Editing Lewis Milestone (section)

===''Arch of Triumph'' (1948)===

Following ''The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'', Milestone left Paramount and moved to the independent [[Enterprise Productions]]. His first film for Enterprise was ''Arch of Triumph'', which is based on [[Erich Maria Remarque]]'s [[Arch of Triumph (novel)|1945 eponymous novel]].<ref>Erickson, 2014 TCM: "One of several independent film companies attempting to establish a foothold in Hollywood was Enterprise Productions, which generated a string of quality pictures in the late 1940s{{nbsp}}... Enterprise's biggest production is director Lewis Milestone's ''Arch of Triumph,'' from a novel by the noted Erich Maria Remarque, who had earlier written the source novel for Milestone"</ref>

''Arch of Triumph'' was highly anticipated by moviegoers, and by Enterprise Productions, which committed huge capital investments to the project.<ref>Erickson, 2014 TCM: "Enterprise Productions put everything it had into Arch of Triumph, with production values the equal of any big studio film{{nbsp}}... the highly anticipated movie seemed a guaranteed hit."<br />Millichap, 1981 p. 155: "Producers [at Enterprise Productions] saw the adaptation of the best-selling novel as a blockbuster on the scale of [[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]] (1939)."</ref> The novel is set in Paris in 1939; Remarque's autobiographical work examines the personal devastation of two displaced persons: surgeon Dr. Ravic ([[Charles Boyer]]), who is fleeing Nazis persecution, and the ''[[demimonde]]'' courtesan Joan Modau ([[Ingrid Bergman]]); the pair fall in love and suffer a tragic fate.<ref>Hoberman, 2014: "Adapted from a novel by Erich Remarque, Arch of Triumph is set on the eve of World War II in the Paris of desperate anti-Nazi refugees. Charles Boyer is one, an idealistic doctor, who falls in love with a professional courtesan and chanteuse of mystery (Ingrid Bergman)"<br />Millichap, 1981 pp. 154&ndash;155: See here for story sketch</ref>

Remarque's depictions of the Paris underworld, which describe a revenge murder and a mercy killing, was at odds with the strictures of the [[Production Code Administration]]. Milestone excised "the bars, brothels and operating rooms", and the sordid ending from the screenplay. Enterprise Productions executives, who wanted a film that would rival [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]'s recently re-released ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]'' (1939), had procured [[Charles Boyer]] and [[Ingrid Bergman]].<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 156: The first problem was that Enterprise "pushed [the production] toward glamorous romance" and "bars, brothels{{nbsp}}... [and the film's] conclusion is changed" to conform to Code.</ref> The miscasting of screen stars Boyer and Bergman as Dr. Ravic and Joan Madou, respectively, impaired Milestone's development of these characters with respect to the literary source.<ref>Millichap, 1981 pp. 155–156: Boyer and Bergman were badly miscast. Boyer, a matinee idol [is unconvincing as] a refugee doctor, while Bergman{{nbsp}}... portrayed as{{clarify|reason=typo?|date=May 2023}} international tart about as convincingly as Boyer would have played an All-American fullback."</ref> Milestone said:

{{blockquote|One thing wrong was that it was supposed to be a realistic piece, but it had two major stars in the lead. If you have two major stars like that, then half your reality goes out the window.<ref>Millichap, 1981 pp. 155&ndash;156: "''Arch of Triumph'' fails almost completely. A great part of the failure was beyond Milestone's control."</ref>}}

Milestone delivered a four-hour version of ''Arch of Triumph'' Enterprise Productions had approved. Executives reversed that decision shortly before its release, cutting the movie to the more usual two hours. Entire scenes and characters were removed, undermining the clarity and continuity of Milestone's work.<ref>Canham, 1974 p. 99: "certain studio executives did not like the long version that Milestone turned in, so it was drastically pruned and re-edited, and today Milestone practically disowns ''Arch of Triumph''."<br />Millichap, 1981 p. 156: A "major difficulty was that [producers cut Milestone's long version] from about four hours to a more conventional two{{nbsp}}... such drastic cutting destroyed the continuity of the work. Major characters were completely eliminated, loose ends of plot abound and the movie romance of Boyer and Bergman becomes even more central."<br />Hoberman, 2014: "The script, which Milestone helped write, is hopeless—disjointed and rich with pointless enigmas, although not enough to be truly surreal."</ref> Milestone's overall disaffection for the project is evident in his indifferent application of cinematic technique, contributing to the failure of his film adaptation. According to Millichap (1981):

{{blockquote |Milestone cannot be completely absolved of responsibility for the disaster{{nbsp}}... Even given the fragmentary state of the final print, the film seems strangely inert and lifeless. Mainly studio shot, the careful ''mise-en-scène'' of earlier films is missing. Aside from two or three sequences, the compositions are dull, the camera is static, the editing predictable{{nbsp}}... Milestone seems to have almost given up<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 156</ref>}}

Millichap added: "Wherever the blame is placed, ''Arch of Triumph'' is a clear failure, a bad film made from a good book".<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 156. And p. 154: "The Arch of Triumph should have been a much better film than it turned out to be{{nbsp}}... based [as it was] on a solid literary property"</ref>

''Arch of Triumph'' was a failure at the box office and Enterprise Productions took a significant loss. Milestone continued working with the studio, accepting an offer to produce and direct a [[Dana Andrews]] and [[Lilli Palmer]] comedy, ''[[No Minor Vices]]'' (1948).
<ref>Erickson, 2014 TCM:"audiences didn't [appreciate] the film and it earned back less than a third of its budget."</ref><ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 156: "both an artistic and financial disaster. It grossed $1,5 million, while it cost almost $4 million to make."And p. 157: "in later years he has practically disowned the film"</ref><ref>Canham, 1974 p. 99</ref>''No Minor Vices'', a "semi-sophisticated" film that is reminiscent of Milestone's 1941 comedy ''[[My Life with Caroline]]'', added little to Milestone's oeuvre.<ref>Millichap, 1981 pp. 156&ndash;157: "After he completed ''Arch of Triumph'', Milestone reverted to the weak, semi-sophisticated comedy of his Paramount and RKO pictures of the 1930s in No Minor Vices (1949){{nbsp}}... the movie seems to reprise My Life with Caroline (year){{clarify|reason=check quote; what is "(year)" doing here?|date=May 2023}}{{nbsp}}... Milestone labored to make the film interesting with [[stream-of-consciousness]] soliloquies and deft pans{{nbsp}}... but most reviewers found it dull stuff{{nbsp}}... it seems the kind of programmer that the director might have better avoided."</ref><ref>Canham, 1974 p. 99: Milestone "continued to work prolifically, turning our a rarely seen comedy, No Minor Vices"</ref> After this film, Milestone departed Enterprise.<ref name="Millichap, 1981 p. 157">Millichap, 1981 p. 157</ref>