The Young Lions (1958)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Edward Dmytryk

Writers:

Edward Anhalt (writer)
Irwin Shaw (novel)

Release Date:

2 April 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Tagline:

Irwin Shaw's monumental best-seller

Plot:

The destiny of three soldiers during World War II. The German officer Christian Diestl approves less and less of the war...

Plot Keywords:

Anti Semitism | Soldier | Brooklyn Bridge | Nazi Soldier | WWII

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Marlon Brando	...	Lt. Christian Diestl
Montgomery Clift	...	Noah Ackerman
Dean Martin	...	Michael Whiteacre
Hope Lange	...	Hope Plowman
Barbara Rush	...	Margaret Freemantle
May Britt	...	Gretchen Hardenberg
Maximilian Schell	...	Capt. Hardenberg
Dora Doll	...	Simone
Lee Van Cleef	...	1st Sgt. Rickett
Liliane Montevecchi	...	Françoise
Parley Baer	...	Sgt. Brandt
Arthur Franz	...	Lt. Green
Hal Baylor	...	Pvt. Burnecker
Richard Gardner	...	Pvt. Crowley
Herbert Rudley	...	Capt. Colclough

Runtime:

167 min

Country:

USA

Language:

French | German | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) | 4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Spain:13 | Norway:16 | Australia:PG | West Germany:12 (cut version) | West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:K-16 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #18687)

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Dean Martin stepped into the role of Michael Whiteacre when Tony Randall became indisposed. It was a move that solidified Martin's solo film career after his split from Jerry Lewis two years earlier.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: After Whiteacre and Ackerman help Crowley across the canal, the next scene shows a long line of German soldiers and civilians seeming to flee. At one point, in the foreground, the license plate of an overturned car can be read: 769 S77. This number (which is to be read 769 S 77) is in a format that was introduced in France in 1950, the number itself was issued in 1951, 7 years later.

Quotes:

Michael Whiteacre: Look, I've read all the books. I know that in 10 years we'll be bosom friends with the Germans and the Japanese. Then I'll be pretty annoyed that I was killed.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sono fotogenico (1980)

A Surprising Mix Bag

I did catch myself laughing in a couple of moments and I stopped, surprised at my own reaction. What was I laughing about? Marlon Brando for starters, his performance has the makings of a great comic creation. A relative of Cloris Leachman's Nurse Diesel in "High Axiety" The film was released in 1958, seven years after "A Streetcar Named Desire" and Brando was not only a huge star but already something of an icon. I'm trying to find out what the reaction to this performance was in its day. I thought it was outrageous, entertaining but outrageous. Montgomery Clift, a year after his nearly fatal accident shows the signs of the tragedy all over his face. Brando and Clift were the the most revolutionary actors of their generations but here they don't have a scene together. Clift plays the meek Jewish soldier that becomes a hero and he manages to be believable under the most unbelievable circumstances. Maximilian Schell, three years before his Oscar winning turn in "Judgement At Neuremberg" dominates every scene he is in. He has a scene, escaping in a motorbike with Brando that could easily have become a Saturday Night Live sketch but the intention, clearly was quite different. The biggest surprises are Dean Martin and Barbara Rush. Martin is movingly real and Rush injects a very welcome element of truth and survives triumphantly some of the impossible dialogue. I also felt the ending was unexpected and rushed. All together an oddity worth watching for the cast alone.