Ernest Hemingway's tragic story was first brought to the screen in 1932 by Frank Borzage in a surprisingly sophisticated and respectful form.

The director brilliantly alternates objective and subjective camerawork (for which Charles Lang won an Oscar) and obtains superior performances from his leading players, Helen Hayes as the British nurse and the sublimely handsome and charming American Ambulance driver, Gary Cooper.

The storyline was difficult to get past the censors even in pre-code days, but Paramount managed to release the film with only brief cuts. However, the studio fretted that audiences would not accept the novel's bleak finale and insisted that Borzage film and alternate 'happy' ending.