All Quiet on the Western Front (1979)

This epic made-for-television film – adapted by Paul Monash from the 1929 book of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque (which had already been made into a movie starring Lew Ayres in 1930) – was produced by Lew Grade’s ITC Entertainment and released on 14 November 1979.

18-year-old idealistic student Paul Bäumer (a stunning performance from The Waltons star Richard Thomas, who also narrates the film) enlists in the German army in 1916 with five of his school friends – Behm (Mark Elliott), Kropp (Dai Bradley), Müller (Matthew Evans), Kemmerich (George Winter) and Leer (Dominic Jephcott) – after being indoctrinated about the glory and superiority of German culture by their ultra-patriotic teacher, Kantorek (Donald Pleasence).

The young men survive training camp under the brutal Corporal Himmelstoss (Ian Holm) and board a troop train to the Western Front where they are placed in a squad, along with soldiers Tjaden (Mark Drewry), Westhus (Colin Mayes), Detering (Ewan Stewart) and others, under the supervision of old-timer Stanislaus “Kat” Katzinsky (Ernest Borgnine), who teaches the boys essential survival skills – his intention is to keep everything alive.

Although Paul, Kropp and Leer have their first sexual experience with a trio of accommodating French village girls, the vast majority of the young men’s experiences are horrific – and one by one, most of Paul’s old school friends are killed.

When Paul’s squad is bombed, Behm dies, Kropp loses a leg, and Paul is seriously wounded.

He returns to duty once recovered and carries a wounded Kat many miles to a field hospital. Only at the hospital does Paul discover that Kat has died, bleeding out from a piece of shrapnel in his back at some point during their journey.

Paul writes a letter to Kropp, the sole survivor of their class, who is now an amputee. After finishing the letter, Paul walks through the trenches and checks on the newest batch of soldiers, taking up Kat’s role as a mentor to the new young combatants.

He spots a bird singing on a leafless branch and begins to sketch it in the lull of battle. The bird starts to fly away, and as Paul stands up to see where it went, a sniper’s shot rings out, killing him.

A field communique from the German High Command is captioned over Paul’s lifeless body, declaring “All Quiet on the Western Front”.

Directed by Delbert Mann, the film was a joint British and American production, and most of the filming took place in Czechoslovakia. The film’s soldiers – German and French – were played by nearly 600 young men from the Czechoslovakian army.

It’s not a pretty subject, and it is not a lighthearted story. The message is clear: War is barbaric. It is no way for civilised people to solve their problems. It is no way to treat our sons.

The film won the Golden Globe Award for ‘Best Motion Picture Made for Television’ and an Emmy Award for ‘Outstanding Film Editing for a Limited Series or a Special’.

The original 150-minute CBS television version was edited and received a limited worldwide theatrical release.

Paul Bäumer
Richard Thomas
Stanislaus “Kat” Katczinsky
Ernest Borgnine
Kantorek
Donald Pleasence
Himmelstoss
Ian Holm
Mrs Bäumer
Patricia Neal
Mr Bäumer
Michael Sheard
Behm
Mark Elliott
Kropp
Dai Bradley
Müller
Matthew Evans
Kemmerich
George Winter
Leer
Dominic Jephcott
Tjaden
Mark Drewry
Westhus
Colin Mayes
Detering
Ewan Stewart
Paul’s Sister
Katerina Lirova
Mrs Kemmerich
Mary Miller
Kaiser Wilhelm II
Denys Graham

Director
Delbert Mann