grantss Spanish Civil War, 1930s. Richard Jordan, an American, has joined up with the Republican side. He is given the tough assignment of blowing up a vitally important bridge. Things get complicated when he falls in love... Based on the novel by Ernest Hemingway.OK-ish, but not great. Plot drifts, and the movie is overly long. Some decent editing and this could have been an hour shorter and much more coherent.Despite starring greats Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman (whose previous film was Casablanca), the performances are unconvincing. Cooper and Bergman don't seem to gel well. The supporting cast are woeful.I haven't read the book, but I am sure it is better than the movie.

Cheese Hoven This film has a reputation for being somewhat boring, even turgid. For the first hour, I can certainly see the point of that. Not a great deal happens in the first 60 minutes or so, other than a rather predictable and over ripe Hollywood romance springing up between Cooper and Bergman. There's no action, no real sense of an external threat (surprising considering the setting) only a few not too interesting squabbles between the partisans.This however changes pretty much when the weather changes. As the snow begins to fall there is a new urgency to the film. Nationalist troops show up and the squabbles take on a darker edge with a real sense of menace. There is a truly superb performance from the drunkard which deserved an Oscar. Then Pilar (well played too) recounts his past history and we see him in a more sympathetic light. From then on our feelings towards the drunkard constantly shift between disgust and pity, perhaps the subtlest aspect of the film.One can say the dialogue is rather over-blown but this is typical of romantic films of the time. But the scenes of the atrocities committed in the name of 'freedom' are well done and surprisingly brutal even for a film of 1943.

thinker1691 It was said that Ernest Hemingway wrote " For Whom The Bell Tolls " with Gary Cooper in mind to play Robert Jordan. The story itself tells of an America teacher who joins the rebel cause to fight against Government forces with the specific task of destroying a crucial bridge. Once in, he meets up with the rebels and discovers much dissension in their leadership, which is further complicated by falling in love with Maria (Ingrid Bergman). However his most difficult task is among the leaders and especially with Pablo (Akim Tamiroff) whom he doesn't really trust. Integrated within the story is a passionate love affair which transfers easily from the novel to the silver screen and becomes more memorable in the treacherous and rugged landscape of the lofty Spanish mountains. There is much conflict between characters as well as explosive forces of the two belligerent sides. Central to the conflict is the theme of the bloody Spanish Civil which explains much to the audience and which in the end creates a definite Classic between Ingrid Bergman and Hollywood leading man Gary Cooper. Although acknowledged as a bit lengthy it's still a must see movie for fans of both stars****

danetgar For Whom the Bells Tolls is a thrilling novel and one of the most acclaimed books of the 20Th century. It depict very accurately the turmoil of Spain during the civil war alongside the upheavals of the previous century.Only three years after it was first publish and in the heights of WW2 this movie was very relevant upon debut.Set on the mountains between Madrid and Segovia, Robert Jordan, the reflection of Hemingway himself or shell I say his alter ago, joins a group of insurgents in the Fascists side, together they show us the complicity of war, while everyone need to choose their side whereas opinions and creed sometime prove us that nothing can be black or white, add it the toughness of daily fighting and you get a fabulous story. Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman enshrined us that this movie will take us all the way to the path of glory, though, Katina Paxinou, as Pilar took the best supporting actress in the academy awards. As one of my favorite books I was more than looking forward to watch Sam Wood adaptation. The book influence was poignant, showing us the life of the simple soldiers in the Republic and criticise the high rank of the local Communist party and the Soviets in particular, it was banned in the Soviet Union for many years on. Unfortunately the movie doesn't show the political intrigue that eventually causes the Republic to loose the granting Franco decades of reign, instead the movie put it emphasis on the love story between American explosive expert, Robert Jordan (Cooper) and beautiful young comrade, Maria (Bergman). To my opinion, the movie took from the book it main objective, nevertheless the movie is worth watching and can be describe as good American love-drama.