The Universal Pictures Blogathon: «All Quiet on the Western Front» (1930)
This story is neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped its shells, were destroyed by the war. Original release poster Directed by Lewis Milestone, All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) tells the story of a group of German schoolboys, led by the sensitive Paul Bäumer (Lew Ayres), who decide to join the Kaiser's Army after their patriotic teacher, Professor Kantorek (Arnold Lucy), convinces them of how «sweet and fitting it is do die for the Fatherland.» Their romantic delusions are soon shattered, when they reach training camp and are bullied by their sadistic drillmaster, Corporal Himmelstoß (John Wray). Arriving at their billets, Paul and his friends meet a group of already hardened and cynical veterans of the war, including Stanislaus 'Kat' Katczinsky (Louis Wolheim), Deteri...