ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT 3
Later, Paul manages to return to the German lines. After a day off, the soldiers
return to the frontline. Paul sustains serious injuries and is brought to a Catholic
hospital along with his friend Albert Kropp (William Bakewell). Kropp’s leg is sub-
sequently amputated. Paul’s wounds result in a furlough, and Paul returns home.
Oblivious as to the real goings-on at the front, the townspeople are stupidly patri-
otic. Paul visits Kantorek’s classroom and finds the teacher extolling the “glory of
war.” Disgusted, Paul returns to the frontline and learns that only a few members
of the 2nd Com pany have survived, including Tjaden (Slim Summerville), who
informs Paul that Katczinsky is still alive. Paul searches for Katczinsky and finds
him wounded in the ankle by an aerial bomb. As Paul carries Katczinsky to a field
hospital, a plane drops another bomb, killing Katczinsky. Paul is unaware that his
friend is dead until he reaches the field hospital— a revelation that fills him with
grief. In the final scene, Paul watches a butterfly from his trench on the front-
lines. Paul stretches his arm out towards the butterfly and is hit with a bullet
from an enemy sniper. The final shot shows the 2nd Com pany arriving at the
front, fading out to the image of a cemetery.
Reception
Lavishly praised by critics, a major hit at the box office, and the winner of the
third Best Picture and Best Director Oscars, the film fared less well in Eu rope and
A German soldier, Paul Bäumer (Lew Ayers), subdues a French soldier (Raymond
Griffith) in a still from Lewis Milestone’s anti- war classic, All Quiet on the Western Front
(1930). (Universal Pictures/Photofest)