A finely directed and sensitively acted WW II romance, FORCE OF ARMS sees Holden, a sergeant, surviving the bloody San Pietro battle in Italy. On R&R, Holden meets WAC officer Olson, and the two fall in love after a rocky start. After rejoining his unit, Holden hesitates during a battle in which his friend and commander, Lovejoy, and other friends are killed. Upon returning to Olson he proposes, and the couple is married. Yet Holden is haunted by the thought that his inaction brought about his pals' deaths, so he atones for his doubts by once more volunteering for front-line duty, against Olson's wishes. Another battle leaves Holden wounded. He is left behind and thought to be dead, but Olson refuses to believe he is gone. Olson desperately seeks him out, following the battle lines all the way to Rome and, in a climactic scene, finding Holden hobbling among repatriated prisoners of war.
Director Curtiz does a good job of staging impressive battle scenes which are intercut with actual newsreel footage. Holden and Olson, who had worked so well together in SUNSET BOULEVARD, are believable in a memorable love story, and Lovejoy, that stalwart supporting player, is terrific as Holden's concerned friend. The film employs the main story line of Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms, even though it is based on a Tregaskis novel. Tregaskis penned several superb battle stories that were eventually filmed, not the least of which was GUADALCANAL DIARY, 1943. leave a comment