MovieChat Forums > All Quiet on the Western Front (1979) Discussion > Ernest Borgnine as Kat??

Ernest Borgnine as Kat??

posted 18 years ago by kahgehpeh
7 replies | jump to latest

I like both the 1930ies movie as much as the 1979ies version. I think they come both very close to the book.
I just don't understand why Ernest Borgnine was chosen to play the role of Kat. I always liked him as a great actor, but for a soldier fighting in the trenches of the 1st world war, he was far too old and fat. A soldier this fat wouldn't have survived a single day. (And Kat isn't described to look like this in the book either. Only because he is an experienced war-veteran, he doesn't have to look that old). Borgnine should have played this role, when he was at least 20 years younger.
What do others think???

[–] rhobrock 18 years ago

It was Hollywood stunt casting to get an audience. Both Paul and Kat were played by actors who were ten years older than the characters.

[–] silvercable14 18 years ago

I really didn't care, though. I think both did great jobs with the roles they were given. I never thought of Kat as too fat or old for the part...

Savvy

[–] NoRevisionism 17 years ago

The book describes Kat as 40 and that would make him more than twice the age of the rest of the characters. The TV version isnt bad but Richard Thomas looks 30ish and Borgnine looks 60+ish. Some of the impact of the main characters being just 17-19 yrs old is lost because of this.

[–] noonan121 17 years ago

borgnine was the absolute perfect actor for kat. And yes the book describes him as a 50 yyear old large man.

[–] artwk 17 years ago

I have just finished reding the novel. On page 2 it specifically states Kat's age as 40. And Paul and his friends are 19.

[–] hugh1971 17 years ago

I agree Mr Borgnine was too old and fat for the role. I found this really noticeable. Granted there were older troops in the First World War (George Orwell's father, for example, enlisted at the age of 63)as manpower was short, though these were not generally front line troops.

[–] indy_go_blue44 17 years ago

Louis Wolheim, Kat in the 1930s version was 50 when the film was released; Borgnine was 52.

Considering that the Germans called up many of their reserves to increase their numbers in July-August 1914, and with the horrendous number of casualties in the first 3 months of the war, it's possible that a 40 year old man (book age) would have been in the front lines.

I love Borgy, but yeh, he did look a bit middle-aged for the role (his performance was excellent though.) For 50, Wolheim had the look of an old battle scarred vet and was also superb.

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