All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
- Starring:
- Lew Ayres, Louis Wolheim, (more)
- Director(s):
- Lewis Milestone
- Category:
- War
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One of the most powerful anti-war statements ever put on film, this gut-wrenching story concerns a group of friends who join the Army during World War I and are assigned to the Western Front, where their fiery patriotism is quickly turned to horror and misery by the harsh realities of combat. Director Lewis Milestone pioneered the use of the sweeping crane shot to capture a ghastly battlefield panorama of death and mud, and the cast, led by Lew Ayres, is terrific. It's hard to pick a favorite scene, but the finale, as Ayres stretches from his trench to catch a butterfly, is one of the most devastating sequences of the decade. The film won Oscars for Best Picture and for Milestone's direction -- and trivia buffs should note that the actors were coached by future luminary George Cukor, while Ayres became a conscientious objector in World War II. The Road Back (1937) followed, and the film was remade for television in 1979. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 130 mins
Complete Cast:
- Lew Ayres - Paul Baumer
- John Wray - Himmelstoss
- George "Slim" Summerville - Tjaden
- Russell Gleason - Muller
- Walter Browne Rogers - Behm
- Owen Davis, Jr. - Peter
- G. Pat Collins - Lieutenant Bertinck
- Arnold Lucy - Professor Kantorek
- Bill Irving - Ginger
- Beryl Mercer - Mrs. Baumer
- Yola D'Avril - Suzanne
- Joan Marsh - Poster Girl
- Charles "Heinie" Conklin - Hammacher
- Fred Zinnemann - Man
- Vince Barnett - Cook
- Louis Wolheim - Katczinsky
- Raymond Griffith - Gerard Duval
- William Bakewell - Albert
- Scott Kolk - Leer
- Ben Alexander - Kemmerick
- Harold Goodwin - Detering
- Richard Alexander - Westhus
- Edmund Breese - Herr Mayer
- Marion Clayton - Miss Baumer
- Edwin Maxwell - Mr. Baumer
- Bertha Mann - Sister Libertine
- Tom London - Orderly
- ZaSu Pitts - (silent version)
- Pat Collins - Lt. Berlenck
- Director(s):
- Lewis Milestone
- Writer(s):
- George Abbott, Maxwell Anderson, Lewis Milestone
- Producer(s):
- Carl Laemmle, Jr.
- Categories:
- War
- Closed Captioning:
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- Subtitles:
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- 1929-1930 - All Quiet on the Western Front - Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - Best Picture
- 1998 - All Quiet on the Western Front - American Film Institute - 100 Greatest American Movies
- 1930 - All Quiet on the Western Front - Film Daily - 10 Best Films
- 1989 - All Quiet on the Western Front - Library of Congress - U.S. National Film Registry
- 1930 - All Quiet on the Western Front - National Board of Review - Best Picture
- 1930 - All Quiet on the Western Front - New York Times - 10 Best Films
- 1930 - All Quiet on the Western Front - Photoplay - Award
