The film's title card reads "David O. Selznick presents his production of Ernest Hemingway's romantic tragedy of World War I, A Farewell to Arms." Opening credits conclude with the following written foreword: "We tell a story out of one of the wildest theatres of World War I--the snow-capped Alpine peaks and muddy plains of northern Italy. Here between 1915 and 1918 the Italians stood against the Germans and Austrian invaders. No people ever fought more valiantly, no nation ever rose more gallantly out of defeat to victory. But our story is not of war alone. It is a tale also of love between an American boy and an English girl who bade their tragic farewell to arms while the cannon roared." The onscreen credits for Veniero Colasanti and John Moore read "costumes and set decoration."
       Hemingway's novel was serialized in Scribners Magazine (May--Oct 1929). According to news items and memos written by Selznick, as reprinted in a modern source, in 1956, he purchased the rights to the novel from Warner Bros., which acquired them from Paramount in 1946. Warners refused to sell the rights to Selznick until he offered to trade the foreign rights and negative to his 1937 film A Star Is Born (see AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1931-40). Once Selznick acquired the rights, he negotiated first with M-G-M and RKO, but finally struck a deal with Twentieth Century-Fox to finance and distribute the film, according to HR news items printed in May and June of 1956. Under this agreement, Selznick was subject to severe financial penalties if the production went over budget. Selznick then hired John Huston, who was also considered by Warners, to direct, warning that he must work under a tight schedule.
       Rehearsals began in mid-Mar 1957, and, according to a memo, after watching the first two days, Selznick became worried about Huston's slow progress, cautioning the director that he would never be able to stay within budget. Selznick was also angered when Huston proposed changing the script just four days before the start of production. Huston wanted to emphasize the military aspects of the story and thus be more faithful to the novel, while Selznick was more interested in the love story and, according to a 25 Mar 1957 HR news item, tried to foist a more commercial script on Huston, secretly written by three Italians, that built up the part played by Selznick's wife, Jennifer Jones. On 21 Mar 1957, Selznick forced Huston to resign. None of Huston's footage was in the released film. According to the 25 Mar 1957 HR news item, Selznick considered William Wellman , Billy Wilder, Carol Reed, Vittorio De Sica and Pietro Germi to direct before finally hiring Charles Vidor. Selznick borrowed Rock Hudson from Universal for the production.
       In the novel, "Henry" and "Catherine's" love affair does not begin until Henry is sent to the hospital in Milan. According to a memo, Selznick decided to move the affair to the lovers' first meeting to heighten the passion between them. Unlike the film, the character of "Rinaldi" is not executed in the novel, and Catherine's baby is stillborn in the novel. The novel also contained many more love scenes than the film. The NYT review commented that the film [unlike the novel] "lacks all important awareness of the inescapable presence and pressure of war...you scarcely know a war is going on."
       The PCA also played a role in modifying the tone of Hemingway's novel. According to materials contained in the films' MPAA/PCA file at the AMPAS Library, the PCA insisted that many of the illicit love scenes contained in the novel be eliminated and argued that the film must present a definite voice for morality. To this end, the speech in which "Ferguson" condemns war-time romances was added. The PCA also insisted that Henry express his regret that he and Catherine were never married.
       Interiors were filmed at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome, and locations were shot at Misirune, Udine, Milan, Pallanza, Stresa and Lake Maggiore in Italy, according to publicity materials contained in the film's production file at the AMPAS Library. Modern sources add that James Wong Howe completed shooting the last interiors at the Fox Studios in Los Angeles. Vittorio De Sica was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. A Farewell to Arms was the last production for Selznick, who died in 1965. In 1960, Fox acquired his interest in the picture for $1,000,000, according to a Jan 1960 HR news item. In 1932, Paramount produced the first adaptation of Hemingway's novel, directed by Frank Borzage and starring Helen Hayes and Gary Cooper (see AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1931-40). In 1955, CBS broadcast a televised version, adapted by Gore Vidal and directed by Allen Reisner, starring Guy Madison and Dianna Lynn.