All Quiet on the Western Front is an Academy Award-winning film based on the Erich Maria Remarque novel All Quiet on the Western Front. It was directed by Lewis Milestone, and stars Louis Wolheim, Lew Ayres, John Wray, Arnold Lucy and Ben Alexander. Lewis Milestone (born Lev Milstein) (September 30, 1895 - September 25, 1980) was an accomplished, and award-winning motion picture director. ... Carl Laemmle Jr. ... Erich Maria Remarque (June 22, 1898 – September 25, 1970) was the pseudonym of Erich Paul Remark, a German author. ... Louis Wolheim and Lew Ayres in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). ... Lew Ayres (December 28, 1908 – December 30, 1996) was an American actor. ... Arthur Edeson (October 24, 1891 - February 14, 1970) was a film cinematographer. ... Universal Pictures is the main motion picture production/distribution arm of Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal. ... is the 111th day of the year (112th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... Erich Maria Remarque (June 22, 1898 – September 25, 1970) was the pseudonym of Erich Paul Remark, a German author. ... For the films, see All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 film) and All Quiet on the Western Front (1979 film). ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... Lewis Milestone (born Lev Milstein) (September 30, 1895 - September 25, 1980) was an accomplished, and award-winning motion picture director. ... Louis Wolheim and Lew Ayres in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). ... Lew Ayres (December 28, 1908 – December 30, 1996) was an American actor. ... Ben Alexander (Nicholas Benton Alexander IV) alias Bennie Alexander, (May 26, 1911 – July 5, 1969) was an American motion picture actor, who started out as a child actor in 1915. ...

Released in 1930 (see 1930 in film), it is considered a realistic and harrowing account of war and World War I, and was named #54 on the AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies. Also, in 1990, this film was selected and preserved by the United States Library of Congress' National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." See also: 1929 in film 1930 1931 in film 1930s in film 1920s in film years in film film // Events Top grossing films The Indians Are Coming Madam Satan Der Blaue Engel Academy Awards Best Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front - Universal Studios Best Actress: Norma Shearer - The Divorcee... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... The first of the AFI 100 Years. ... Construction of the Thomas Jefferson Building, from July 8, 1888 to May 15, 1894. ... The National Film Registry is the registry of films selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of Congress. ...

Synopsis

The film opens with a military parade and a rousing speech by a schoolmaster convincing his young students to enlist and "save the fatherland". The young enlistees are then portrayed in basic training, aching for "action" fighting in the war. Their training officer tells them to forget everything they know, they are going to become soldiers. Rigorous training diminishes the recruits' enthusiasm some. But after little more than marching drills, suddenly the cadets are told they are "going up front".

Next the new soldiers arrive by train to the combat zone. It is mayhem with soldiers everywhere, incoming bombs and horse-drawn wagons racing around and rain. One in the group is killed before they even move away from the train. The new soldiers "fresh from the turnip patch" are assigned to a unit composed of older soldiers who are not exactly accommodating. The young soldiers are shocked to find out there is no food available at their post. They have not eaten since breakfast but their new unit has not had food for two days. They have sent out a scrounger to locate something to eat and he returns with a slaughtered hog. The young soldiers have to "pay" for their dinner with cigarettes. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

"For the fatherland" the young soldiers unit is sent out on night duty. They travel packed into a flat cargo truck like sardines. The driver leaves them saying "If there's any of you left, there will be someone here to pick you up in the morning". The young recruits look longingly at the truck as it leaves. An experienced soldier gives the "schoolboys" some real world instructions, telling them how to deal with incoming shells, "When you see me flop, you flop. Only try to beat me to it". The unit is stringing wire and trying to avoid shells. Flares light up the night sky as the enemy tries to spot them, machine guns sound and a bombardment (heavy incoming shells) starts. A young soldier is blinded by shrapnel and runs around screaming. Most of the soldiers stay low in the trenches. When the truck arrives in the morning most of the unit has survived. More rain.

Back at the base (bunker in the trenches), the soldiers play cards and fight off the rats who eat their food and gear. The young soldiers are showing signs of great stress: nightmares, shaking uncontrollably, and screaming about the unrelenting bombs. A wall collapses and buries one of the recruits. No place is safe, not the front, not the base. There is no relief from the war. The celebratory parade already seems a distant memory. One recruit loses control, runs out of the trench and is injured. Some of the soldiers want to leave the trench and attack but the enemy seems to have superior firepower. When food finally comes, the men have to fight to get their share. Then they are overcome by rats and kill them with spades. Suddenly there is a break in the bombing and the men are ordered out to fight.

A loud rumbling can be heard as the enemy approaches and then more shells. Now the soldiers are in trenches with rifles ready as incoming shells move closer and closer. They can do nothing but wait and hope. Now the enemy is in view running toward the trenches, but the Germans hold their fire until the enemy is close. At least they have the advantage of being in trenches, the enemy is advancing over an open field. The Germans use machine gun fire and hand grenades and they rifles to mow down the enemy, quite effectively. The enemy suffers great losses but succeeds in entering the trenches where hand-to-hand combat with bayonets commences.

The enemy overruns the trenches and the Germans fall back, occupying bomb craters. The enemy is overwhelming now and the Germans fall back to a second row of trenches. German shells rain heavily on the enemy after which the Germans attack in hand-to-hand combat. The enemy has occupied the first row of trenches with machine gun positions and inflict heavy casualties on the Germans. The battle winds down. 70 of the 150 men in the unit have been killed.

The men of 2nd company return from the battle and line up for a meal. The cook refuses to feed them because he believes that the whole company has not arrived. The men explain that this is all that is left of the company and the cook refuses to give them all the food (beans, bread, and sausage) he has prepared. An argument follows and violence seems imminent when an officer arrives and orders the cook to give all the food to the men and to bring a plate to him. The cook fills a plate for the officer and leaves an assistant to distribute the food.

The men start out eating greedily, but then settle into a satiated torpor. They hear that they are to return to the front the next day and begin a semi-serious discussion about the causes of the war and of wars in general. They speculate about whether geographical features or people offend each other and whether these disagreements involve them. Tjaden speaks familiarly about himself and the Kaiser. They speculate about whether the Kaiser or manufacturers needs the war or whether it is the outcome of a fever. Katczinski suggests roping off a field and stripping the kings and their ministers down to their underwear and letting them fight it out with clubs. It is finally decided that they should go see their friend Kemmerich, who was wounded in the battle and is in a dressing station, and bring him his things.

Five of the men find Kemmerich in a very bad condition in the dressing station. He complains that his watch was stolen while he was under ether and that he is in pain in his left hand and right foot. Not realizing that Kemmerich did not know, Mueller lets slip that his right leg has been amputated and Kemmerich becomes upset. Kemmerich expresses regret that he would never become a forester and Paul tries to reassure him. Mueller sees Kemmerich's boots under the bed and tactlessly asks him for them. They all leave talking about Kemmerich's chances, but Paul returns and tried to cheer him up. Kemmerich begins to cry and Paul prays to God to spare Kemmerich from death. Kemmerich asks Paul to give his boots to Mueller and then loses consciousness. Paul tries to summon a doctor, but the doctor and the medic can do nothing. Paul leaves the dressing station with Kemmerich's boots and breaks into a run. Mueller is trying to talk about math to Katczinski when Paul brings him the boots. Mueller is pleased with the boots and says that he will not mind returning to the front in such fine boots. Paul describes how he reacted to Kemmerich's death by running and how it made him feel more alive and then hungry. There follows a sequence of battle scenes with no dialogue in which Mueller is killed and his boots are passed on to another soldier who is also killed. (1:06)

Image File history File links Emblem-important. ...

Production

• In the film, Paul is shot while trying to grab a butterfly. This scene is different from the book, and was inspired by an early scene showing a butterfly collection in Paul's home.
• The scene mentioned above was shot during the editing phase, so consequently, the actors were no longer available and Milestone had to portray his own hand as Paul's hand.

Releases

• Universal re-released the film in 1939. It contained anti-Nazi announcements read out throughout the film in a March of Time style; yet the aim was to remind people of the horrors of wars in a time of international unrest.
• In the late 20th Century and early 21st the United States Library of Congress undertook an exhaustive restoration of the film, which is vastly superior in sound and picture quality to most other existent prints.

The March of Time was a newsreel that was shown in movie theaters from 1935 - 1951. ...

Reception

Due to its anti-war and perceived anti-German messages, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party banned the film from Germany in the 1930s and early 1940s. During its brief run in German cinemas in the early 1930s, the Nazis disrupted the viewings by releasing rats in the theaters. The ban wasn't lifted until the 1960s. Also, between the period of 1928 to 1941 this was one of many films to be banned in Australia by the Chief Censor Creswell O'Reilly. Hitler redirects here. ... The National Socialist German Workers Party (German: , or NSDAP, commonly known as the Nazi Party), was a political party in Germany between 1919 and 1945. ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1941 (disambiguation). ... For nearly the entire history of film production, certain films have been either boycotted by political and religious groups or literally banned by a regime for political or moral reasons. ...

The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1930 for its producer Carl Laemmle Jr., and an Academy Award for Directing for Lewis Milestone. It also received two further nominations: Best Cinematography, for Arthur Edeson, and Best Writing Achievement for Abbott, Anderson and Andrews. It was the first talkie war film to win Oscars. // The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards, awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which are voted on by others within the industry. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Carl Laemmle Jr. ... The Academy Award for Directing is one of the awards given to directors working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. ... Lewis Milestone (born Lev Milstein) (September 30, 1895 - September 25, 1980) was an accomplished, and award-winning motion picture director. ... Charles Rosher the first recipient in 1928 The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is awarded each year to a cinematographer for his work in one particular motion picture. ... Arthur Edeson (October 24, 1891 - February 14, 1970) was a film cinematographer. ... The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. ... George Abbott (June 25, 1887 - January 31, 1995) was a theatre producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than seven decades. ... James Maxwell Anderson (15 December 1888 – 28 February 1959), better known as Maxwell Anderson was a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, author, poet, reporter and lyricist, and a founding member of The Playwrights Company (which included, at various times, Maxwell Anderson, S. N. Behrman, Elmer Rice, Robert E. Sherwood, Sidney Howard... A prolific writer/director of low-budget Westerns in the 1920s, Del Andrews (born Udell Endrows) (1894 - 1942) began his screen career as a film cutter and laboratory assistant for producer Thomas H. Ince. ... A sound film (or talkie) is a motion picture with synchronized sound, as opposed to a silent movie. ...

Other wins:

• 1930 Photoplay Medal of Honor - Carl Laemmle Jr.
• 1931 Kinema Junpo Award for Best Foreign Language Film - Sound to Lewis Milestone
• 1990 National Film Registry

Without diluting or denying any...criticisms, it should be said that from World War I to Korea, Milestone could put the viewer into the middle of a battlefield, and make the hellish confusion of it seem all too real to the viewer. Steven Spielberg noted as much when he credited Milestone's work as partial inspiration for Saving Private Ryan ...Lewis Milestone made significant contributions to (the genre of) the war film. (Mayo, Mike: War Movies: Classic Conflict on Film, Visible Ink Press, 1999.) The National Film Registry is the registry of films selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of Congress. ... Steven Spielberg (born December 18, 1946)[1] is an American film director and producer. ... Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 Academy-Award-winning film set in World War II, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. ...

Cast

Louis Wolheim and Lew Ayres in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). ... Lew Ayres (December 28, 1908 – December 30, 1996) was an American actor. ... John Wray may refer to: John Ray, the English naturalist, who for the first part of his life wrote his name as John Wray John Wray, the actor who appeared in films such as All Quiet on the Western Front This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists... Ben Alexander (Nicholas Benton Alexander IV) alias Bennie Alexander, (May 26, 1911 – July 5, 1969) was an American motion picture actor, who started out as a child actor in 1915. ... Owen Gould Davis, Jr. ... Walter Rogers was a Democratic Congressman from Texas. ... William Bakewell also known as Billy Bakewell, (2 May 1908 - 15 April 1993), was an American actor, who achieved his greatest fame as one of the premiere juvenile performers of the late 1920s and early 1930s. ... Richard Thain Alexander is a politician in the United Kingdom. ... Harold Goodwin was an American actor who performed in over 225 films. ... Slim Summerville (July 10, 1892 – January 6, 1946) was an American film actor, best known as a comedy performer. ... Beryl Mercer (13th August, 1882- 28 July 1939) was a Spanish born American actress of the 1920s and 1930s. ...

External links

• All Quiet on the Western Front at the Internet Movie Database
• All Quiet on the Western Front at All Movie Guide