A Farewell to Arms(1932)

Frederic’s (Gary Cooper) leave from the army is cancelled after his stash of booze is discovered by the head nurse. He and Catherine Barkley (Helen Hayes) share a final evening together before he takes the train back to rejoin the troops. Catherine, recently discovering that she is pregnant with Frederic’s child tells Ferguson (Mary Philips) and that she is going to Switzerland to have the baby. She takes a train to Switzerland.

Frederic writes letters to Catherine, but they are marked “Return to Sender” by Rinaldi ( Adolphe Menjou) who doesn’t want him to lose his focus in the war over a girl. When he receives no letters from Catherine, a worried Frederic deserts and returns to Milan. Ferguson tells him Catherine is having his baby, but refuses to tell him where she has gone due to hatred of him. Rinaldi and Frederic meet at a hotel where Frederic informs Rinaldi that Catherine is having his baby. Regretting censoring Frederic’s letters, Rinaldi informs Frederic of her whereabouts in Switzerland, even helping him secure a rowboat and advice on how to avoid being detected by patrols.

In Switzerland, Catherine learns that all of her written letters to Frederic have also been “Returned to Sender”. The shock induces labour and she is rushed to the hospital. Frederic arrives just as she is wheeled into the operating room for a caesarean section. Unfortunately, the baby, a son, had already died in her womb before she arrived to the hospital. When she regains conciousness, Catherine and Frederic talk about the future. Knowing that she is dying due to complications from childbirth, Catherine asks Frederic to hold her and she dies in his arms, but not before Frederic tells her that not even her death will separate them. As the war ends and the nation celebrates the armistice, Frederic picks up Catherine’s body and looks out the window muttering “Peace. Peace”.