Fallen Arch

This chapter treats Milestone’s life and work from 1945 to 1949. The highly publicized failure of the expensive feature Arch of Triumph, produced by new Enterprise Studios, starring Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer in an adaptation of Remarque’s novel about refugees in Paris before the Nazi invasion, damaged Milestone’s artistic reputation. This coincided with Milestone being named by the HUAC as one of The Hollywood Nineteen and accused of pro-Communist sympathies. Although not called to testify, he supported those who were and attended HUAC hearings. A discussion of No Minor Vices and The Red Pony, another Steinbeck adaption starring Robert Mitchum and Copland’s score, concludes the chapter.

“The Greatest Picture Ever Made”

The subject of this chapter is the Oscar-winning film All Quiet on the Western Front. After discussion of why the Laemmle family’s Universal Studios wanted to make film of Erich Maria Remarque’s celebrated novel, the chapter considers the screenplay adaptation, casting of Lew Ayres in leading role, the revolutionary sound design, influence of Sergei Eisenstein’s montage technique, reception and political reaction to the film in the United States, and changing attitudes towards World War I. The final section focuses on the hostile reception of the film in Germany, where it was used by the Nazi leaders, especially Joseph Goebbels, for propaganda purposes, and how the film’s global renown changed Milestone’s life.

The Constructive Cutter

Among the topics discussed in this chapter are Milestone’s early experience as a film editor in Hollywood, his friendship with other Russian emigres, his independent disposition and propensity for lawsuits, and his relationships with future mogul Darryl Zanuck and wealthy producer Howard Hughes. The first feature Milestone directed, Seven Sinners, is analyzed, as well as his subsequent silent films The Caveman, The New Klondike, The Garden of Eden, The Racket and Two Arabian Knights, starring Mary Astor and Louis Wolheim, his first collaboration with Hughes. This “buddy comedy” earned him his first Oscar in 1929 for best comedy direction, and established Milestone as one of the most promising directors in Hollywood.

King of the Set

The chapter surveys films of the mid-1940s: The Purple Heart (a melodrama about American airmen held captive in Japan), A Walk in the Sun (an acclaimed documentary-style feature exploring the psychological aspects of an American platoon’s attack on an enemy-held farmhouse in Italy, with innovative musical treatment) and The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (an underrated film noir starring Barbara Stanwyck, Kirk Douglas and Judith Anderson dealing with corruption and family secrets in a small Pennsylvania city). Also discussed: Milestone’s work with actors Dana Andrews and Norman Lloyd; screenwriter Robert Rossen; Milestone’s involvement in political activity in Hollywood during studio strikes of 1945-46.

The Home Front

The main theme is Milestone’s World War II film work. After a consideration of his two pre-War romantic comedies Lucky Partners and My Life with Caroline, both starring Ronald Colman, attention turns to the propagandistic documentary Milestone edited with Joris Ivens using footage from Soviet cameramen, Our Russian Front. A section on The Edge of Darkness, set in Nazi-occupied Norway and starring Errol Flynn, follows. The controversial Oscar-nominated The North Star is then extensively treated. This argumentative collaboration with screenwriter Lillian Hellman (with music by Aaron Copland), produced by Sam Goldwyn, was widely condemned for an overly sympathetic portrayal of the USSR, but earned six Oscar nominations.

Photoplays

This chapter surveys Milestone’s career in the early 1930s: The Front Page, Rain, and Hallelujah, I’m a Bum. The comedy The Front Page, produced and financed by Howard Hughes, adapted a fast-paced play by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur about a Chicago newspaperman torn between his work and his fiancée. It was nominated for three Academy Awards. Based on Somerset Maugham’s story, the drama Rain starred Joan Crawford and Walter Huston in a racy story about repressed sexual desire. Al Jolson starred in Hallelujah, I’m a Bum, a Depression-era musical. Other topics discussed: Milestone’s friendship with Sergei Bertenson and their Paris adventures, courtship of actress Kendall Lee, changing Hollywood censorship guidelines.

“Where the Devil Has He Been?”

This chapter covers Milestone’s life until his death in 1980. During this time he directed two high-profile features. Warner Brothers’ Ocean’s Eleven, a widely-imitated heist movie set in the Las Vegas casinos, starred the celebrated and notorious “Rat Pack” led by Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, as a group of army buddies out to make a fast buck. Milestone next took over from fired director Carol Reed MGM’s expensive blockbuster epic Mutiny on the Bounty, shot under difficult conditions in Tahiti, along with its difficult star, Marlon Brando. Warner Brothers then hired Milestone to direct PT-109, about John Kennedy, but fired him after a month. In his last years Milestone directed a few episodes for television, but found TV work unsatisfying.

Abroad

The chapter covers the 1950s. From 1952-55, Milestone lived and worked abroad (based in Paris) to escape the hostile Blacklist atmosphere. In England he shot Melba, a feature about Australian opera singer Nellie Melba, played by American Patrice Munsel. In Cyprus he directed They Who Dare, a feature about a British raid on Nazi airfields in the Mediterranean, starring Dirk Bogarde and Akim Tamiroff. In Italy he shot La Vedova X (The Widow), a minor film about a romantic-sexual triangle. In 1958 Gregory Peck engaged Milestone to direct Pork Chop Hill, depicting a futile operation by American soldiers during the last days of the Korean War, starring Peck as a conflicted commander.

A Hollywood Life

This chapter provides a summary and overview of Milestone’s life and career. In 1979 the Directors Guild of America honored him with a tribute, where various actors and directors praised his contribution to the Hollywood movie industry. Film historian David Parker wrote an appreciation for the printed program, noting his longevity and concern for “social candor.” Journalist Arthur Lewis wrote a profile calling Milestone “modest” and “macho.” His close friend Norman Lloyd described Milestone as “remarkable,” but observed that “personal complications” prevented his huge talent from emerging fully.

“Nobody Asked You to Go to America”

This chapter focuses on Milestone’s early life: his childhood and family life in Moldova, his identity as a Jew and early experience of anti-Semitism, his love for the theater, his decision to immigrate to America and his difficult voyage to New York. It continues with his early work as a society photographer in New York, and his enlistment in the Photographic Division of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, where he edited documentary film footage sent from the front. Known as a practical joker with a fine sense of humor, Milestone made friends and useful connections easily. When the War ended, he took the advice of some Hollywood veterans and moved to Los Angeles in 1919 to break into the film industry.