Arch of Triumph (1948 film)

Pre-World War II Paris is crowded with illegal refugees, trying to evade deportation. One of them is Dr. Ravic (Charles Boyer), who under a false name practices medicine illegally, helping other refugees. He saves Joan Madou (Ingrid Bergman) from committing suicide after the sudden death of her lover. They become involved, but he is deported and she becomes the mistress of a wealthy man, Alex (Stephen Bekassy). All this time Ravic seeks revenge against the Nazi officer Haake (Charles Laughton), with war eventually declared between France and Germany.

• Ingrid Bergman — Joan Madou
• Charles Boyer — Dr. Ravic
• Charles Laughton — von Haake
• Louis Calhern — Boris Morosov
• Ruth Warrick - Kate Bergstroem
• Roman Bohnen — Dr. Veber
• J. Edward Bromberg — Hotel manager at the Verdun
• Ruth Nelson — Madame Fessier
• Stephen Bekassy — Alex
• Curt Bois — Tattooed waiter
• Art Smith — Inspector
• Michael Romanoff — Capt. Alidze

The film's name is a reference to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, where the film is set. The rough cut of the film was four hours long, and in reducing it to two hours several actors were cut. Irwin Shaw spent five months writing the screenplay, but quit when Lewis Milestone wanted him to add a love story. Milestone then rewrote the script himself together with Harry Brown. Ingrid Bergman's salary for the part was $175,000 + 25% of net profits.

William Conrad, in just his fourth film, has a small important (uncredited) role, as a policeman.

The MPAA's head of the Production Code Administration at the time, Joseph Breen, made the film's studio tone down the violence in the script. The scene where Ravic kills Haake also included him stuffing Haake in the car's trunk, stripping him naked, burying him and burning his clothes — this was cut from the film. Breen also objected to the murder going unpunished, but relented. Breen's initial objection contradicted the novel which made clear that Haake was a torturer whose many victims included Ravic and a girl he loved.

The film was remade in Britain in 1984 under the same title as a made-for-television movie with Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Ravic, Donald Pleasence as von Haake, Lesley-Anne Down as Joan Madou and Frank Finlay as Boris Morosov. The director was Waris Hussein.[5] It was released in America in 1985.[6]

• Production Code

• Arch of Triumph at IMDb
• Arch of Triumph at AllMovie
• Arch of Triumph at the TCM Movie Database