Louis Wolheim (as Kat Katczinsky), Lew Ayres (as Paul Baeumer (as Lewis Ayres)), John Wray (as Himmelstoss), Arnold Lucy (as Professor Kantorek), Ben...
Runtime:
138 minutes
MPAA Rating:
-
In Theaters:
21 April 1930
Distribution:
Universal Home Entertainment, BFI, Universal Pictures, Belle & Blade Studios
In Germany at the dawn of World War I, a military parade is followed by a rousing speech by a schoolmaster convincing his young students to enlist in the Army and "save the fatherland". The young enlistees are then seen in basic training, aching for "action" fighting in the war. Their training officer tells them to forget everything they know; they are going to become soldiers. Rigorous training diminishes the recruits' enthusiasm some, but after little more than marching drills, suddenly the cadets are told they are "going up front".
The new soldiers arrive by train to the combat zone, which is mayhem, with soldiers everywhere, incoming bombs, horse-drawn wagons racing around, and constant rain. One in the group is killed before the new recruits can reach their post, worrying one of the new soldiers.
The new soldiers "fresh from the turnip patch" are assigned to a unit composed of older soldiers, who are not exactly accommodating.
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