For Whom the Bell Tolls*
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Directed by Sam Wood. 170 mins. (1943)
Gary Cooper – Robert Jordan
Ingrid Bergman – María
An American volunteer fighting with Republican guerrillas during the Spanish Civil War undertakes a dangerous mission to destroy a strategic bridge, forging a brief but profound love amid the violence of war.
Also starring Akim Tamiroff, Vladimir Sokoloff, Fortunio Bonanova, and Katina Paxinou.
Based on Ernest Hemingway’s bestselling 1940 novel. Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman were Hemingway’s personal choices for the lead roles.
Nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Gary Cooper), Best Actress (Ingrid Bergman), and Best Supporting Actor (Akim Tamiroff); winner of Best Supporting Actress (Katina Paxinou).
MARIA’S NOTES
Life puts people together in magical ways and when Hemingway was writing For Whom the Bell Tolls he said that he based the Robert Jordan character on that of Gary Cooper the actor and person who he admired a lot. When the mountain retreat soon to become a world class ski resort – Sun Valley – opened, 2 stars walked the dusty streets of nearby Ketchum, Idaho. When Hemingway finished writing For Whom the Bell Tolls, he and his new buddy Gary Cooper would spend days tramping around the “low country” where the hunting for game pheasant and duck was superlative. It was a destination for both men who loved the outdoors and getting away from the pressures of their everyday creative lives.
When it was announced that Hemingway’s book was going to be made into a major motion picture and that Gary Cooper would be the star, for publicity purposes, Paramount Studios commissioned his portrait to be done. The noted Spanish artist Luis Quintanilla was called upon and brought out to Hollywood where he spent time at our home in Brentwood while my father posed for the painting. I happily have just had the opportunity to learn of its whereabouts and acquire it. It’s quite a dramatic portrait which clearly tries to embody the strength, character and heroic nature of Hemingway’s hero Robert Jordan. Mr. Quintanilla’s son Paul has written a fascinating book Waiting at the Shore about his father’s life and art. This painter/adventurer is very much a Hemingway character in his own right and they were in fact strong friends.