 |
| Arise, My Love - 1940 |
Coming up next is 1940's "Arise, My Love", a film about two people who find love amidst the onset of World War II in Europe.
The film's cast includes Claudette Colbert, Ray Milland, Dennis O'Keefe, Walter Abel, Dick Purcell, George Zucco, Frank Puglia, Esther Dale, and Bess Flowers.
In Spain, American pilot and prisoner of war Tom Martin is saved from execution at the last moment by his wife. However, the lady is not his wife. She is newspaperwoman Augusta "Gusto" Nash, and she's looking for a big story. She figures this is her chance. So, she poses as Tom's wife, gets the prison governor to grant a pardon, and springs him from jail.
By the time they make it to a nearby airfield, they've been discovered and are being pursued. Tom commandeers an airplane and takes them up, where they are followed by two enemy planes. They take refuge in the clouds. "We hid in the clouds, a sanctuary of whipped cream," writes Gusto as Tom rolls his eyes.
They make it to Paris, where Gusto publishes her story. She's suddenly a very famous and in demand writer. Tom finds himself very attracted to her. For her part, Gusto only wants to be involved with him so far as the story goes. She's got no thoughts of love in her mind.
While Gusto wants to work on additional stories with Tom for syndication back in America, Tom only wants to enjoy his time in Paris. So, he takes Gusto along with him to Maxim's, strictly for work purposes. However, by the end of the night, she finds she's falling hard for him.
Gusto gets herself all worked up over the fact that she's falling for Tom. In order to keep her head on straight, she packs up all of her shoes and locks them in the hotel safe, so she can't go out.
Soon afterwards, Gusto's boss comes to her with the news that she's been named Special Correspondent in Berlin and she's to leave for Germany as soon as possible. Wanting to throw herself into work and not think about Tom, Gusto jumps at the chance.
Surprise, surprise, Tom finds his way onto Gusto's train. He's bound for Warsaw, where he's enlisted in the Polish Air Force to fight Hitler. Right in the middle of the train ride, Gusto succumbs to her feelings and lets herself fall head over heals for Tom.
Before continuing on their journey, they decide to spend some time in the Forest of Compiegne, which works its wonders on them. "Look at it, like a kind grandmother dozing in
her rocking chair. Old trees practicing curtsies in the wind because
they still think Louis XIV is
king. In the shade, well-behaved
crickets and woodpeckers scarcely breaking the
silence," says Tom poetically.
War breaks out before they can reach their final destinations. Tom and Gusto decide to sail for America and be married once they arrive. However, a German submarine torpedoes there ship and sinks it.
They are both rescued. Instead of going home to America, they decide to stay in Europe and work for the war effort.
Gusto writes a riveting firsthand account of the ship's sinking and eventually starts to cover very important stories for the newspaper with regards to the war. Tom joins the British Air Force.
On assignment for the newspaper, Gusto finds herself near the Forest of Compiegne, and she decides to take a walk there remembering her time with Tom, which now seems so long ago.
Unbeknownst to her, Tom has discovered where she is and is waiting for her. They embrace. He's been injured and can't fly anymore. He and Gusto decide to return to America and stir the hearts of their countrymen into fighting the terrors of Hitler.
Cast rundown:
Claudette Colbert..............................Augusta Nash
Ray Milland......................................Tom Martin
Dennis O'Keefe.................................Joe Sheppard
Walter Abel.......................................Phillips
Dick Purcell.......................................Pinky O'Connor
George Zucco....................................Prison Governor
Frank Puglia......................................Father Jacinto
Esther Dale.......................................Susie
Bess Flowers.....................................Dancer At Maxim's
And that's it for Arise, My Love. The film won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Story. The title of the film comes from the Bible, Song of Solomon 2:10, "My beloved speaks and says to me: 'Arise, my love, my fair one..." Claudette Colbert once said that this was her favorite of the films that she made.
No comments:
Post a Comment