John Bailey
"Three Comrades" could be summed up as a sequel to "All Quiet on the Western Front". "Western Front" being about WWI from the German side (written by a German serviceman), this film starts with the day the war is over and three surviving airmen must get on with civilian life.Unfortunately, in comparison with the classic "All Quiet on the Western Front", "Three Comrades" is pretty bad. It has no "A" actors, it feels rushed through, and only the dialogue sparkles, the result of being written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Margaret Sullavan's character in the film is to personify the health of Germany, with her health deteriorating as Germany deteriorates. The film is perceptive in diagnosing what will be the outcome of things from a 1938 perspective. But the film feels muddled nonetheless.An interesting sidenote: Eric Maria Remarque, who wrote the novels upon which both above mentioned films were based, had to leave Germany because of his views. Later, during the war, his sister was beheaded by the Nazis as punishment for Remarque, who they could not reach.
edwagreen
Though it is 1920 in the film, the growing unrest in Germany is evident of the beginnings of the rise of Nazism. The term is never used and rather serves as a backdrop to a love story surrounded by three close German friends who fought together in World War 1.Didn't Margaret Sullavan's dying performance remind you of Greta Garbo stepping out to see the heather once more in Camille? Ironically, Robert Taylor was her co-star in that film as well.The film explores the relationship of the 3 guys after World War 1 showing their trials and tribulations. The chance meeting with Sullavan and Taylor's total devotion to her with his friends sticking close by. This isn't a film of 3 guys loving the same woman; rather, it is an affirmation of their friendship and devotion to each other and the sacrifices made.
kijii
This MGM movie, based on a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, is the story of three German army buddies, tracing there comradeship from WWI into the years between the world wars. After the Great War, three army buddies--Erich Lohkamp (Robert Taylor), Otto Koster (Franchot Tone) and Gottfried Lenz (Robert Young)--open an auto repair shop together. Although the story seems to center around the courtship and marriage of Erich Lohkampr and Oscar-nominee, Margaret Sullavan (Patricia Hollmann), it really demonstrates the closeness of all four friends; their individual hardships and struggles; and how much they all care for each other, as the harbingers of WWII start to show themselves in the streets of Germany between the wars. The movie was OK, I can't say that it was great. In fact, the movie didn't even approach the greatness of Erich Maria Remarque's book, All Quiet on the Western Front and the movie based on that novel.
pounders-1
My mother, a movie fan who loved "women's pictures" used to say nobody could cry as beautifully and elegantly as M.S. who both cried and gave audiences a chance to weep in many films. The tragic ending for the love triangle in this movie, must be seen to be believed. Margaret's character is in a hospital room with a balcony(?!!) and she decides she wants to perish while she's young and beautiful, so she goes to the window and gives herself a fatal chill, then collapses in Robert Taylor's arms, all while wearing an ethereal white dress...they don't make them like that anymore.But I would recommend this film especially to W Scott Fitzgerald fans,as they will enjoy his work on the screenplay.
AD
