Gustaf said:
but this is a friendly forum
Before Mickey Mouse there was George E. Studdy's Bonzo the Dog. Does anyone recall the little guy?
Looking back on the original subject of this thread, I thought it worthy to point out the companion book for the Channel Four documentary by Hew Strachan. If you have a Half Price Books in your area, the clothbound edition can be obtained for $14.98. It is also available in paperback from Penguin for $16.00
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743239598/qid=1137800117/sr=8-17/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i17_xgl14/103-4383657-1375838?n=507846&s=books&v=glance
As for AQOTWF, Lewis Milestone's 1930 version reigns supreme. Sound films were still in their infancy when it was made, yet all the cinematic artistry of silent film was employed in the visualization of Remarque's novel. Bear in mind, most sound pictures of this period were painfully static and frequently required actors to speak into microphones hidden in potted plants and other props on set.
Raymond Griffith, a celebrated silent film comedian, portrayed the French soldier in the shell hole with Lew Ayres. Griffith suffered from a throat condition which prevented his speaking above a whisper. He utters not one word of dialogue, yet his performance is unforgettable. AQOTWF was the last film he acted in.
Louis Wolheim, who portrayed Katczinsky, was a product of Cornell University and spoke four languages fluently. He died of stomach cancer in 1931 at the age of fifty-one.
I didn't mean to go off topic and bore you with trivia, but movies are my thing. I'll take Lew Ayres over John Boy any day of the week.
A Time to Love and a Time to Die is the John Gavin film RRH mentioned. However, there was a direct sequel to AQOTWF,
The Road Back (1938).
Chas.