All Quiet on the Western Front is a drama that depicts life on the battlefield during World War I. The film is based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque and stars Louis Wolheim, Lew Ayres, John Wray, Arnold Lucy, and Ben Alexander. A group of teenage boys are encouraged by their teacher, Professor Kantorek (Arnold Lucy), to enlist in the Army in the name of "saving the Fatherland." Almost immediately, the new soldiers are thrust into combat and find that the realities of war are not what they expected. Faced with food shortages, constant bombing, rat infestations and the stress of watching their comrades die in front of them, the recruits begin to realize that everything they felt about war, including their beliefs about the enemy, are seriously flawed. All Quiet on the Western Front was directed by Lewis Milestone and won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Director.moreless