French soldier, and Paul is horrified by the sight. The battle continues and many of Paul’s friends are killed. Over half the company has been killed in the fighting. After the battle, Tjaden, a German soldier, openly questions the validity of the war they are participating in. He indicates that he has no reason to want to kill anyone as he has never personally met a Frenchman or an Englishman.

Paul visits one of his wounded schoolmates, Kemmerick, in a temporary hospital. Kemmerick’s leg has been amputated and it is obvious to Paul that his friend is about to die. Paul returns to the trenches and in his fright stabs a French soldier in the throat with his knife. The soldier dies slowly as Paul seeks to assuage his guilt. Paul suffers a near fatal wound after he rendezvous with a French girl. Paul is taken to the hospital for treatment and then sent on leave. Paul returns home and Professor Kantorek invites him to lecture his new students on the glories of war. Paul instead gives a moving pacifist speech and is branded a coward. Paul returns to the war, and in the poignant final scene of the film, he is shot and killed while reaching out of his bunker to grasp at a butterfly.

Significance

All Quiet on the Western Front was one of the first films to be released in both sound and silent versions because not all cinemas had enhanced equipment to play the movie in its sound version. Directed by Lewis Milestone and produced by Carl Laemmle Jr., the film required $1.2 million to make. Over 1,500 extras were employed. A significant percentage of the extras on set were German Army veterans, and a large ranch was used to film the battle scenes. Universal Pictures distributed the film earning $1.5 million at the box-office and another $3 million in rentals. All Quiet on the Western Front was a critical and financial success and is considered one of the greatest antiwar movies of all time.

Germany and France banned the original version of All Quiet on the Western Front in 1930. The French objected to the portrayal of French women and Germany objected to the character of Himmelstross. Germany was the second largest European market for American films in 1930s, so Universal Studios made a different version of the film to be distributed in Germany. Furthermore, Universal Studio’s founder Carl Laemmle Jr. was German, and he wanted his native country to have a version of the movie.

The original 1930 adaptation retained its reputation as a classic of American cinema in subsequent decades and also helped inspire a number of later adaptations. Richard Thomas played the role of Paul Bäumer in the made-for-television remake of All Quiet on the Western Front in 1979. A Golden Globe Award was given for the 1979 version in the Best Motion Picture Made for TV category. In October 2022 a new feature film adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front, directed by Edward Berger and starring Felix Kammerer as Paul Bäumer, premiered worldwide on streaming service Netflix. The film, which was the first German-language film adaptation of the original novel, earned critical acclaim and won four awards, including best international feature, out of nine nominations at the 95th Academy Awards, which were held in March 2023.

In 1990, the Library of Congress selected the 1930 film for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, distinguishing the film for its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance. All Quiet on the Western Front was the first film to win the Academy Awards for both outstanding production and best director.

Awards and nominations

Won

• Academy Award (1929/1930) Best Picture
• Academy Award (1929/1930) Best Director: Lewis Milestone

Nominated

• Academy Award (1929/1930) Best Cinematography
• Academy Award (1929/1930) Best Screenplay (Adapted): George Abbott, Maxwell Anderson, Del Andrews

Bibliography

"All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)." Box Office Mojo. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2016.

"All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)." Turner Classic Movies. Turner Entertainment Networks, 2016. Web. 25 Jan. 2016.

Dirks, Tim. "All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)." Filmsite. American Movie Classics, 2016. Web. 25 Jan. 2016.

Kelly, Andrew. Filming All Quiet on the Western Front. London: Tauris, 1998. Print.

Remarque, Erich Maria, and A. W. Wheen. All Quiet on the Western Front. Boston: Little, Brown, 1929. Print.

Roxborough, Scott. "Oscars: Germany’s ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ Wins Best International Feature." Hollywood Reporter, 12 Mar. 2023, www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/all-quiet-on-the-western-front-oscar-international-feature-1235347552/. Accessed 14 Mar. 2023.